Treacherous Tandem

Midway through our Bali adventure our health went from bad to better to worse over a three week period. It started with me having what we thought was a basic cold consisting of severe morning headaches, cough, sore throat and fatigue. A week after I started feeling better Mike became the next victim. His cold took him out for days, he was laid up in bed too weak to do anything but sleep.

Mike was my ride driving the scooter and the only mode of transportation aside from walking which was almost more dangerous than a scooter. Our daily adventures drastically decreased because Mike's lack of energy and need to be horizontal. I passed the days assisting our host, Preyanka, with making soap and lip balm. I also spent a large amount of time playing with the sweetest kitties, Chairman Meow and Pumpkin.

About a week into Mike’s sickness I started questioning why he was unable to handle the flu as well as I did. I used our supply of NyQuil the week before and left him only one dose. The natural flu medicine the maid picked up needed to be taken every 30 minutes and offered him no rest in between.

One morning we planned to take a day trip to Ubud with our hosts when Mike woke with a little more life in his eyes. Our mission was to find a tasty rack of ribs at our hosts favorite rib joint. After parking and wandering around Ubud, we learned the exact location of this magical place was further than we realized. The hot sun beat down and quickly made for a sweaty exhausting 45 minutes walk. Finally we found our destination Naughty Nuri’s Warung and Grill. The place was ethnic with outdoor picnic table seating next to the hot grill. Mike and I ordered a rack of ribs and side dish of green beans to share. Sitting across from Mike I watched his face turn a few shades of white. His energy visibly fading as he needed to hold his head up at the table. He had only been able to stomach two bites. I on the other hand gulped down my beer and inhaled the meal in minutes.

We assessed the walk from the rib joint to the car and quickly decided our best option would be  taking a taxi to the car. We returned home about an hour later where Mike again resumed occupying his comfortable bed and sleeping for hours.

The next day before our flight for Vietnam, Mike took a turn for the worse feeling increased dizziness and was unable to hold food down. We decided to visit the hospital for an assessment. The doctor ordered lab work and Mike was diagnosed with Dengue Fever. The results later confirmed he was positive for Typhoid and Dengue Fever, the treacherous tandem.

The doctors advised Mike should not fly due to the possibility of internal bleeding in flight due to low platelet count. We waited, making the trip to the hospital every 12 hours for blood tests and hoping his numbers increased. The normal platelet count range is 150 - 400 and they advised not flying until it got over 80. Mike’s lowest count was 65 which almost caused him to be admitted to the hospital overnight. Thankfully we did not have to do that, but I have to admit the ambulance ride would have been kind of awesome.

Two cancelled flights and five days later, we decided to cancel the rest of our trip and return to Arizona for Mike to recover. We are already in the planning mode for our next adventure state side.