Gastroenteritis

Day 1 Thursday 


6:25: Woke up, got my kiddos ready for their triumphant last day of school. Took Cooper to school, went to the gym where I attempted to work out. Only 5 minutes into the stationary bike I couldn't figure out why I was so tired. I switched to weights and some light yoga. 


10:30 Arrived at the kids school, hung out for an hour and watch the end of school festivities.We drove back into town (school is 30 minutes out on the outskirts of Shanghai) and had lunch at Subway.


12:30 Arrived home, where I crawled into bed, feeling tired but still not knowing why. Lee called and we argued on the phone about the most trivial matter. I didn't realize until later that I was sick, which makes me cranky and unreasonable.


1:30: Crawled out of bed with chills and a fever. Insisted on getting everyone's opinion on whether or not I was hot. Crawled back into bed, insisting that even if they didn't think I had a fever, I knew I did! 


3:30: Woke up covered in sweat, ran to the bathroom. Hershey Squirts!!!!
The rest of day 1 was a big repeat of the last two time entries... You know how when you have a fever, everyone has to know you are sick and agree that you are burning up... Ok, maybe everyone isn't like that, maybe I am just a sucker for attention!


Day 2 Friday


8:30: Woke up thinking Thursday was just an off day. Breakfast went down ok, but didn't taste right...


9:30: Eve, Cooper and I met at Tracey Butters house. She was kind enough to go with us to the Children's Hospital to teach us how to navigate the maze of socialized medicine in China. Eve needs glasses, so we went to see the opthamalogist. I was very thankful for Tracey's help. She had to leave about halfway through, but we managed to figure it all out. 


11:00: Returned home, feeling tired and still not great. Hershey Squirts persisted. I was thankful when Ying showed up at noon to take over the shift. I spent the rest of the day in bed, painful gas, yucky fever, achy body. NOT GOOD!


Day 3 Saturday


Lee had to work. I was grumpy and still feeling awful. Diarrhea for 3 days in a row was getting old! Fever for three days, COME ON!!! I finally decided it was time to go to the doctor. I called the clinic and much to my dismay, found that Dr. Annie Jiao was the only doctor with available appointments. Surprise, surprise. Disappointed, I told the receptionist I would rather lay in my sick bed for one more day than waste a trip to the doctor if Annie Jiao was the only doctor available. Much to my surprise (Chinese don't do sarcasm) she actually laughed. Apparently I'm not the only one that thinks so highly of Dr. Jiao's abilities. 


11:00: I ordered pizza for lunch. There was no way I was spending a minute on food preparation. 


11:30: I called the doctor's office back, deciding that even Dr. Jiao was better than nothing. Happily, they had cancellations and I was able to see a better doctor. Lee came home from work to watch the kids and help at home. 


2:30: Dr. Sally Harris examined me, deciding on gastroenteritis as my affliction. She also told me I was dehydrated and told me to drink 3 bottles of Gatorade before going to bed that night. I returned home, feeling validated, with such a fancy name for my illness, I must need and deserve lots of sympathy, right? So, Lee asks "What exactly is gastroenteritis?"... not really knowing what my very serious and complicated diagnosis actually meant, I looked it up. Uuuummmmmmm "Stomach Flu" was my uncomplicated, very basic and not so serious sounding answer.Didn't make me feel any less pathetic, just less entitled! I sent my little errand girls to the corner store, which is only a few minutes walk from our house, for Gatorade.


5:00: Two bottles of Gatorade later, my dizziness was gone, my painful joints no longer hurt, the pain in my back had disappeared and I actually came downstairs to visit with my kids for the first time in three days. Why hadn't I thought of Gatorade as a solution to my problems? Dehydration? Are you kidding me? $.75 later (drinks are dirt cheap here) I was (comparatively speaking) feeling like a million bucks.


7:30: Lee came home from taking the kids out to their favorite restaurant and I was actually ready to spend time with my kiddos. Wohoo for me! :)


What have I learned? Diet Coke, although by best friend in almost any situation, is not a good companion when you are sick. Staying hydrated makes all the difference in the world. Now if I can just get rid of the runs! Ha!