I have a sick husband.
Monday morning after a long night's sleep of approx 11 hours hubby gets up feeling ok but the hint of a headache which could simply be from him having had a long sleep after such a short sleep the previous night between two flights on his way home to Northern Ireland from Azerbaijan.
He makes the usual breakfast of tea, toast and banana, sits down at the table, takes one bite and a sip of tea and suddenly pushes the chair back and says I feel awful. After taking an advil for his head and starting to feel shaky he heads back to bed. About half an hour later he feels extremely hot when I touch his forehead but he claims he is so so cold. He doesn't even want a drink or some paracetamol because he feels sick.
He just wants to lie flat in bed.
Later - No lunch.
The thought of food makes him feel sick and then he vomits and also has diarrhea.
By 2.00pm he has a temperature of 99.86 and then vomits again so I think the temperature will have gone down but no at 2.30pm it is 103.1.
We continue with paracetamol and frequent sips of water but there are several more bouts of this 'double sickness' with his temperature ranging from 101 to 103 all day long.
During the night we seldom get it below 102 and I stay awake checking him every half hour - I have never seen him so ill.
In the morning at 8am it is 103 again and I ring the doctor as soon as surgery is open.
By this time our children who are all in different parts of the world (keeping in touch with us via Kakaotalk) have discovered that Malaria is increasing again in Azerbaijan and that dad should get checked for that.
Now we live in a small town
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The view from our bedroom window |
and the doctors here probably do not have people ringing up often saying
"just back from a country that has a risk of Malaria and I've a temp of 103
with vomiting and diarrhea"
but trying to be calm our doctor checks his manual and yes he sees about malaria and Azerbaijan but the symptoms could also be for any infection so he can't prescribe until Fred gets blood tests etc. done.
So he has to get out of bed, washed, dressed, and I drive him to the surgery.
Doctor checks everything about him including his heart and sends him to the treatment room where at least he is allowed to be seen before the 15 or more people already sitting waiting.
During blood tests for a variety of things which they don't even name to him, they are not sure which type of container the blood for the malaria test should go into.
So here is the proof that in Banbridge, Northern Ireland
they don't take blood for Malaria testing
every day or week or year.
every day or week or year.
I am very tired by this stage but don't want to sleep because I still don't like the state of him even if the doctor said his temperature was normal. And it certainly doesn't stay normal as he goes through more bouts of this awful sickness through the day.
Later that evening Fred tells me they said the results of all the tests should be back by Friday morning - this was Tuesday. I am not too happy about this as he is so sick and weak and such a bad colour.
He wants to sleep and insists that I sleep during the night so I only check on him every 2 hours and sleep on the couch downstairs where I would hear him if he called. Temp is around 101 all night.
THEN
Doctor rings the house at 8.30am to ask how he is and is obviously concerned when he hears the vomiting and diarrhea is not any less frequent but still doesn't want to prescribe anything until the results are through which he hopes might be Thursday instead.
Then at 9.30am the temperature goes to 102 again followed by another bout of sickness.
2 more bouts later and then he asks me when I think he will be able to fly out to Morocco (which is his next business trip and he should have been leaving today) as he sits up in the bed to make a phone call to change his flight.
If that was me in the bed having gone through all of that there is no way I would be asking when I should fly out I would simply be saying I have to cancel that trip altogether.
Sometimes I am so proud of my husband and sometimes I just shake my head at him but on this occasion I didn't know which way to be.
Then at 4pm the doctor rings again - some results are back.
Not Malaria
It's Food Poisoning.
It's Food Poisoning.
Antibiotic to be collected and the Environmental Health authorities will be ringing us
because it is a notifiable illness.
because it is a notifiable illness.
Off I go to get the antibiotics and get the first dose into him.
A little later as I lie at the foot of the bed and he is sitting up for a few minutes.
He says
And I just smile as I think, yes I suppose it is,
but I had just done what he needed;
I didn't consider it a duty.
What do people do in these situations where for a few days or much longer, they are very ill and the doctors don't know what is wrong straight away?
How do they cope when they see temperatures that are high and their loved ones iller than they have ever been before?
I don't know.
I only know what we do.
We pray.
We pray because we trust God to hear us
and know he cares about us.
and know he cares about us.
We pray because there is no-one else who can do more for us than God can.
I hope you turn to God in all circumstances too.
I don't pray I would have called an ambulance if the doctors are too lazy to come to your home !! How can a half dead person be driven to a doctor ?? That's crazy ! Fortunately our doctor comes to our home even for less ! Food poisoning wakes everbody up but a Malaria attack is nothing. I can only shake my head and be happy that I live in Belgium :) !
