Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Blaaaarrrrrhh

If you've been following my Twitter feed, you know I've been sick.  Tummy flu, or at least something with a powerful element of nausea.  I spent most of Sunday lying down, feeling exhausted, and then on Monday morning at 12:30 am, the event I had been dreading finally came to pass: I upchucked for the first time since 1997.  I guess it's like riding a bike; once you've done it once, you can go back to it at anytime without having practiced.  Although in most other ways, it's not much like riding a bike at all.

The worst part wasn't the actual barfing, although that was unpleasant.  The worst part was the horrible, unrelenting dizziness that had the whole room spinning around me  if I so much as moved my head an inch in any direction.  For four long hours, I stayed as still as possible, fearing that if I stood up I would pass out and break my face on the floor.  I would have about five minutes break from the dizziness right after each barf attack, and then it was back into a nightmare of vertigo.  It was a long, long night.

My loving husband kept a vigil with me, bringing me chamomile tea (which I promptly upchucked) and other necessities.  Around 4:00 am when he started nodding off, I encouraged him to go to bed, seeing as I was starting to feel marginally better.  Instead, he rolled himself up in his duvet on the floor next to me, preferring to stay close in case I needed him.  I can't tell you how grateful I was to have him there.  I can't imagine anything lonelier than having to weather a stomach flu without anyone there to help.

The next morning, my body was still keyed up on adrenaline, and I knew I had a brief window of energy to fetch supplies for my recuperation.  I grabbed my granny buggy and took a walk to the supermarket, where I bought a selection of baby food in jars, plain cereal, plain crackers, and juice.  That's been my lot ever since.

I'm on the mend, but I've a ways to go yet before I'm well.  I'm exhausted, and still a bit feverish.  And that is my sad story for today.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, I'm sick too.

No puking though.

And you're trying to pass off some claim of not vomiting in 13 years. I call shenanigans on that!

Warped Mind of Ron said...

Puking is the worst.... well the pre-puking feeling where you're trying to figure out if you will actually puke or not is the worst. Hope you are feeling better.

DarcKnyt said...

Sick is NO FUN.

Hope you recover fully and soon. I'll say a prayer for you.

DarcsFalcon said...

Oh no! I'm sorry you're sick sweetie. I'll say a prayer you get better soon. I read on another blog that there's a nasty stomach thing racing around Chicagoland, so maybe it headed up there too.

Also good for upset tummies are ginger-ale, bananas, and hard peppermint candies. Not all together of course. ;)

Lynn said...

Hope you feel better. SR.

Sparkling Red said...

wigsf3: OK, well, it may have been as late as 1999. But I swear, it's been at least 11 years since I last tossed my cookies. I remember that I was living in the basement apartment on Markdale Ave. with my now-ex-husband. I puked all of one night, and then he puked all the next. It was unforgettable.

Ron: Thanks. I am feeling better now in that there has been no more hurling, but I'm definitely still under the thumb of this flu.

DarcKnyt: Thank you! I can use all the help that I can get.

DarcsFalcon: I am relying on dry Life cereal and lychee juice. Maybe a little unconventional, but it's helping.

Lynn: Thank you! :-)

Kate said...

I hate puking. About six months after I got sober, I got the stomach flu. I distinctly remember laying on the floor in the bathroom with my cheek on the cold tile whining that this wasn't supposed to happen anymore...

Get better.

Karen said...

Feel better!

LL Cool Joe said...

Yes I wouldn't want to be really ill on my own. Good for Ken.

I hope you feel much better soon. Poor you, it sounded really horrid.

Just Plain Tired said...

Here's hoping you feel much better by now. My blog hopping has suffered the past couple of days. Sounds like you married a great guy too!