Adventures in Food Poison

Well, it has almost been a complete cycle of Tuesday to Tuesday.  I briefly considered not making an entry tonight, just to make it a true seven day cycle since the last time I wrote an entry here.  It has been a hell of a seven days, to put it lightly - I am counting Tuesday in those seven days.  So, let me start at the beginning - last Tuesday Evening.

Tuesday Evening - on the way home from work I stopped at Pizza Chicago in Sunnyvale for a pizza.  I carried it home and settled down to dinner.  It was quite tasty. (Sound ominous music here...)

Tuesday, Near Midnight - I wake up.  I enter the bathroom. I begin the first hour of what will be a twelve hour sage of violent food poison.  Of "fire at both ends" food poisoning.  Of "Oh my god when will it stop" food poisoning.  Of "The Power of Christ Compels You!" food poisoning.  (That is a reference to movie the Exorcist, for those of you who may not have caught either the movie or the reference.)  I do not sleep.  I twist.  I turn.  I dash to the bathroom.  I dehydrate. I drink water.  It does not stay in.

Wednesday Morning - I manage to get an email off to work. I remain violent ill until approximately noon, when the last of acute food poisoning seems to pass, leaving me dehydrated and exhausted in bed.  I do manage to hold down ice water.  I sleep, fitfully, through the afternoon - the food poisoning continues, though not as acute. 

Wednesday Evening - I manage to get down and retain about half a cup of chicken broth.  Water is staying in.  The broth stays in.  I sleep, exhausted and fitfully through the night.

Thursday Morning - I wake and though exhausted, I feel better.  I squeeze in a bowl of oatmeal and then head into the office - I have things that need to be done.  I even manage to get a couple of productive meetings in, get a spot of work down, and then realize that exhaustion is dangerously close to overtaking me.  I have my weekly one on one and yearly review with my boss (I'll rant about that later, at the time, I was pleasant and exhausted and simply lacked the energy to raise the proper amount of professional hell).  I go home about noon, take a shower, and crawl back into bed. I wake in the evening and have an easy dinner with Tony - about half a ham and cheese sandwich and a few spoons of potatoes.  I go home.  I shower.  I sleep - my stomach rumbles, a few trips to the bathroom, but no vomiting.

Friday - I wake up and head to airport.  I board a flight to Portland.  I feel better, but exhausted.  My stomach grumbles and rumbles and I sit close to the bathroom on the flight, but I make it.  I am functionally but generally queasy.  We check into the Red Lion Inn near the convention center in Portland, pick up our badges to the Portland Comic Con, then head SOUTH to Lafayette, OR to visit very dear friends James and Jo (and Logan and Cameron).  I would describe myself as functional, queasy, and exhausted.  The visit is great. 

An Ancient Wisdom Cure for Food Poisoning:  Jo and James recommend something that was recommended to them by his mother and that, they attest, works.  Did a cup of water with a tablespoon of vinegar.  I trust them. I do.  (I also knock down some Imodium AD earlier in the day.)  It works. I recommend it.  Even if it tastes like you're drink warm watered down ranch dressing.  Tony comments that I seemed to recover some vim and vigor within an hour and I would agree with that.  I eat a small portion of Jo's excellent beef stroganof.

Friday Night - for the first time since Tuesday evening I lay down to sleep without the outer symptoms of food poisoning.  I pass thunderous gas in the middle of the night - but that is it.  I sleep ten hours. Deeply, soundly.  I am not out of the woods yet, but they are thinning.

Saturday - we all go to Portland Comic Con.  About 1:00 I am hit with cold sweat and feel - exhausted.  I go back to the motel, drink six glasses of water and get an hour nap, then we go to a late lunch, early dinner - I opt for French Onion Soup and a mixed green salad.  It goes in and stays in. We enjoy the Con.  Tony goes off to visit his relatives, James and Jo head to Lafayette, and I go back to the hotel and watch nap, drink water, and watch "Van Helsing".  I sleep.

Sunday - we wake, have a decent breakfast as the Red Lion Inn's cafe, then drive up to Lafayette and spent a few more hours with James and Jo and Logan at an excellent Mexican restaurant. We drive back to Portland and visit Tony's relatives.  They have pizza.  I pass. (LOL - I drink coffee and visit, like Tony, they are great people).  We scoot over to the Portland airport and by 10:00 PM I am home in bed in California.  I sleep fitfully, but I am no longer sick.

Monday - breakfast at Goodies, a lazy day catching up on DVR and power napping, dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, a continued lazy evening watching DVR, a call to my step dad (more on that later) and now, here, this moment.

My generally response to the whole cascade of events - holy crap, I need to rest.  For a week.  Off the grid. Off the map.