Looking Fevered

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I am fevered
The steam rises as I desiccate
Dry bones bone dry
Sweat flies ashen flakes
The fire rages body burns
Purified I muse
Reality is a charred mind
Brain fried crispy
Don’t breathe on me
Or I will fly apart
Blowing dust from an old book

I sleep feverish
Hover between life and death
Silkworm cocoon burns

The fire extinguished
Soaking wet embers
Waiting to reignite
There is nothing left
The fuel is sodden
Spider web mind remnants
Life less the baggage
Lighter freer unmoored
I can fly but no longer run
This story has no last chapter
Breezes blow me away

I claw at the sky
My thoughts rise up incense prayers
Death holds no fear

So here is a little amalgam of free verse and zappai to commemorate my horrific bout with an evil intestinal virus. It was at first assumed to be food poisoning. But food poisoning goes away after 24 – 48 hours. This nastiness lingered Friday into Saturday, Saturday slid to Monday. I thought that like the unfortunate Officer Kane in the original Alien movie, that I too was going to have something burst from me. I was in misery. A call to the doctor’s office netted me an appointment on Friday – a full 7 days since the beginning of my ordeal. I managed to stay hydrated, kept my appointment, and I didn’t die. Seems it is a virus but not THAT virus. (I can honestly say I loathe viruses.) Nothing that can be done but treat the symptoms. So I had been on the BRAT diet for 3 days prior to the doctor’s appointment. BRAT is Banana, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast. Dry toast never tasted so good. Anyway, after another week I was able to add in a few bland foods gradually and after another week I’m back to normal (except that eating plain rice will not happen for a long long time)!

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68 thoughts on “Looking Fevered”

    1. Hi Patti – yes it was nasty. I was so hungry but also afraid to eat anything! The BRAT diet helped but you just can’t eat in quantity. I eventually graduated to real food and have had no set backs! I’m just glad no one else came down with this virus! Sparky would not have been a good patient!

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  4. That sounds so gawd awful! Good to know you are feeling better, Val. I agree with you…I now hate all viruses!!
    By the way, loved your poetic telling of your condition.
    Take care. Get better soon.

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    1. Haha! Exactly Michel (and thanks for the well wishes)! Those enteroviruses are nasty actors! Though to be fair the Echovirus is usually only causing havoc in newborns. Adults who get it never even know! I’ve recovered and I’m back to normal. We had rice the other evening with dinner and I only ate a very small amount – I’ve already eaten my quota for the next several months!

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    1. Thanks Dodi! I was never a big fan of rice and I really prefer my toast with jam or ham! So I forced myself to eat it and amazingly the toast plain was very good! But I was so hungry and probably would have eaten whatever the doctor told me… I like applesauce and bananas so that was a help. (And toast dipped in applesauce isn’t bad except for the crumbs it leaves behind!)

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    1. Thanks Mouse! I’m very happy to have survived as well. Though I have to admit to a short period of time when I thought death looked more attractive than life… But I’m stubborn and tenacious and I was not going to let the virus win!

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  8. I feel your pain, or at least, I did. I had salmonella once. (Once sort of implies it wasn’t as horrific as, say, having the flu repeatedly–that would be horribly inaccurate. Once was enough.) I had symptoms that lasted about ten days–the less said about them the better. But I was very grateful that my tendency to stock toilet paper to the rafters finally came in handy. I hope you are on the mend soon!

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    1. Thanks Martha! I AM better. Though I took the curry off the menu for the time being… And there are actually some viruses that are useful! (they don’t cause disease but are able to deliver their contents into a cell – think gene therapy!)

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  12. sounds absolutely ghastly! That must have been the period where I commented that you were quieter than usual, now I know why 😦

    So very glad you’ve had a complete recovery with no side effects.

    Any theory why these nasty viruses are circulating? My bestie in lockdown in Sydney for months should have gone to hospital for hers but she was more scared of catching covid there. She had told me of incredible cramping and not being able to eat even plain toast for nearly a fortnight. Then I said “at least you had your ‘tea'”, she drinks pots a day … then she said she couldn’t even drink. Now that is seriously ill in my book! And she has no excess weight to buffer a sudden enforced diet.

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    1. I was rather “subdued” for a week or so. But even so practically the only thing I had energy to do was read posts on WP. I have no idea why the viruses have become so bothersome but my theory is that we have been isolating and have lost some of our natural immunity… I’m sorry to hear that your friend had a very similar bout of illness. I could drink water with electrolytes and I managed to stay hydrated. I wouldn’t wish that particular virus on my worst enemy!

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        1. Right now no one wants to go there – they are over worked with the unvaccinated sick and beds are at a premium. I went to my doctor and avoided hospitalization! But I did feel awful, not going to lie, there were moments when I thought that I needed some nursing assistance. I’m sure your friend was probably very lucky! I at least could drink liquids and manage a little toast…

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            1. Gah! Does that coronavirus ever take a rest?! Usually it is Sparky mutating a common cold virus into something evil… he doesn’t need any “help” from corona!! (but you know I’m not all that surprised).

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  13. Don’t you wonder how you managed to contract a virus when being so careful not to catch Covid? I suffered a milder version of what you describe, diarrhea for ten days but little cramping etc. I blamed it on the dead animal flesh I’d eaten but my doctor poo pooed that theory. Life is way too precious to waste even one day being sick! Glad you toughed it out.

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    1. I’m not sure how the virus slipped past my defenses. I have been an obsessive hand washer and mask wearer (and I’m still doing it) but Sparky works at the public library… I suspect he brought it home and exposed me. He was very solicitous while I was sick. Though he did bring the heavy duty air freshener up to the master bath… I’m glad you survived your “bug”. Let’s hope it has disappeared and will not make a return visit!

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    1. I’m all better now. I wasn’t doing much writing while I was sick but I had some posts as a “buffer” and those went up. I’m back to normal and feeling very much relieved to have survived. You would have thought that as sick as I was that I’d have lost tons of weight, but no not all that much… But I’m alive and that counts for a lot!

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    1. Hehe! Thanks for the hugs! I hope so too but if I had to choose between COVID and the intestinal virus I think I’d take the intestinal one! (with my luck I’d need a respirator and not have one available!)

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  18. As always we go to the doctor when we are almost healed !!!! I read this post after the latest one. So I see you are well healed since you have composed an ode to the food, Val ! 🙂
    Love ❤
    Michel

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    1. Me too. Because there was a sudden uptick in COVID cases the office was very busy. I’m sort of glad I had to wait as initially I don’t think I could have waited in the office without multiple trips to the bathroom!

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