Hello world!

THE BEGINNING: 05^th – 11^th FEBRUARY 2016

The sunrise of the 05^th of February 2016 was the catalyst for a series of events that threatened and failed to end my life but successfully altered its’ course forever…..by the end of the day my right ankle was swollen and painful, my head was throbbing and I was completely exhausted and unfocused. By the 08^th both ankles were swollen and painful, I had bruises on my legs, severe back pain, extreme fatigue and I was vomiting.

On the 09^th a trip to a medical centre was unavoidable, there I was diagnosed with The Chikungunya Virus, given intravenous (IV) fluids, pain and anti-nausea medication and sent home to rest. That seemed simple enough and having experienced the same illness in December 2014, I expected to feel better within 7-10 days.

Not so simple after all….by the evening of the 10^th my initial symptoms had worsen, I was experiencing numbness and a cold sensation in both hands and feet, my back pain was so excruciating I couldn’t sit, stand or walk unassisted and I had vomited so often that my throat and stomach muscles were sore. I did not sleep at all that night, the pain was unimaginable and I was in tears, now for someone who consider themselves to have a very high tolerance for pain that was major.

On the 11^th my intention was to revisit the medical centre and go to plan B (higher doses of all medications) but when I attempted to get out of bed, I collapsed. I remember being on my bedroom floor, I couldn’t feel my legs, my hands were so weak that I couldn’t push my body up, I was continuously dry heaving and completely panicked. Helplessness is an awful feeling….

I remained on the floor for the 30+ minutes that it took for help to arrive and even with help I still couldn’t stand. I returned to the medical centre, the doctors indicated that I was severely dehydrated and given my worsening symptoms I was referred to the hospital. No revised diagnosis was given but having not slept or eaten for several days, muscle fatigue and weakness were not inconceivable.

On the 11^th at 6:12 p.m., for only the second time in my entire life, I was admitted to hospital (the first time was the birth of my daughter). I have gone over this in my mind so many times, I often wonder what I would have said or done differently if I knew what was coming, the glory and agony of hindsight….

***Life goes by in the blink of an eye…appreciate the moments***