ReplyDeleteAh the memories of Belgium and our doctors there. Well the doctor here wanted to get the right antibiotic and Fred has had it and then was changed to another one because of side effects from the first but he is up and about in the house now today and feeling so much better.
DeleteI'm so glad that they figured out the right diagnosis and it wasn't malaria. Prayer is the one tool that works not matter what the circumstances!
ReplyDeleteAmen Bettyl, thanks for dropping in.
DeleteHi Sandra, I am sorry to hear that your husband got food poisoning, I that about 2 months ago and sicker than ever, for 2 days same symptoms. Took me a week to recover, I dont know how he can think of travel. Be blessed. And thanks again for stopping by Weekends Are Fun.
ReplyDeleteBe well, Karren
Thank you Karren. Yes he is heading off tomorrow for Morocco fo 10 days, just out of bed yesterday after a relapse due to side effects from the first antibiotic but feeling really good today. It was a horrible time and I am so glad to see him happy and smiling again.
DeleteI hope and pray that your husband is feeling better and that the antibiotics will cure him.
ReplyDeleteAfter our wedding, my husband and I went to Hawaii for our honeymoon. The first day we arrived there, he collapsed and was bedridden the whole week. He couldn't work or even get out of the house for months (after we got back to USA). We quickly experienced/embraced our "in sickness and in health" part :). Thankfully, we have always found our hope, comfort, and strength in God.
Oh my that sounds horrible. We are very thankful that even though the first antibiotic had side effects the second one is working very well and he is up and about again today. One week compared to months yes in any length of time we are very thankful that God is our strength. Thanks for dropping in again.
DeleteThanks for stopping by - and have a good weekend!
ReplyDeleteGod can do more for us than anyone else!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting somuchathome.blogspot.com
God bless,
Chris
Nice to find your site Chris.
DeleteFound you on tuned in Thursday....I am an ER nurse, and found your story most interesting, and am so glad your husband is better.....High fevers can be very scary! I blog about my travels, and hope you will stop by for a visit. I recently posted about our cruise on the biggest cruise ship in the world.
ReplyDeletehttp://karanandmichael.blogspot.com/
Hi Karen, thank you for dropping in from Tuned in Thursday. I've added you to my circles.
DeleteThat is what sickness and health is about -- but you are right, when you love, you don't think of it that way. You just do. I hope you are all feeling better!!
ReplyDeleteExactly true Elizabeth and all well now. Thanks for dropping in.
DeleteUgh- food poisoning is the worst- you definitely feel like dying. You are such a great wife.
ReplyDeleteHello Camille nice to meet you. Thank you for the kind words of praise but I not a great wife at all. I was just so scared because I had never seen him so ill before.
DeleteI am glad he is better, and my first thought was perhaps he got some bad water - but food poisoning wow!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your awesome story with us here at “Tell Me a Story.” http://letmetelluastory.blogspot.com/
Boo to the food poisoning! Hope he is mending well.
ReplyDeleteYes He is thank you Laura.
DeleteSandra, what a beautiful post of love and commitment to your husband! Thank you for sharing it with us at Testimony Tuesday. I pray he is feeling better soon and that you get some rest!
ReplyDeleteThank you Holly, He is well again Praise the Lord.
DeleteOh, I was reading this with baited breath and I'm so glad it was "just" food poisoning. This is a wonderful message for me to take with me today. Thank you for linking up at Thank Goodness It's Thursday (Ruffles and Rain Boots). I look forward to reading more - and seeing where your husband's business trips take him. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah, thanks for dropping in. He's heading off to Morocco tomorrow for the second trip since the food poisoning episode. He says he thinks he might be getting a bit old for all this travelling now.
DeletePraying is where it is at! From our hearts to God and then trusting that He will provide all we need. I hope and pray your husband continues to get stronger and doesn't have any reoccurrences. Blessings, Mary
ReplyDeleteThank you Mary, yes he is greatly improved but still not back to normal completely but he has been told that it can take a few months sometimes to do that.
DeleteAround and about, obviously. AND things can change, here, there, or everywhere. When you brought up the malaria portion I shuddered. In April, '95, Dave and I ended up with malaria in Uganda. The Brit doctors there considered us on the low end, b/c we were taking the anti-malaria pills on a daily basis. So, compared to others, we supposedly weren't serious. However, both of us took about 2 months to be totally free. THEN, when I was in Soroti, Uganda, and under significant stress during the LRA invasion of a town the Lord sent me to to help a few months later, the stress broke through and I ended up with malaria again. I also ended up with PTS for months. OH, and when you mentioned Morocco, you grabbed me again. I was so blessed to be there for 3 weeks in April, '01, to be a prayer walker with hundreds. I truly hope your husband is filled with healing very quickly. BUT you certainly grabbed my attention!!! WOW! Want to know more about you sometime. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteDear Caryjo what wonderful experiences you must have had but yet what illness as well. Our friend is a missionary in Malawi and he has had Malaria several times and just this year his wife suffered an attack. These things can drain the body for months. We were grateful it was food poisoning and not Malaria. Fred is off to Morocco yet again tomorrow and still I can see he is not completely over his illness but is much better.
