Attack of the Radioactive Chinese Superbug

Okay, so it's not radioactive. Maybe.

Last week I was experiencing what I thought was the tail end of a cold. I was happy to wave it goodbye, but it took that as a sign of potential friendship and came back inside again, without even wiping its feet first. As a result, I got a cough. It wasn't so bad at first, just a regular cough. By Friday, though, I was coughing almost constantly, and the two classes I taught on Friday evening weren't so great.

On Saturday I woke up feeling fine. I went to work, taught two classes, came back for lunch. I was feeling a little less fine by the time I went back to the school, and had a coughing fit in the elevator on the way up. I drank a constant supply of hot water for the rest of the day, but it wasn't enough. The next couple of classes were okay, but my cough grew steadily worse, and the last class was torture. The constant coughing had caused my blood vessels to do all sorts of interesting things, and my brain didn't like that a whole lot, and started hurting, a lot. Coughing actually made the pain stop for a moment, but then the blood would rush back and tell me, loudly, how much it had missed supplying vital nutrients to the pain receptors in my head. The kids in the last class were actually pretty good, but I was so glad to leave that classroom.

I went home, ate, took the medicine that Alex's girlfriend had been kind enough to get for me, had a long, stinking hot shower, then slept.

On Sunday I woke up feeling fine. I went to work, taught two classes... and realised that although my cough wasn't that bad right now, it was getting worse. I called in sick (without even using a phone, since I was still at work), and went home. Alex's girlfriend helped me get a bunch of things that are good for coughs and colds - cough drops, honey, apples, pears. We chatted, watched half a movie, and decided what to have for dinner - I helped with the initial preparation and ideas, but I couldn't cook since I was sick. By the time the sun went down, my cough was in full swing again, despite being halfway through the medicine. We all had dinner, watched all of a movie, and I went to bed.

On Monday I didn't wake up feeling fine. It took a couple of hours to get to my 'just woke up and have forgotten what it felt like yesterday' state. The middle of the day was okay, I finished my medicine, and Yoyo came over with some different medicine.

By this morning, I had tried four different kinds of medicine without the cough abating in the slightest, so it was past time to see the doctor. So, today Ariel helped me at the doctor's - it turns out there's a clinic in the same complex as the place I work at - and I found out a couple of things.

First, it wasn't a particularly stubborn cold. It was some other kind of virus, and you will have to be just as ignorant as to the name of it as I am since they don't know the English name for it. Furthermore, apparently I have a fever of 37.8. They gave me an IV drip for three hours, then sent me home - Helen said she would take my classes tonight.

The IV drip - now that was a bit of an adventure. First time I've had one of those, although they're dead common over here, and people get them just for a common cold, simply to get well sooner. I decided I didn't want to be stuck in the clinic for two hours, waiting for the drip, and I didn't feel sleepy, so I went upstairs to the school and chatted with Ariel until the first drip ran out. This is where the fun started, because blood is under pressure; and when a drip runs out and leaves only air, the blood will seek to escape to a lower-pressure environment. Basic physics. In other words, my blood started boing back up the tube. Ariel knew how to attach the second jar, but something didn't work properly, and there was a large air gap. She closed the valve, so nothing was moving in either direction, and we went back downstairs to the clinic again. The nurse or doctor sorted it out, and we started to go back upstairs again, until the IV drip started, erm, dripping. On the outside, which is not part of the plan. So, back we went, and this time I just stayed at the clinic until the second bottle was empty.

Who knew IV drips could be such an adventure?

I'm supposed to go back for another one tomorrow. I think I'll take my laptop so that I don't get bored silly.

Anyway, they tell me that it will take a couple of days to work, and then I'll be fine. Next time, I think I will do as everyone else does and just go straight for the IV; especially since my immune system isn't used to all these crazy Chinese bugs and viruses.