October 5, 2008
SENEPA came out to visit Karaî Sixto and to administer the Montenegro skin test for leishmaniasis. They warned that the test could give a false negative result in an elderly, malnourished person whose immune system wasn’t working properly. Well, if anyone would be a false negative it would be him. After 36 hours Jeff went to his house to read the test and found it negative for leishmaniasis. The leishmaniasis medicine would be free for Karaî Sixto but would cost the health department $2000 for a couple months of treatment. So even though he has symptoms and Jeff is pretty sure he has it, the health department won’t do anything about it because of his negative reading.
While some of his symptoms were pointing towards leishmaniasis, other symptoms (the bumps on his forehead and palate, his loss of eyebrows and his nasal stuffiness seemed to point toward leprosy. We stopped at the Mennonite (leprosy) Hospital on our way to Asuncion and Jeff showed doctors there Karaî Sixto’s pictures. They were 100% sure that he has leprosy. They will be in a nearby town November 4th and they want to see him for a complete exam. They gave Jeff the man’s first month’s pills so that he could immediately begin a multi-drug treatment for lepromatous leprosy.
Jeff and I went to visit Karaî Sixto today. His leg wound is worse despite Jeff’s attempts to clean and keep it covered. I praise God for my servant husband who again picked out the maggots while I shoed the flies away. His Achilles tendon is now exposed and necrotic. There is another wound forming on his right heal. It’s about the size of a quarter and very deep. Jeff said, “Karaî, do you see these maggots?” Karaî Sixto stuck his fingers in the hole and pulled out a finger full! I guess the answer is, “Yes.”
We gave him the news about having leprosy but with his lowered mental status, I am not sure how much he understood. We gave the medicine to a hopefully responsible relative passing by and asked him to give Karaî Sixto 2 pills each day.
Sixto's house
It just gets worse and worse
Jeff cleaning out Sixto's wound
1 comment:
Oh wow- I can't believe you and Jeff can do that. Who else would help him though? You are so good for the soul AND the body, Wask, and so is Jeff.
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