DeleteI'm so sorry your husband was so sick. That is scary. I have to say that when I read this line: "Sometimes I am so proud of my husband and sometimes I just shake my head at him but on this occasion I don't know which way to be." I laughed out loud. Perhaps our husbands are related! My husband recently had a stem-cell transplant to treat Multiple Myeloma. He ended up with an e-coli infection when his immunity was too low to fight it off. Ten days later after he was released from the hospital (only 6 days in hospital) and was meeting with the doctor to be released from "transplant care" his first words to the doctor were "How soon can I go back to work?" Praying he'll have rapid healing.
ReplyDeleteOh Nancy, sometimes they are unbelievable and make us worry about them. But what would we do without them. I just am not sure whether he should be doing so much travelling at the moment when he is not 100% better yet but then you know what these men are like.
DeleteFood poisoning is no fun. Glad your husband is feeling better. Six years ago after a surgery my body went into a shut down and I went from a very healthy and active 40 sometime to being in a wheelchair and hardly able to do normal tasks. At times it would be hard to lift a coffee cup. My husband took two months off to care for me and we went from doctor to doctor. It turned out to be adrenal failure, hypothyroid after a "simple goiter removal, and the surgery triggered an autoimmune attack on my body. I was diagnosed 3 years later with Primary Sjogren's Syndrome and Connective Tissue disease as well, but it took that long. My husband was amazing through it. Still is. God sends us angels in all forms.
ReplyDeleteDear Kim, 3 years is such a long time to not know what is wrong. We can be so thankful for our good relationships in these times.
DeleteSo scary! You are both fortunate to have each other, and to know a God who sees and cares!
ReplyDeleteToo true Sarah, thanks for dropping in.
DeleteAsking our Lord to heal your husband totally!~ Bless his heart. Hugs and blessings, Cindy
ReplyDeleteThank you Cindy, he is not 100% better yet and has been told that it may take a couple of months but he is greatly improved.
DeleteI've never had food poisoning but have heard it is horrible. I guess this proves that fact, huh? With chronic pain my husband has about worn out the "in sickness and in health" part of our vows. He'd declare it wasn't hard but there are days I'm sure it is. ~Pamela
ReplyDeleteThank God for good husbands and wives and the marriages God is a part of. Thanks for dropping in again Pamela
DeleteThanks for sharing, Sandra! I loved how you prayed for your husband through all this! I have a chronic illness and I think I try to do too much on my own strength instead of giving it to God and asking my husband and family to be praying for me too. Maybe because there is no cure, I don't think it is worth praying about it, but God shapes our hearts through prayer. I will probably do a post about it on my site, uncommongrace.net soon in the future! Found you through Thought Provoking Thursday!
ReplyDeleteNever give up on the praying, everything is worth praying about. Thanks for dropping in.
DeleteSo glad to hear your husband is on the mend. The reaction to the antibiotics can be equally scary. Thankfully, faith, hope and prayer are the pillars we can stand on when my loved ones are ill. Thanks for sharing at the #partyontheporch. Blessings, D
ReplyDeleteAmen D and thank you.
DeleteI am glad that it turned out to be nothing serious and that your husband is now better. Thank you for linking up to #thankfulthursday
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah, so glad for the right prognosis
Deleteso glad your husband is healing and getting the right treatments and sending lots of healing hugs to you both ~ wonderful post for I ~ thanks, ^_^
ReplyDeleteartmusedog and carol (A Creative Harbor)
Thank you Carol.
DeleteFood poisoning can be so miserable. I do hope he's feeling much better by now.
ReplyDeleteSomeone told us a few weeks ago that it took their son 3 months to get back to strength and we were amazed but it has been 2 months now for Fred and he still is not a 100% yet but he is so, so much better.
DeleteWhat a bout! Poor guy, food poisoning is awful...
ReplyDeleteIndeed, I never knew it could be so bad.
DeleteI'm so glad to hear he's on the mend. Malaria must have been frightening. My husband and I have talked so much about this subject lately. We've both had some long-term health issues and we often say that it's 'for better or worse' and somehow just having that support makes things better.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this story.
You are an inspiration!
Hugs and A+
Hi Jenny, yes the marriage vows are there for a good reason.
Delete