I don't think I've ever felt so ill before.
Things started out pretty mild -- slight lethargy with occasional throbbing headaches. I actually developed goosebumps even though I knew, logically, it wasn't even cold.
It got progressively worse after dinner. My body felt too heavy for me, and it seemed to demand rest even though I wasn't actually tired enough for it. My movements became sluggish and walking became lumbering. I took my temperature (after attempting to hunt down the school-issued thermometer and giving up, using instead the common thermometer at home) and discovered, much to my chagrin, that I had a mild case of fever.
37.8 degrees Celsius.
To most people that isn't very high. However, my body temperature hovers at around 36.7 (or lower) when I'm healthy, which makes 37.8 at least a whole degree higher. It definitely constituted a fever.
So I downed a Panadol tablet and went to sleep a couple of hours later at 21:00.
I woke up this morning at 06:40 feeling hot. For a moment I wondered if the temperature was suddenly cranked up all around the world because I don't remember feeling so warm in the mornings when it hasn't yet reached June or July. My head pounded and I could barely shuffle my way to wash up. My legs hardly held me up as I changed into my uniform.
When I went down to prepare to leave the house I felt light-headed and indescribably warm. Sweat was literally being secreted from all my pores. I think I asked if it was warm today, but I don't recall receiving a reply.
A wave of nausea overtook me and I stumbled into the nearest wash room before collapsing against a wall when my sight all but disappeared behind black. I realised that I had almost fainted. I've fainted before and I recognise it. It felt like my whole world was going out behind my eyes, like gravity simultaneously disappeared and reasserted itself ten times over.
Diarrhea followed, accompanied by the sensation of throwing up. I went through the motions of vomiting but I could expel nothing. It served only to choke me of air and make me feel terrible. I began burning up again. It was too hot, too stale, too uncomfortable. My stomach lurched and my head began throbbing again.
My mother came to check on me and decided that I shouldn't report to school today.
So I didn't. I passed time resting in a chair until 08:15, when my father drove me to see a general practitioner. I lay in the back-seats of the car with the buckles digging into my back. At that time, I was to exhausted and lethargic to bother about the discomfort.
I had begun to cool down. Things weren't so bad. It didn't feel too hot or too cold. I wasn't shivering or sweating, but I was feeling slightly sleepy and unsteady on my feet. The family clinic opened at 08:30, but it wasn't until 09:00 that we got to see the doctor.
In that 30-minute window I once more experienced vertigo and the impending urge to throw up, feeling weak and nauseous and decidedly uncomfortable during the wait. It got so bad that I had to lie down with my head on my father's lap because my head felt too heavy to hold up. I tried to vomit into a plastic bag but wasn't successful.
I was diagnosed with recent food poisoning since there was more throwing up urges than diarrhea. The doctor prescribed me activated carbon tablets and some liquid medicine (couldn't read his handwriting). I rested in the car again while my father drove me back.
Once home, I took the opportunity to fall asleep on the couch (my bedroom was on the third floor, and since I couldn't even walk, I settled for the sofa in the living room). It was about 09:45 when we got home.
I continued to sleep until 10:30, when my father had to leave for work. He informed me that he had made me some porridge (the watery kind with absolutely no flavour whatsoever), which I consumed when I awoke again at 11:30 (after downing my medication).
I used the computer until 14:30, after which I decided to take a rest. Once rested, I didn't really wake again until 21:30. It would be easier to count the hours I was awake than the hours I was asleep. I'm sure I slept for more than half a day -- I'm guessing somewhere around 14-15 hours, and it isn't even the end of the day yet.
Things are getting better. My mother also got me a new watch since the strap of my current (or previous, depending on how you see it) one was breaking apart. Yeah, the watch is that old. Actually, it's even older than you think, because I had the strap for that watch replaced before. In fact, I think I replaced the battery at least twice too. The watch wasn't being very reliable either. It stopped for 5 minutes a couple of days back.
I'm still having acute stomach pains (cramps, the doctor called it, and gave me a tablet for that during the consultation) and the occasional shooting head pains, but I think I should be viable for school tomorrow.
Temperature's a lot better now: 36.8 degrees Celsius.
