New Caledonia Hospital | Things we take for granted
12 November 2018
NEW CALEDONIA HOSPITAL
On Thursday we made our journey across to New Caledonia. Micheline and her dad (his name is Haston) coped well on their first commercial flight. As you can imagine, there was some anxiety around how the flight would go and what would happen once we get there.
At our arrival, Doctor Isabelle Missotte, the head of paediatric care, and an entourage of medical staff awaited us. Dr Missotte is an incredibly kind and caring person, which has been helpful for Micheline to settle in and build trust.
The hospital exceeded our expectations. It is a state of the art, modern clinic and they had fully prepared for our arrival.
After settling in, Micheline was sedated so that she could be thoroughly examined without causing her pain or stress. They performed many tests, scans, checked and cleaned all her wounds. The tests were all good, they ensured she has no hepatitis, HIV, cancer, they checked her liver, kidneys, performed CT scans, you name it....
She didn't need any surgery for now as all her wounds and lesions are healing ok.
The medical staff said that she isn't in great condition, and the care she received at Vila ensured her survival and adequate management of her lesions. It is more than timely now to get her into specialist care and we know we made the right decision sending her here.
All the tests came out ok and treatment can now fully start on her autoimmune disorder.
This means that her immunity needs to be fully supressed and her steroid treatment increased so that the blisters which have been coming back can no longer form.
The strategy is that once the skin has fully recovered and the body has responded to the treatment, the autoimmune disorder should go into remission. It will never go completely away but should be manageable with a continuous treatment plan and monitoring.
FUNDING SUMMARY
To date we have received nearly NZD $68,000 in donations.
The hospital bill for 1 months is NZD $50,890. This includes care, tests and treatment.
In addition, we have also been asked to pay for Immunoglobulin und Rituximap medicine, which costs NZD $13,460.
This medicine is most effective but extremely expensive and is used to 'drive down' her immunity.
We had expenses for our flights on Air Vanuatu, but also want to mention that Air Vanuatu gave us a discounted rate and the flexibility to change flights if required at no extra charge.
It is also timely to thank you, our supporters, again for all your generosity, messages and support. We need to continue raising funds to assist Micheline. Please feel free to share this story with your networks, Facebook etc.
Our thoughts at the moment are that it may be best to keep Micheline and her dad Haston in an 'outpatient' situation in an apartment in New Caledonia after her month is up at the hospital. We believe that she needs to stay near the hospital for some time yet, until we have green light for her to go back to Vanuatu and continue her treatment plan there.
THINGS WE TAKE FOR GRANTED
Here are some snippets of some laughs, paradigm shifts and moments of relief:
[1] Soft drinks -
When asked by the flight attendant which drink Micheline would like to choose, she answered: "ALL" :-). She managed to taste her way through a number of beverages.
[2] Elevators -
We all had to get into the elevator at the hospital, not thinking of course that Micheline or her dad Haston never seen one or even knew they existed! The reaction of Haston was priceless when he got in and then realised what it did.
[3] Culture shock -
Haston didn't know what the western world is like and can't believe how amazing hospitals and medicine can be. He doesn't understand why the hospital in Vila is so basic in comparison with this one.
[4] Smart phone / internet -
Haston has discovered Burger King and free Wi-Fi. So many new impressions for him and he talks a lot to Micheline's step mum back in Vanuatu describing his new experiences.
[5] Not rush -
When Tobias walks anywhere, Haston takes his time. He isn't used to walking fast, at Pentecost it's island life and no one is ever in a rush. So when they walk around the hospital or the streets, Haston takes his time and often falls behind a few hundred metres and eventually catches up. Definitely a lesson to learn for us westerners who are always rushing from A to B. ;-))
[6] Help never stops coming -
Wonderful people are truly everywhere. People are trying to find contacts for Micheline's dad so that he can make new connections and doesn't feel isolated during his stay. It will take time for him to adjust to this world, there is lots to learn and he has many questions.
[7] Education -
Micheline loves the TV that she has access to all day on her bed. She also reads books, draws a lot but it was recognised that she needs much more stimulation. Someone organised a teaching resource to come in from next week onwards to provide her with a school routine while in hospital.
[8] Hand over -
Tobias and Dr Sebastian (the volunteer paediatrician from Vienna who has been helping in Vanuatu and is also in New Caledonia right now) are able to hand over now to the medical experts and support people. Tobias is going back to NZ to see his family and Dr Sebastian is going back to Vanuatu.
They will keep in touch daily with Micheline, Haston and the medical staff but both have to go back to their own lives for now. At the end of November our nurse Nicole from the Uniklinik Zurich will come to New Caledonia and look after Micheline and Haston full time for 3 months. In between, we will be visiting of course also.
Please also view the new pictures posted under Gallery.