Illnesses should not become part of our lives and treated as normal aspects.  Death is a culmination of these factors, and we can avoid them.

MARCH 4, 2012: Stomach virus woke me up in the middle the night at 5AM. I felt a strange fullness in my stomach, one that prevented me from getting any sleep and only led me to attempt to vomit-it-up and find some comfort in the fetal position. By 8AM the strange feeling of fullness dissipated, but I was still overly tired, likely from the war my body waged against the virus.

Around 10AM I prepared my usual breakfast, but only ate a small portion of it (orange, ginger, garlic, turmeric, and water) because I lacked any desire to eat at that point. About 30 minutes later I felt much better, but still tired due to the war and the lack of sleep that night. I spent most of the day on bed rest, ate smaller meals than usual, and fought my dehydration with plenty of water.

Possible Contributing Factors:

  1. My family had a more potent form the cold about a week prior to this.
    • This one skipped over me, as they usually do.
  2. My father had fallen ill with the stomach virus a few days before I had.
  3. I received immunizations for my recent acceptance of employment on 02/29/2012. (PPD & Tetanus…I waved off the flu-shot).

My last stomach virus was when I was a freshman in college, a little over four years to the date. At the time, as prompted by my roommate, I pepto-bismoled it, hence the color of my vomitus. What struck me as odd with this virus was my inability to throw-it-up. I tried and was completely unable. I knew the feeling of having to throw-up from past experiences and although this was a feeling I was unfamiliar with, it was still blatantly obvious that something was in me that had to come out.

I found it remarkable that I was able to drink fluids during that three-hour timeframe and afterwards with ease, a feat I could never have achieved in the past. Unlike my father or my younger brother, who contracted it just yesterday, who could not tolerate any foods or liquids without an intimate trip to the toilet, the virus seemed to come and go within a few short hours leaving me tired for a day and a bit dehydrated. My mother has not been affected by this virus.

PREVIOUS:

JUNE 23, 2011: I had a fever that night and went to sleep early.  No medications were taken and I woke up eight hours later feeling fine and continued on with my life.

TWO YEARS AGO (unsure of exact date): Before this most recent illness, I did not get sick for a span of two years.  No colds, no sore throats, no stomach viruses, no etc…