Sepsis must have been very happy with the fact that we did not suspect it to be responsible for my mom’s illness. Although, the malarial parasite blood test done the previous day was negative, we still suspected malaria to be the main culprit as my mom was having fever and chills.
The day of Tuesday, 23rd Feb was uneventful. My mom, though weak, was mostly afebrile. She only complained of slight body pain, especially, upper back ache. She had to visit our family physician in the evening. The dispensary of our family physician is around 30 kilometers away. We had to first travel to the railway station, take a train and then take a cab to the dispensary. Being a strong-willed woman, my mom managed this journey.
After examining my mom’s spleen, our family physician said that she doesn’t seem to have malaria. But, if her fever & chills continue, then he will start malarial treatment. It was a relief to know that my mom was not suffering from malaria.
Now, as we were to return by train during the peak rush hours, my mom boarded the women’s compartment as usual. When I met my mom on the railway platform after reaching our destination station, she told me that she’s getting chills. She asked me to hire an auto rickshaw immediately. But, getting an auto rickshaw during the peak hours is very difficult. However, we managed to hire one within five minutes. But the traffic slowed down our journey. As my mom started shivering, I put my arms around her and held her tightly. It took an eternity to reach our friend’s house.
As soon as we entered the house, I asked our friends to cover mom with a blanket and take out the heat pads. Sitting on the bed, my mom was shaking terribly. Her whole body was trembling vigorously. We applied the heat pads to her back. I put my arms around her and held her tightly from behind to stop her trembles. She felt the heat and asked me to remove the heat pad. We applied another heat pad to her face and then on her palms. For around 15-20 minutes, the situation was very tense. All of us were trying to stabilize her condition and provide her warmth. The chills that my mom suffered before this one were very slight in severity.
Finally, we succeeded in stopping her chills and trembles. She sweated and felt warm. And, we all relaxed our nerves a bit. But, this was just the end of one terrible episode. Another started immediately. My mom’s body started searing. Her temperature shot up to 105°C. This was checked by two different thermometers. Earlier, when she was trembling, we provided heat to her body. Now, we started the cooling process. Blanket was removed. Ice & napkins dipped in icy water were being applied. Ceiling fan was switched on and run at full speed. I called up our family physician and reported my mom’s condition to him. He said that the drugs were not affecting her and that we should start treatment for malaria. I asked him how I would do that. He knew that it was not possible to start treatment for malaria immediately as it was very late in the night. No dispensary in the area would be open to dispense the treatment. So, he asked me to start the next day.
After a feverish attempt to bring down my mom’s temperature, we succeeded in bringing it below 100°C. But, it was still not normal. I don’t remember exactly whether my mom was able to drink the warm milk that we gave her during the chills or not. But, I do remember distinctly that my mom had vomited a little. Now, the thing is that I have forgotten when it was – during the chills when she tried to drink warm milk or when we gave her Crocin tablet during fever. This retching, combined with body pain, fever and chills strengthened our belief that it was malaria that was responsible for my mom’s illness.
The whole night she was febrile. I kept awake to sponge her body with cold napkins. Her temperature was having a roller coaster ride. Sepsis was enjoying the terrible, Tuesday trauma that we were suffering from.
The day of Tuesday, 23rd Feb was uneventful. My mom, though weak, was mostly afebrile. She only complained of slight body pain, especially, upper back ache. She had to visit our family physician in the evening. The dispensary of our family physician is around 30 kilometers away. We had to first travel to the railway station, take a train and then take a cab to the dispensary. Being a strong-willed woman, my mom managed this journey.
After examining my mom’s spleen, our family physician said that she doesn’t seem to have malaria. But, if her fever & chills continue, then he will start malarial treatment. It was a relief to know that my mom was not suffering from malaria.
Now, as we were to return by train during the peak rush hours, my mom boarded the women’s compartment as usual. When I met my mom on the railway platform after reaching our destination station, she told me that she’s getting chills. She asked me to hire an auto rickshaw immediately. But, getting an auto rickshaw during the peak hours is very difficult. However, we managed to hire one within five minutes. But the traffic slowed down our journey. As my mom started shivering, I put my arms around her and held her tightly. It took an eternity to reach our friend’s house.
As soon as we entered the house, I asked our friends to cover mom with a blanket and take out the heat pads. Sitting on the bed, my mom was shaking terribly. Her whole body was trembling vigorously. We applied the heat pads to her back. I put my arms around her and held her tightly from behind to stop her trembles. She felt the heat and asked me to remove the heat pad. We applied another heat pad to her face and then on her palms. For around 15-20 minutes, the situation was very tense. All of us were trying to stabilize her condition and provide her warmth. The chills that my mom suffered before this one were very slight in severity.
Finally, we succeeded in stopping her chills and trembles. She sweated and felt warm. And, we all relaxed our nerves a bit. But, this was just the end of one terrible episode. Another started immediately. My mom’s body started searing. Her temperature shot up to 105°C. This was checked by two different thermometers. Earlier, when she was trembling, we provided heat to her body. Now, we started the cooling process. Blanket was removed. Ice & napkins dipped in icy water were being applied. Ceiling fan was switched on and run at full speed. I called up our family physician and reported my mom’s condition to him. He said that the drugs were not affecting her and that we should start treatment for malaria. I asked him how I would do that. He knew that it was not possible to start treatment for malaria immediately as it was very late in the night. No dispensary in the area would be open to dispense the treatment. So, he asked me to start the next day.
After a feverish attempt to bring down my mom’s temperature, we succeeded in bringing it below 100°C. But, it was still not normal. I don’t remember exactly whether my mom was able to drink the warm milk that we gave her during the chills or not. But, I do remember distinctly that my mom had vomited a little. Now, the thing is that I have forgotten when it was – during the chills when she tried to drink warm milk or when we gave her Crocin tablet during fever. This retching, combined with body pain, fever and chills strengthened our belief that it was malaria that was responsible for my mom’s illness.
The whole night she was febrile. I kept awake to sponge her body with cold napkins. Her temperature was having a roller coaster ride. Sepsis was enjoying the terrible, Tuesday trauma that we were suffering from.
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