Down & Out, Up & About

48 hours ago, my body did a total shut down on me. I had diarrhoea (at least 5 times that evening), excruciating cramp-like pain in the tummy and dizziness. I had to lie in bed to alleviate the pain. I was on liquids that afternoon and by evening, it got worse with fever and nausea. Family offered to send me to the doc's but I couldn't move a leg (kua-zhang :P). I took a couple of tablets for gastric and panadol in self-administered medication and survived on milo for the rest of the night.

The next day I felt better, thank God, so I could go to school. By 8.30 am, however, I couldn't stand the pain in the stomach anymore, so I asked the clerk for a panadol. He had a better idea and offered me this.

Well, it did the trick for a couple of hours and I was able to do some highly energetic work like laughing at colleagues' jokes, planning for after holiday's activities and searching for documents required by the boss. I still couldn't take much solid food coz I could feel the food sticking out against the lining of my poor stomach after I swallowed. Although my mom made a wonderful lunch of fried chicken and mixed vegetables, I could only take a piece of chicken, a spoonful of veges, a spoonful of rice and a small bowl of winter melon soup.

Dinner was as much a quantity as lunch. Family got me these medicine from the pharmacy. The pink and blue ones look attractive so I gladly take them. Hehe... nay, they are for the stomachache which is still bothering me till today. When it attacks, the pain is so bad I had to cower and grimace in pain.

The others are for diarrhoea which I have already recovered from. So, these will stay in the medicine chest till someone needs it next time.

Well, you may wonder why I didn't go to the doctor's. Tell me who likes to make a visit to a doctor's. I avoid them if I could. Only 2 weeks ago, I visited a doctor whose clinic is opposite the latest hotel in town (from a friend's recommendation). I only went the next day coz the swelling became worse after a bee sting. The receptionist looked like some cleaner lady in white who doubled as the nurse-in-attendance. The air-conditioning in the patients' waiting room rumbled in full blast, which made me think it was trying to blow away any bacteria lingering around, if that's possible. There was an occasional cough from the patient nearby which prompted me to hold my breath. I couldn't afford any additional virus as the poison in me could be enough to intoxicate me, make my nervous system dysfunction and stop the pumping of my heart.

When it was my turn, the nurse called my Chinese name as my Christian name probably sounded French and was unpronounceable. As I entered, my eyes caught sight of a teenaged girl sitting opposite the doc. Isn't this a private consultation? Oh well, being a diplomatic person, I thought.. Maybe the girl's doing a project, interviewing the doc or maybe she's his daughter and she's learning the trade from her dad. I didn't bother to ask. My problem was not VD so it didn't matter who knew about it. I just wanted to get the medicine and hotfoot it.

The doc was meticulous. Imagine the doc asking you to breathe in and out like in 1 second, meaning you have to inhale all that oxygen your lungs are capable of in 0.5 second and exhale the same amount in the same duration while he sticks his stethoscope all over your back and some parts in front? Have you wondered why most docs have cold hands? And they look so serious it makes you wonder if you've contracted some terminal diseases. After the detailed examination, the doc mentioned that if I encountered breathing difficulties as some people do from bee stings, I'd have to check in again. He also said that due to my ultra-sensitive skin, the swelling had become worse. I thanked the doc, waited for the medicine, paid up and scoot. Now, you know why the clinic is the last place I'd want to be.