Infected legs

[RBM]

Yesterday a casual friend, American visited me seeking help. He is obese and his legs from the knee down are to me ulcerated, infected and in need of personal care.

he is totally broke, the doctor gave a list of antibiotics which must be injected, says he is not a diabetic which surprised me. He is on the outer with his girl friend and it would appear is not attending to his issues. We have given him a 5 figure sum to get underway, buying the meds as prescribed and he says he shall personally inject as the cost of a nurse is P200 per visit. he gets by financially teaching English on line.

We are going to visit his on off Girl friend now and try convince her to clean the open wounds 3 times a day. If necessary we shll attempt to hire a nurse for the cleaning which will not be easy.

Guess my question is to Americans mostly asking if there is any help available, I understand the embassy would be reluctant to involve. or perhaps there are charitable organisations that may assist, please guys keep the post open not asking how he is in this situation, it is what it is. 

[Jack Peterson]

Bruce so very commendable and will be admired by many I am sure but I don't want to say too much and seem Cynical yet here is another sad case of we/I should have know better and I do hope others can learn from this. The Situation sounds like the late stages of something that may be so very serious. We should all know that health issues need nipping in the Bud (Where possible & not accidents) For me, if I have anything out of the Norm I see as Doctor or a Good Pharmacist (I notice your friend is broke but pharmacist will Advise you for Free) Ointments for ulcers etc are not too expensive even here, this would at least have led to a decision of going to a Doctor or see a Friend as your mate has now Done But again, we should all know and Remember where we are and what can Happen if things are not sorted in the early Stages. As I said I don't want to be over Critical and I hope your Friend can get the Treatment he obviously needs & you can get some sense into this Lady you talk about. Timely this has come up as We are hearing more and more about Ex-pats getting into Health Dilemmas when things are left too Long. Lessons learned from things like this can be useful or Futile but I do hope many are reading and Thinking on a little.

 BTW his Barangay should have a Health Clinic/ Medical Centre and for me, This would be my first port of Call.

 

Well done my friend and I do hope all will be well for your Friend 

[Jollygoodfellow]

I know a member here who died from complications from an infection in a leg perhaps 6 months after it first occurred. From my knowledge diabetes would be what caused the ulcers so I think he might your friend might want to get that checked too. 

[Dave Hounddriver]

I had a friend get a similar condition and die, but he was not obese.  The condition of the legs was caused from a heart condition and short of a heart transplant I doubt it was getting cured.  Hope your friend has better luck. 

During the final months his legs looked a bit like this pic except they were all filled with pus and leaking and scabbed over.  He did go to the doc to get antibiotics thinking it was an infection but nope, it was the onset of heart failure

[frosty (chris)]

I cut myself a few times while working at my partners sari store, just little nicks on my shin bones and normally I think nothing of them, didn't even bother to cover them. A few days later I could hardly walk, they were full of pus and very sore. I went to the pharmacy and got some antibiotics and cream, took about ten days for the cuts to clear up. Now if I get the smallest of cuts I get it cleaned straight away and put a band aid or some covering on it. Don't know if it's living in the tropics or the unsanitary conditions here, maybe a bit of both. Now if I am doing any outside work wear sneakers and socks.

[Nephi]

If he is in danger and if you feel he is in need of getting out of the Philippines and returning to the US for treatment; he (or you for him if he is unable) can contact the American Citizens Services Office at the US Embassy in Manila. They will attempt to help him contact friends or family back home for help. Failing that, they should supply a repatriation loan to get him there. If he is a overstay on his visa, the embassy will issue a letter addressed to Philippine Immigration requesting that on humanitarian grounds to set aside any and all overdue visa charges as well as any fines.

 

Best of luck but don't delay,

Nephi

Edited February 8, 2017 by Nephi

[jpbago]

23 hours ago, RBM said:

 

Yesterday a casual friend, American visited me seeking help. He is obese and his legs from the knee down are to me ulcerated, infected and in need of personal care.

 

Is his name Michael and is he from Texas? I briefly met someone that fits that description. His g/f looks like Leila De Lima.

I was talking to a lady yesterday whose niece had married an American and then he died 5 months later from leukemia. He left a hospital bill of a little over P 1 million. They were renting and sold his motorbike.

This is not a place to come to if one has medical problems.

[RBM]

6 minutes ago, jpbago said:

Is his name Michael and is he from Texas? I briefly met someone that fits that description. His g/f looks like Leila De Lima.

I was talking to a lady yesterday whose niece had married an American and then he died 5 months later from leukemia. He left a hospital bill of a little over P 1 million. They were renting and sold his motorbike.

This is not a place to come to if one has medical problems.

No thanks for the info how ever a different guy. This guy was very faithful to me during my recent period of recovering from a grave accident. I was able to give him p20k to buy his meds, he injects himself to save the costs of a nurse. I believe he is genuine but basically a slob......His GF says he is diabetic but in denial, I have never heard of this....he is very very obese, says he is not diabetic, my fear is although taking the meds he will not attend his wounds. Apparently his GF has just limited power in the situation, she is very timid. 

[Queenie O.]

That's good of you to try to pay back his kindness. Poor guy really has some problems. I agree with Jack, that the nearest public health center/clinic in his area might be able to help him. If not maybe the emergency room of a public hospital can help him apply any meds that he needs to put on his legs, or some free advice for his girlfriend on what she could do. I hope the best for him.

Folks on a similar note, a good baseline thing that's easy to do for yourself, would be to go to a private clinic or hospital and get an anti-tetanus shot. Whether you've gotten a cut or not. There are so many possible issues with cuts and minor wounds and the possibility of getting tetanus. My husband was helping our neighbor put a clamp on his garden hose, and he cut his finger. I encouraged him to get a shot so we went to a private clinic and it was simple and it cost about 1,500 pesos, or about 30 dollars US. Once somebody contracts tetanus, there's no cure. It's good for ten years. I had gotten one in the States before we left to come here. It cost a lot more than that.