Warning re: today’s update from me – body fluids alert. Consider yourself sufficiently warned...

So much for the fresh undies... I’ve had a night from hell.

After eating another flash lunch with the MD of a big firm yesterday, I began to feel “off” in the afternoon while still having meetings. Several trips to the bathroom ensued and I let Ahmed know I needed to get home. The company found me some appropriate medicine and I made it home to the guest house ok. But more was yet to come...

All got worse and worse towards and over night. There were multiple toilet trips with stools becoming more and more awful. I was so tired and sick I just fell into bed upon arriving home and sort-of slept. Completely missed dinner, it sat there at “my table” lonely and untouched until at some point after 9pm it was tidied away.

As the hours wore on I stumbled many more times to and from the communal bathroom. I gave up trying to cover myself “appropriately” and just went to and from in my above knee nightie. Too hard and hot to dress more conservatively. I found myself feeling grumpy about the burden of responsibility, for what men experience of women's bodies, being on the women to dress conservatively, rather than on the men to not look and/or control their urges. (I do understand that it’s likely WAY more complex than that. I just focused on that negative viewpoint while in my time of tummy-terror. Stuff them all!!!)

At 1am I nearly passed out while on the loo, while also wondering whether I was going to vomit on the floor while I was overcome with diarrhoea.

----I so love how my Aunty (who teaches English As a Second Language) years ago taught me to spell diarrhoea like this: “Drop It And Run, Run Hard Or Else Accident” – it really works, you’ll never spell it wrong again, and boy is it accurate!

My head in a swirling heat haze, my vision closing in, body barely able to hold itself upright, I realised I was probably severely dehydrated. I managed to clean myself up and not vomit, and slowly navigated my swaying, nearly blacking-out body back to my room. On the way one time I spotted a lone and unopened bottle of water - 🙏🏼Allah🙏🏼 again, Alhamdulillah, as I was so very thirsty, was all out of bottled water and I cannot just go to the tap when I want to drink. I don’t know whether it was planted there by angels or I just hadn’t seen it the whole time, but boy was I grateful! I managed to make some more electrolytes from the “Gastro kit” I had bought for my Rwanda “Women Deliver” trip last year, and thankfully not required.

Later I had to waken the guest house helper guy, Firoz, and ask for more water - “I need two”, I slurred. I’m sure I was looking quite the sight. I made my last two electrolyte drinks and sipped them through the rest of the night in between bathroom visits and snatches of sleep. Morning came and I still felt terrible. Add my neck/shoulder/back nerve pinch pain and I reckon I’d been pretty much at my lowest point ever 😔.

Auē! Oh and in the morning I had to strip my bed as some sneaky sneaks leaked out and soiled the sheet and mattress. I clumsily cleaned the mattress using the sheet, a little of my precious water and antibacterial hand cleaner as best I could. Rather embarrassing. That’s life, huh?