WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Dec. 23, 2014) -- The Daniels family is reunited for this holiday season at Fort Stewart, Georgia; but a few years ago, a daughter's illness threatened to turn their world upside-down.
Alexandria and husband Willie Daniels were stationed in Okinawa, Japan, in 2011 when their daughter, Asyria, came down with what they thought was a common cold, according to Alexandria, who was an Army civilian nurse at U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa, Camp Lester. Willie was a retired Army sergeant first class.
A day or two of bed rest was all she needed, Alexandria said, and she'd soon be back at Kadena High School, finishing the rest of her sophomore year by the end of spring.
But this seemed like a rather nasty cold. Not only was there coughing, she said, Asyria also became really tired. So they brought her in for diagnosis and treatment at the naval hospital.
When the lab work was done, the health care providers thought it might be a urinary tract infection, she said.
Then a few days later, Asyria complained of chest pains and shortness of breath, so they rushed her back to the hospital. "They did every test you could think of," Alexandria said.
So, she was given antibiotics via IV, but her body temperature remained at 103.9F. Additionally, she had 750 cubic centimeters of fluid withdrawn from her lungs and she was getting progressively worse, Alexandria said.
This time, they thought it must be pneumonia, so Asyria was medevac'd to Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu.
At Tripler, she was diagnosed with Lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease, Alexandria said, meaning the immune system over-reacts and can attack healthy tissue such as kidneys, blood cells, heart and lungs.
In Asyria's case, it was the early stages of glomerulonephritis, commonly called GN3, which has deleterious effects on the kidneys.
Fortunately, Asyria's Lupus/GN3 is treatable with medication. After some more lab tests and some rest, Asyria and Alexandria were allowed to return to Okinawa.
In all, they missed three weeks of school and work and it was good to be home again with family, Alexandria said. Asyria was especially eager to be with her classmates and wanted to finish the school year and not get put back a grade. "She was also an honor student," Alexandria said.
The problem of returning to Okinawa was that none of the medical facilities on the island had a pediatric physician who could monitor Asyria's medical condition, lab tests, prescribe medication and provide medical advice, Alexandria said.
So, the pediatric physicians at Tripler decided to connect with the physicians at the naval hospital via telehealth.
Telehealth is the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care. Telehealth was originally conceived for providing care for patients in rural areas far from specialists and large hospitals, Alexandria explained.
The arrangement worked out perfectly, she said, and Asyria graduated with honors from her class. "She was happy to be with classmates and I was happy to be back at work at the hospital. The telehealth arrangement was fantastic."
POSTSCRIPT
For Asyria's junior and senior year in high school, the family deployed back to Fort Stewart, Georgia, where Asyria graduated with honors.
Alexandria went to work as a nurse case manager at Winn Army Community Hospital on post. There, she assists Soldiers at a warrior transition battalion to navigate the health care system to either remain on active duty or retire and get post-service care at a Veterans Affairs facility or elsewhere.
Willie and Alexandria live near the post in Hinesville and this week, Asyria is home with the family after completing her first semester at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in Charleston.
At The Citadel, Asyria is doing very well academically as well as physically, Alexandria said. She's on a track and field scholarship.
Asyria plans to get a baccalaureate degree in exercise science with the goal of becoming a physical therapist, Alexandria said.
With medication, Asyria is expected to lead a healthy and fulfilling life, she added.
(For more ARNEWS stories, visit www.army.mil/ARNEWS, or Facebook at www.facebook.com/ArmyNewsService, or Twitter @ArmyNewsService)
Social Sharing