Beware of Stomach Viruses

What more is there to say on the subject?  Beware.  Wash your hands constantly.  Be ever vigilant or you will end up like me the last few days.  However, believe me I am a hand washer and I use hand sanitizer all day long at work but after this bout of stomach issues I think I will have to cross over to the land of the germaphobes.  Think back to the worst hangover you have ever had.  Add to that flu symptoms and diarrhea.  Then my friends you will know what I have felt like since Monday.  It began as just a "not quite normal" feeling and then progressed to what I thought was indigestion or heart burn.  However, the Tums didn't help and about 45 minutes later the first of what would be an unimaginable number of frequent (i.e. about every 5-10 minutes) trips to the bathroom to throw up.  Other things occurred but let's just say in order for there not to have been any clean up issues, I would have had to have two toilets right next to each other.  I hope you have the picture and I won't elaborate any further.  Of course after a while there just isn't anything to come up but yet the body still makes you want to.  I now know I have abdominal muscles underneath my flabby belly as it hurts to cough or sneeze at this point from the cramping and spasms of Monday and Tuesday.  I also had fever and chills.  My feet have never felt so cold even though I had on two pair of socks, was under a flannel sheet, thick comforter and a quilt folded over twice over the lower half of my body.  This also meant I couldn't sleep.  After 8 hours of tossing around in the bed on Monday evening and night (when I wasn't in the bathroom) I came downstairs to the family room and layed on the couch (when I wasn't in the bathroom).  The couch was home from 2am until 7:30pm on Tuesday.  First on one end and then the other.  Laying down, sitting up, half sitting up.  Any and all positions.  Jill came over in the afternoon and brought me some fruit punch Gatorade and some mini saltine crackers.  That was my in-take for Tuesday.  One 12 oz bottle of Gatorade and 7 mini saltines.  But at least it stayed down last night.  By 8 pm I was back up in bed after taking two sleeping pills and my sinus medication.  But I slept.  I didn't regain consciousness until just before 6am this morning.  When I woke up, I felt good.  As the day wore on I slowly began to wear down but I did drink two more 12 oz bottles of Gatorade,  ate at least 20 mini saltines and had chicken soup for lunch.  Dinner was soup again, more saltines but this time with a little peanut butter on them.  The best part, it has all stayed with me and tonight, although tired, I feel almost, well maybe that's pushing it, maybe partly semi normal.  I think sleep tonight and then REAL FOOD tomorrow will put me fully in recovered mode.

I had a wonderful Easter weekend though.  After the services on Sunday (which by the way I'm convinced is where I got the bug via the offering plate since I was ushering) I went over to the Sullivan's for lunch and then to the Minnick's for dinner.  I had a great time with both families and am most grateful to them for including me in their Easter festivities.

Thank you to every one who continues to remember me in their thoughts and prayers.  I am a very blessed person to have so many people who care about me.