Brother and Sister Bronson,
I can imagine you are concerned after Elder Bronson's email this week. Please know that we have been in constant touch with Elder Bronson. He reported to us on Dec 6 that for several days he had consistent, aching chest pain directly under his sternum. He reported that it worsened when he ate and that he was also having a lot of diarrhea especially in the night and when he woke up in the morning. This could have been gastritis. We sent the information up to the Central American Missions Area Doctor (AMA), Dr Cragun.
He responded that it did sound like gastritis and prescribed medication, which Elder Bronson purchased and began to use, along with instructions to aviod greasy spicy foods and chocolate. Elder Bronson followed instructions, but after a few more days, did not improve. I sent him to the hospital (which is where all the doctors also have their offices and any regular doctor appointment is done at the very nice, private Vivian Pellas Hospital in Managua). He had a battery of tests done and the doctor told him to return the following day.
Again I sent the results to our AMA in Guatemala to be sure we were handling the situation correctly to help Elder Bronson.
Although in the hospital the doctor checked Elder Bronson for possible dengue, his results came back negative. AMA also confirms it negative.
As you can see, Elder Bronson has not been feeling well, but we are doing all we can and double checking with our church physicians, to help him get better.
President and I have seen Elder Bronson in person four times in the last seven days with all the new chapel activity in Granada. We actually saw him yesterday for interviews. I have him on rest and increased fluids as we wait for additional test results to come in . He could have a parasite, and the tests will let us know. Depending on the parasite, treatment can range from nothing to medication 2x/day for 5 days.
Despite it all, Elder Bronson remains happy. Like ALL American Elders, he has lost some weight. Many of our elders lose thirty pounds from the drastic change in lifestyle.......no fast food places, no open fridge, hours and hours of walking each day and daily sweating. I am constantly watching them and their weight, knowing that many will be thinner due to change in circumstances.
I spoke with Elder Bronson tonight. Again, he was happy and upbeat, and very polite. However, he states that he is not feeling better. And also that he is not eating very much because of the stomach pains. That said, we still need to get Elder Bronson to feel better. Dr Cragun suggested we send him to a trusted Gastrointerologist to determine the cause of his stomach and chest pains. We will be calling for an appointment with the specialist tomorrow, If not available tomorrow, then Friday.
I will let you know what I know, but please feel free to contact me at anytime. Please know that although not feeling terrific, Elder Bronson has a smile on his face when I see him. We will continue to do all we can to get Elder Bronson better, sometimes the test results just take a little while.
Sincerely,
Hermana Russell
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