Chapter 324 - Find the Cure

It had been a week since they arrived in Tanzania. Deana and Gao Rou had traveled to the city where the Kimya disease was first named; the city of Mwanza.  

The doctors whom they spoke to said that although they named the disease, only a few affected individuals came to get treatment.

Most of those that were brought to their hospital was already on the far stage of the disease and all had died.

One doctor said, "the families of the victims told us that there were survivors in their towns, but because they never came to us, we never got to study them. Furthermore, our facility is not so fully equipped to do a full study."

In five years since the disease was named, they received only eight patients. All were women in their early thirties or forties. Five of them were single. Two were separated or their husbands have died while the other was married in her forties.

All women came from two very far towns in Tanzania, Lindi, and Tunduma.

"Two of the patients had relatives that could afford the immunoglobulin treatment. After the first dose, they live normally for a month or so, but eventually, the symptoms manifested again. They were infused again... Over and over but each time, the symptoms reappeared in a shorter time than the last. It was an unending cycle, and it still led to the death of the patients. The only good thing was the patients survived more than a year since their diagnosis," added the doctor.

Gao Rou and Deana reported to Darwin and Lu Fang each time they find something new, but so far, what was evident is that no one had taken the initiative of studying the disease further because of low fatality over five years.

Finding the towns alone was challenging enough. They had to hire a local to aid them. For their security, Gao Rou had brought with him two men that followed them around.

While riding a van to their next destination, Gao Rou studied carefully Deana in her rugged jeans and peach sweatshirt. She had her ash brown hair tied up into a bun and she wore dark shaded glasses all throughout. For the entire week, the only conversation they had was related to the work at hand, and nothing more. 

"How have you been, Deana?" Gao Rou asked, his eyes turned to her without hesitation. 

"I have been fine. Thank you," she said while folding her arms together. 

Gao Rou let out a heavy sigh before asking more, "Are you - Are you still mad at me?"

There was a moment of silence before Deana replied, "No. I understand. Mrs. Lu just pushed you towards me to begin with. I understand how you never loved me."

"I never said I did not love you - "

"You never said you did either," she interrupted him bluntly. "We don't need to talk about this Gao Rou. I'm okay with everything."

He watched her moved to the seat two rows behind him, making him give up on probing further. 

After two hours of being on the road, the guide informed them they have reached the first town, Tunduma. They headed straight to the local hospital where they can begin their thorough investigation. 

After speaking with the hospital administrator, that they had in fact sent three patients to Mwanza because their illness did not resolve on their own. 

"What do you mean by resolve on their own?" Asked Deana. 

"We only had six patients who had symptoms of the disease.  One of them just suddenly got better while she was in her home. The other one got better after going to Dar es Salaam's hospital. The other one died in our town," responded the woman. 

"Why was the patient in her home? Shouldn't the disease be treated in the hospital?" Gao Rou asked. 

"They receive rehydration treatment from us alone. Each time, the symptoms manifested, they come here to the hospital," explained the hospital administration. 

"Is it possible for us to speak to the patients that survived?" Deana asked. "We can offer them money, anything that would help us."

The woman was reluctant to give away the information, but after being given five thousand dollars, she happily handed the details. 

Thankfully, the first patient that survived did not live far from the hospital. Their guide found the home in no time, enabling them to interview the patient. 

They brought gifts from the main city and offered them as compensation for the family's time as well as two thousand dollars. They happily accepted and narrated how everything went. 

The former patient's name was Adila. She was now thirty five years old. She developed Kimya disease when she was thirty one years old. 

"We really thought, I was going to die. That time, my nose had already started to bleed, and I felt weak." She turned to her husband who was teary eyed with her narration. "I had came back from the hospital after my fourth rehydration and so we just waited. But… slowly, I felt better."

"You just miraculously got better?" Deana asked. 

Gao Rou had his legs crossed while sitting next to Deana. They were all in the living room, listening to Adila's story. 

"Yes, I just gradually got better. Then after having myself checked again, I found out that I was one month pregnant! It was a blessing altogether, being cured and having a child," said Adila. 

"You don't remember taking anything special?" Gao Rou probed further. 

"No, just water. Drinks with electrolytes. Of course, we tried almost all supplements that we could afford, but other than that, there was nothing else," Adila replied. 

"Could we have a list of supplements that you took, please? Adila," Deana requested. She then explained that her friend had developed the same disease, and that was the reason they were looking for a cure.  

Adila could not give any other information that was helpful to specifically determine the cure. The supplements were basic and for some, Andrea had already tried. The truth saddened Deana and Gao Rou. They both left Adila's house with a heavy heart. 

"Maybe the other patient was more observant and was able to identify what cured her. Let's go to the next," he said before caressing her back. 

They slowly walked back inside the van and head to a small hotel, which was the best in the town of Tunduma. While on the road, Deana said, "I am just very thankful for everything that Andrea did for our family, especially for Darwin." 

Looking to Gao Rou, she added, "I don't want to disappoint her. Will you accompany me until we find the answer? Until we find the cure?"

"Of course, Deana. That goes without saying, Andy is family to me."