New Educational College - http://www.nec.ac.mu/portal
A DAY WHEN YOU WERE ILL
http://www.nec.ac.mu/portal/articles/101/1/A-DAY-WHEN-YOU-WERE-ILL/Page1.html
Beejadhur Sewumber
Born: Aug 21, 1949 Primary Ed. : 1962 Secondary Ed. : 1967 Univ. Ed.: 1978 Joined Nec Staff: 1979 
By Beejadhur Sewumber
Published on 10/2/2007
 

Last Monday, I woke up at dawn down with abdominal pain and with a feeling of nauseating and high temperature. I had to bunk school.

Despite some home remedies, like mint and cumin seed water, I continued to feel the urge to vomit and the pain grew worse. I had to rush to the toilet a few times. When Father said that it could be the symptoms of dysentery, Mother did not want to run the risk of trying with home medicine, so she immediately rang up Dr. Chan and got an appointment.

...A DAY WHEN YOU WERE ILL

While she was getting ready, I began retching intermittently. At one moment, I rushed to the basin and poured a green liquid. I also began to feel feeble. In  the doctor’s  waiting room, I was waiting for my turn, but when the other patients saw me teetering, they allowed me to go in. I was put on a wheeled stretcher and examined. Dr. Chan diagnosed intestinal infection, most probably viral attack. He injected me with a dose of antibiotics because oral medicine would be less effective as I was vomiting. Just then, I was again on the verge of vomiting, so the nurse took me to the basin. Then the doctor prescribed some medicine and recommended a special soup diet until I would recover.

 

As my mother and the nurse wheeled the stretcher out to the car, I murmured that fortunately I did not have dysentery. It was then I revealed to her that I had indeed taken a glass of tap water. After the previous day’s heavy rainfall, doctors had advised to boil water for consumption. Therefore, it could be waterborne viral attack. On our way, Father stopped the car beside a pharmacy and he bought the medicine.

 

Arriving home, I lay down on the sofa, still feeling faint, but a bit relieved of the pain and the feeling of nauseating. It was very painful when later I swallowed the soup Mother made especially for me. I faithfully followed the doctor’s orders and took the medicine as recommended. I also tried to keep calm and did justice to the newspapers. Then, as I lay still, I began to think of the day’s lesson, my classmates’ jokes and the talk on Global Warming that I missed.

 

By late evening, the sickening vomiting urge fully subsided. It would take days to fully recover, but feeling a little better than what it was in the morning was a real relief. I had a very sickening day.

 

423 words.