The "Beijing Bug"

Jen sent me a text message while I was teaching on Wednesday that she was going to go to the hospital. Howard was going to pick her up and take her around 5pm. My class ended at 4:40, so I ran across campus to Jen's room and went with her and Howard to the campus infirmary.

She had been feeling ill for quite a few days and was getting worse. Her temperature had started to rise and so did our concern for her well-being. We finally found the doctor across campus at an annexed building. After taking Jen's temperature she prescribed some Thera-Flu-like tablets and instructed her to drink hot water.

After a cold shower, some tea, ibprofen, and plenty of liquids, Jen seemed to be over the worst of her sickness.

That night, I fell asleep while watching some television on my laptop. I woke up at about midnight. For the next 8 hours, I couldn't keep a single thing down. I won't go into the gory details, but I felt like my stomach was trying to escape through my mouth.

I was scheduled to teach that morning at 8am. I text messaged and emailed my monitors and Professor Zhang informing them that I would not be able to teach - I was extremely ill.

The next few hours were full of emails, text messages, phone calls, and knocks on my door from concerned students. I really just wanted to be left alone, but I don't think they do that in China.

My students tried to take me to the hospital on many occasions. I told them that I think I just had a bad bout of food poisoning and that I'd be okay. They insisted that I went with them. I resisted and laid motionless on my bed.

My phone rang. It was Professor Zhang. "I just got off of the phone with Grace. We want to take you to the hospital."

"No. no. I'll be okay. I think it's food poisoning."

"They'll give you an IV."

"If I don't get better within the next hour, I'll call you and we'll go to the hospital."

At this point, I was feeling truly awful and my temperature started to rise.

The hospital started to seem like a good idea. "What if it wasn't food poisoning?" I thought.

I heard another knock at my door. Professor Zhang and one of my students were standing there with two very large bags of fruit. "Here. Eat these. They'll make you better."

I was astonished that my advisor - a world renowned economist - was standing at my doorway with a bag full of bananas.

I slept for hours and was able to keep some water down. Jen made some noodles for us.

Like the blind leading the blind....

Howard knocked on Jen's door at about 2pm with another bag full of fruit. I was looking forward to some ancient Chinese remedies or some sort of magical healer. Instead, we got bags and bags of fruit.

Right now I'm feeling much better. Jen is a little better, but is still battling a fever. I haven't eaten much. Just noodles. I feel weak. My lungs are sore - much like the feeling of exhaustion after having an asthma attack. I feel like I have pulled muscles in my chest and sides. I walked a few blocks to the grocery store this afternoon to buy some bread and had to stop on my way to catch my breath. I am completely exhausted, but I am confident that I am over the worst of this.

Post Script:

Here is a picture of a very very sick Abbie. Jen thought that my "sick hair" looked hilarious. Enjoy.