Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit with Sister Juanita, one of the elderly ladies in my church. She came over and we began to chat about her five kids, nine grandkids, etc. I was surprised when she told me that at the age of seven months, her middle daughter was stricken with polio. The doctor didn't recognize it as polio at first and when she took her back to him a month later he examined her and then sat down, stricken with guilt and grief, and pronounced her with polio. She underwent surgery after surgery during her childhood to lengthen legs, stretch tendons, and transplant bone. Now she is 42 and I have noticed a slight limp, but nothing too bad.
Another man of the same age was stricken as a child with this disease, and he never had any surgeries. His right leg is noticeably shorter, he drags it along and can't bend his knee. This type of disability is difficult in a town where bicycles and walking are the main means of transportation. They don't have the vehicles to hop into and go.
Yesterday my friend's son was diagnosed with rubella. She asked her doctor if that wasn't included in the MMR vaccine that kids here and in the US get. It IS covered in those, but he informed her that at the time her son was small in Nicaragua, many of those vaccines were given out expired. Isn't that a travesty? Fortunately, rubella isn't usually anything but a mild rash, fever, and swollen glands. Please be praying for him as he goes through it, thogh.
Sorry about your friend's kid being sick. I think diagnosis are interesting down there in that really rubella can only be definately identified with a test for antibodies, that I understand is a fairly labor intensive test. Sick is sick and that is a bummer but what if it is not rubella and it is limes disease with potentially similar symptoms and a different treatment. A farmer down the road told me one day about his daughter in the 1940's getting sick and dying in the course of about 6 days and that they never knew what she died of. When it come to sickness here in the US we just don't do it like that anymore. I think wow we live in a world here in the US that wants to know the details. We also want to fix it and if someone gets it wrong we want to someone to pay for the mistake. All that said I hope your friend's kid gets better.
Posted by: connie | 2006.02.17 at 05:13 PM
Sure, but isn't it true that doctors in the US can pretty much definitively diagnose some more common diseases (like strep throat) without a test (they look in the throat, see the nasty pus blisters and redness), and then use the test to confirm their diagnosis? So, sure it MAY be something else, but here in Nicaragua for money's sake they do less testing and more old-school diagnosing. (he's better today by the way)
Posted by: Jan | 2006.02.18 at 10:22 AM
Yes and no, you can't definately diagnosis anything without culturing it or with a test that is designed to id certain bacteria or viruses. So docs see a blistered throat and think most likely strep and they having seen alot of this stuff are usually right...just like your doc in Nicaragua diagnois on experience. Some will treat accordingly without a test. The test comes in handy when the throat does not look all that bad but the symptoms are there pain, fever, ect... I guess to I am wondering why Rubella is in the MMR if it is so low key of a disease. Although I think I am remembering something about it being a problem if you get it when you are pregnant but otherwise not a big deal. So I guess the doc told them to stay away from pregnant women especially if the vaccines they got were expired too. I am glad he is better but I think the pregnancy thing is why we make a big deal out of a definate diagnosis in the US. If rubella is going around unborn children are at risk(some kind of syndrom) if their mothers are not vaccinated. I guess whether or not to test has to do with lots of factors like will it affect treatment or containment.
Posted by: connie | 2006.02.18 at 12:05 PM
That's what I was wondering at first, too. Why have it vaccinated if it doesn't do so much damage? But you are right, the rubella can cause birth defects in children if the mom gets it. He basically stayed in the house for 72 hours, quarantined. Today he came by and took his math quiz from me and went on his merry way with a little bit of itching, but feeling much better.
Posted by: Jan | 2006.02.18 at 03:23 PM