Darn That Mosquito!

Last night we got an email from Jason in Indonesia saying that Laura was in the hospital with Dengue Fever.  Oh my goodness!  They had had to get her into a private room because that was the only way the hospital would allow her to have Mika in the room with her, and that was only reluctantly on the part of the hospital.  But since Mika is still breastfeeding there was no way around it.  The email went on to say that the hospital had told Jason that he could only visit Laura for 4 hours a day but that Jason was planning to ignore that edict because he wanted to help out with Mika as much as possible since Laura really needed to rest and concentrate on recovering.

This morning the phone rang while I was still in bed.  I jumped up to answer it and was delighted to hear Jason on the other end AND Laura in the background.  She is feeling a little better.  Typically this fever runs a course of about a week so they were hoping that she would be released by the end of the week.   I ran downstairs to fire up the computer and sign in to Skype so we could chat face-to-face.  The first thing I saw was Laura looking pretty good considering and little Mika on the bed.  Jason had given her a Pringles container to entertain her while he talked with me.

Unbeknown to Jason, Mika was busily checking out the container from all angles and then she set to work on the lid with her little mouth.  It didn't take her long to get the lid off and a chip was soon in her hand.  Whoa!  This was something new.  It went right into her mouth at which point Daddy noticed her chomping on it and took away her fun.

"But Daddy, I wanted that new and exciting food.  It's nothing like that sloppy baby food slop you've been trying to give me."

Jason decided to distract Mika by bringing her closer to the computer screen to have her pose for the camera.  She wasn't too happy at first.

"Here, Mika...look up here and smile for the camera.  Nana wants to take your picture."

My heart about burst when Mika fixed her beautiful blue eyes on me and said one of the words I've been waiting to hear........"Nana!"  Wow!

We all chatted for a bit more and then I told Laura to pose for a "glamor" shot before they signed off so I could prove to the folks here that the mosquito hadn't gotten the upper hand.

Then it was Jason's turn to smile for the camera before we said our farewells so that they could call Laura's family before Laura got too tuckered out.

We're all praying that Laura will continue to improve and that her platelet count will start going back up so she won't need a transfusion.  We're also praying that Jason and Mika will NOT come down with Dengue, too.

This mosquito-borne virus is quite prevalent in Indonesia and my heart goes out to those who can't access or afford hospital care who come down with it.  I hope the various immunizations that are currently under development will soon be available to the public.  In the meantime, I'd appreciate your prayers for my little family so far away.