Home again!

Today Hugo and I went to the hospital with the intention of donating blood for Ice. We met the doctor in Ice's room as he was making the rounds. We discussed her situation and what we should do. We went to the lab where Ice's blood was checked again and Hugo had his blood type checked during which he let slip that he had had dengue fever last year. This immediately ruled him out from donating. As it turns out, Ice's HB levels had risen enough that she no longer needed a transfusion, but could take iron pills. Then it was on to the ultrasound. The idea was to look at the appendix, but of course if that had been the problem on Monday, it wouldn't be obvious anymore as antibiotics had taken their course. However, I felt that we should still take a look at things and it was a good thing we did. As it turns out, she has a bladder infection (why a urine sample wasn't taken on Monday baffles me) and she still has pelvic inflammatory disease. I was able to convince the doctor that she could go home and take antibiotics there. That left the bill to be settled. Ice's husband had gotten a letter from their district head stating that they were poor. However, at this hospital that letter is meaningless. Apparently, this hospital was built specifically for people from coastal tribes in this area, not those from interior tribes. Had we gone to either the hospital in Abe or in Jayapura, the bill would have been taken care of. However, those hospitals are far away and very dirty. As it turns out, the cost per night to stay there is a whopping 24,000 rupiahs ($3.00 CAD - including 3 meals a day)! So in the end we paid about $110 for five nights, iv fluids, meds, scans/x-ray, and meds she will take at home now. I told Ice and her mom that I would take care of 75% of the costs and that they would have to pay 25%. I don't think this means much to them as I'm pretty sure they don't understand percentages. But I'm sure once I sit down with Ice and explains exactly what it means for her she will be relieved. She has savings as I keep back some funds from her pay each month. Sadly, I will need to sit down with Ice and her husband and explain the ramifications of pelvic inflammatory disease.