Nathan Hospitalized in Bangkok

Nathan has a bad case of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne tropical virus, and has been medevac'ed from Cambodia to Bangkok. (The kids and I are here in Bangkok, too, along with Vanessa Hughes, a wonderful embassy friend who is helping out with the kids so I can spend some time with Nathan at the hospital.)

Dengue is usually very unpleasant but not particularly dangerous with good medical care. In Nathan's case, they're worried because he got sick very quickly and his platelet and white blood cell counts dropped very steeply and very early on in the illness. The low white blood cell numbers mean that he has essentially no ability to fight off other infections or illnesses, and the low platelet count could indicate that he is headed towards dengue hemorrhagic fever, a very scary and serious condition where you start bleeding from your gums, nose, eyes, and other soft tissues.

At this point, the doctor thinks that it is most likely that Nathan will plateau for a few days, or get slightly worse and then plateau, and then is likely to get better. However, there is a possibility that his condition could either progressively deteriorate or have a sudden drop, either of which would mean he'd need to be sent to the ICU. He's getting good medical care at Bumrungrad Hospital--probably the best hospital in Southeast Asia--and we would appreciate it if you could keep Nathan in your prayers.