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Showing posts from July, 2016

Knocking on Death's Door

Zika ... it's all over local news channels, in the news papers, and is a common topic of discussion. In the months of preparation for my arrival first in Guatemala and in Honduras, many people have asked me, "But aren't you scared of getting Zika?" I can honestly say that I am not because I am not getting pregnant and most people who get zika don't have symptoms or think that they have a mild flu. Zika generally is of no concern for a non-pregnant person. There are mosquito spread virus here in central American that are much more severe than Zika to the point that they can even be deadly. Dengue Fever is one of those mosquito spread viruses.  When bitten by a mosquito carrying Dengue Fever, a person will develop a sudden onset of a high fever, severe joint pain, a rash, and mild bleeding. In some cases, like in that of 12 year old Jasmine, dengue can have deadly consequences.    It started last week when Jasmine arrived in our 3 bed emergency room in severe pain