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“I was forced to bury my dream of becoming a doctor because the savings that were supposed to be for college were used to pay for my medical expenses. Bank loans also became something that had to be taken. I felt very burdened, my mother often lost focus and cried thinking about my condition and the cost of treatment. I often apologized to my mother for making her sad and having difficulty, I hope I can get better soon.” -Afifah-
Let me introduce myself, I am Afifah (16 years old), I want to share a story about my experience of being misdiagnosed with a disease. Initially, I had a bad cough that would not go away and I reported this to my teacher, because I lived in a school dormitory. The teacher gave me medicine, but my cough did not get better even though it had been going on for a month.
Then, a terrible incident happened when my cough started to produce blood. When examined at the hospital, the doctor diagnosed me with symptoms of Tuberculosis (TB). I felt confused because the doctor immediately gave me a lot of medicine without doing a thorough examination.
My cough did subside, but then my body often experienced excessive sweating and significant weight loss. I felt uncomfortable and went back to the doctor, but he said that these changes were due to the effects of the medication. Some time later, my hair started to fall out, my chest hurt, and I often had headaches.
When I went back for a check-up, the doctor who heard my complaint asked me to undergo a heart test. The results shocked me, I was diagnosed with heart disease and the doctor apologized because the hospital could not handle my condition. My heart was broken, my lungs turned out to be in good condition, but months of treatment felt in vain because my illness was much worse.
I was referred for further treatment in Jakarta. Since then, my condition has become easily tired, excessive sweating, difficulty sleeping, often feeling pale, experiencing chest pain, and high fever that comes suddenly to tremors. I have not had surgery, only routine check-ups and taking medication.
I have to go back and forth from Aceh to Jakarta for routine check-ups, and the costs are very high. My father works as a fisherman with an income of only 100 thousand rupiah per month. Meanwhile, my mother earns extra money by selling ice pops and cooking for other people to pay for my treatment. I still need funds for transportation to the hospital, medicines not covered by BPJS, and other needs.
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