I have been awfully quiet. I know. It had been the worst New Year. The worst start! A bloody start literally as well. My blood had been sucked by a mosquito. An Aedes mosquito no less. Yup, I contracted the Dengue! *Horrors
So what happened was that we were in Malaysia visiting a farm on our last day of our trip. I had to make that happen even though we were running out of time. Big mistake! Despite applying repellent, Small K and I were bitten. Thankfully he is fine. We furiously applied more after being bitten. That happened on 23rd December 2016. The week passed and I was planning our New Year's Eve party. Days prior to NYE I even met up with some of my favourite blogger mommies for brunch. A day passed and I was fine. The next day, it was 360 degrees change! I woke up with my joints and body aching like crazy. It was so painful I couldn't drag myself out of bed! I thought that after a short rest I could still cook a simple meal for the kids, but the minutes passed and things were not improving! I was boiling. Fever struck. Thankfully the kids were very cooporative and entertained themselves. I SOSed my mom, however, after 10 missed calls, i almost cried! Apparently she went to the market without her phone and I had to send Dad to look for her and send her to my house, pronto! Despite being so ill, I knew the kids had to be fed and go to school. Thankful that my parents are now staying close to me.
So after 4 days, my fever did not subside. It hit 41 degrees celsius on several occasions. The nights were awful. I could not sleep well. The days were worse coz I had to mind the two kids. Fortunately, the hubs was in town! His trip got postponed by a stroke of luck and he was able to help with the kids. He did a great job but my condition wasn't improving despite meds. So we went for a blood test to ensure that it wasn't Dengue, Zika or Malaria. Negative. That was the result I was given. Shortly after, my fever subsided so I thought it was just a virus. A day later, I was scratching like a monkey! It was so so so bad that I could not sleep! I applied Aloe Vera cream, I put ice, I did EVERYTHING, but the itch was still so so bad. I wanted to bang my head already! The itch subsided after 2 days, so again, I didn't think much about it. Just then, a new turn to my condition surfaced -- I started feeling nauseous and giddy and started vomitting like crazy. I was literally hugging the WC! I visited a TCM as western meds didn't seem to work. The TCM said it was due to the fact that my fever induced by a cold was not completely cured and those effects were the remnants. He was sure it wasn't Dengue but my heartbeat was very very weak. He gave me some meds but each time I took them, I vomitted. This continued for about 3 days. I couldn't eat or drink. The hubs was very worried and insisted that I get myself to the hospital. I did. Finally. They ran a blood test again and guess what? It's DENGUE! *horrors
I was admitted immediately and went on drip for two days. Anti-vomitting drug was given to me and I could finally eat a little. Technically, a staycation at the hotel should not be all that bad. After all, no kids, air-conditioned 24hours, and 24hours butler service. Wrong. They did not have a single bed available and I had to put up with a double bedder. My roommate was burping, farting and talking loudly on the phone all the way till 11pm! and at 7am, she started we-chatting with someone possibly in her family. Oh Gosh! I was going nuts! I texted the hubs continually from 7am, whining like a baby, demanding that I get discharged. The doctor did not come round till lunch time. I was whining so badly that the nurses could empathise. The wait was arduous! I pitied the hubs who had to hear my whines. Finally when the doctor arrived, I whined again. haha...Even the doctor could not stand it and said I could be discharged but had to come back for a blood test later that week. My platelet count wasn't bad by the time I got admitted but my liver function was not great hence I was merlioning a great deal. However, it wasn't a dire situation, hence I was safe. So off to home I went. Instantly, I felt better! I was and am sill nauseous . Days later, I went back for a blood test and was told that I was cleared of dengue however, I got the fatty liver syndrome apparently from Dengue. That was why I was still feeling nauseous. The numbers wasn't of concern hence, once again, the doctor gave me clearance.
The next few days, I was desperately googling for remedies for Dengue. One of which I found was recommended by Serene. Frog and bitter gourd essence. Serene was a gem, she tried to help me look for those little bitter gourd. She said it had to be Indian. haha...Honestly, I wouldn't be able to tell! She even wanted to head off to Little India to look for it! *heart melt. I was still weak but I knew no one in the family was able to help me with this, hence i dragged myself out of bed and went round my estate in search for the ingredients. I came home giddy and nauseous again. Thankfully I found them after a visit to a supermarket! Came home and immediately started boiling this concoction with a slight twist. I added dried conch. Just for the taste :P. After cooking for 3 hours, it was finally ready. the essence was so YUMZ! so sweet! ok, bitter actually but i loved it! This recipe is suppose to cleanse the blood. Yup, probably just what I needed since my blood was tainted by that bloody mozzie.
Over the next few days, I cooked myself light stuff like mee sua and porridge. My appetite had not returned but I was at least eating. Yes, you heard me right. I cooked for myself. You see, despite having help from mom and the hubs, they were primarily helping with the kids. Fed, bathed and ubered the kids. I was thankful for that. The hubs claimed he didn't know how to cook porridge or mee sua the way i liked it so I was on my own. Yeah, i know. What an excuse! But oh well, he whipped up great lunches for the kids, so much so Big K declared that his cooking was better than mine! *Horrors How could that possibly be right?
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| Photo credit: youngliving.com |
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| photo credit: google |
Besides this recipe, I relied heavily on the doctor's anti-vomitting pills but I knew that was not going to cure me. I also relied badly on sour plums. I even had cravings! I know what you are thinking, but NO. I wanted to go back on my TCM meds but the smell was bad and I was afraid i would end up puking more and getting myself back in hospital again. So, out came my lemon essential oil! I sniffed and mixed it with water and drank it. It kept my vomitting spells under control. Together with this, I took Young Living Ningxia. Another advice I got from kind friends is to take the Longan Red dates with dang shen everyday. The type a woman would take for confinement. It is supposedly to help me regain my strength and boost my blood. By week 3, I started work. Everyone was surprised as usually such a disease required at least one to two months before the patient can fully recover. Well, I have not fully recovered. I am probably only 50% there. However, life needed to go on and the husband needed to fly. My mother-in-law even ticked him off for flying. "Your wife is sick and you are still flying?" she said. His reply "Sick then no need to eat ah?" He couldn't help it and so, I had to stand strong. I had to return to work soon too as despite the many concerned messages and phone calls i got from parents, I knew that deep down they were hoping to see me soon. Kiasu-syndrome. Only a small percentage could wait till after Chinese New Year. It doesn't help that CNY is round the corner. Imagine the chores I had to embark on! Plus with the hubs away, I really thought I couldn't make it this far. His travel schedule has been planned till April! OH GOSH it is C.R.A.Z.Y! I was doing the minimal. Bit by bit. Day by day. I could not over-exert myself as I am still weak. I tried to sleep as much as I could but somehow, my sleep was very poor. Constantly interrupted by the urge to vomit. Everyday I would text the hubs telling him how tired I was by midday and that I wanted to vomit constantly. Probably the liver is still fat.
The hubs is back over the weekend and I am So so so so thankful! He instantly got arrowed from me, doing all the menial chores of the house. He is a very handson person and within a day or two, our spring cleaning is 80% done! Yipee! The journey to recovery seems tough. However, slowly but surely I will get there. My appetite is getting better. So much so, I regained 1kg! Now, if only someone can tell my coming-to-3yo Small K to stop acting up and behaving like a Terrible Three? URGH!!!!
How has your 2017 been? Hope it has been better than mine!
