WAXAHACHIE, Texas — All Erica Brown wants to do is bring her sick father home to North Texas.
“I feel helpless that I can’t help my dad,” Brown said. “And he was someone who helped me my whole life. And I can’t help him now.”
Brown is a third-grade teacher at Wedgeworth Elementary in Waxahachie.
Her father, Mike Wilson, 71, retired in 2011. He decided to split his time between Brown’s North Texas home and Panama.
Shortly after Wilson arrived at his Panama home in October 2019, Brown said he was diagnosed with dengue.
Dengue, or dengue fever, is a mosquito-borne illness common in Central and South American countries.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas saw at least 59 reported dengue cases in 2019.
Symptoms of dengue can include fever, stomach pain, vomiting, and the potential risk of severe internal bleeding.
According to the CDC, there’s no treatment.
“His condition just got worse,” Brown said. “As the days went on, he became really disoriented.”
Brown has been communicating with her father through the popular app, “WhatsApp.” But she noticed his text messages started including random letters and weren’t making any sense.
Wilson was re-admitted to the hospital on Dec. 27. Brown told WFAA she’s only been able to speak to a doctor once.
Brown said she also contacted the U.S. Embassy in Panama but is struggling to get answers.
The mother of three doesn’t have a passport so she applied for an emergency passport, which requires “proof of the life-or-death emergency.”
A signed letter from the hospital constitutes proof. But Brown said no one at the hospital will call her back.
The last time she talked to Wilson was Friday. Right now, she’s unsure of his current condition.
“Maybe somebody will see this (story) and say, ‘Oh my goodness, I know exactly what to do. I know exactly how to help you,’” Brown said.