Unfortunately, those hopes were short lived! On Monday I was extremely tired and having lower back pain, but I just chalked it up to the fact that I was on my own (no Danny and no ayi) with three children to take care of!!
On Tuesday, the back pain was worse, but I went on my merry way and went to a friend's house for a home cooked Vietnamese meal. I ate a ton of food and felt fine after lunch. Within two hours of being home, I started getting really cold and shivering. I still had to help the kids with homework, piano, make dinner, and give baths, so I kept going. I finally got the kids to bed and checked my temperature and sure enough it was over 100. I took some Tylenol and fell asleep on the couch, unsure of what was wrong. I woke up a couple hours later and had uncontrollable shaking - almost to the point that I was scared that something bad could happen. Earlier in the evening I had written down our very close friends' phone numbers for Ellie to call in case I needed something. She was so precious and loving - all she wanted was to take care of me - I cried! I really didn't want to scare her, so I called my mom instead and asked her what to do! Her advice was to take more Tylenol and try to sleep! I carted myself off to bed and finally fell into a very fitful sleep.
The next morning I did my best to help the kids get ready for school, but Ellie honestly did everything. I went straight to the doctor after drop off. She was pretty quick to diagnose me with a UTI that had spread up to the kidneys. She gave me some strong antibiotics and sent me on my way! I took the pills, slept for a bit and I felt a little better. The kids came home from school and we played and I was starting to feel okay.
On Thursday I woke up and felt great! I went to a luncheon and did some shopping and just assumed that the worst was behind me and I was on my way to recovery!! It wasn't until about 11:30pm that I realized something was wrong - I couldn't sleep, my fever was back, my skin was bright red, and the toilet was my dear friend. It took a quick google search to figure out that I was having a bad reaction to the medication. Once again, I suffered through the night feeling terrible!!
I had some things that had to be done on Friday morning (watching El and Eens in their Moon Festival Assembly) before I could go back to the doctor and get a different medication. By the time I was called into the doctor's room, I could barely sit, I was in so much pain. He agreed right away that I was having a reaction to the medication and he also did an ultrasound of the kidneys to make sure there was not a blockage. Thankfully they were just swollen! He gave me new medication and a warning to rest!
On Saturday I did feel better, but still did not have an appetite. By this point I hadn't really eaten anything since the huge lunch I had on Tuesday. I was weak, but definitely feeling better. The kids just wanted to play at home, so that is what we did on Saturday and Sunday as we waited for Danny to get home. I was so thankful that they were happy doing crafts, building legos, and helping me bake a little!
When Danny finally arrived home on Sunday night, I just cried. I was so happy he was home. For the first time since we moved to China, I had felt extremely vulnerable. We are fortunate to have friends that would help in a moment's notice, but we all have the same difficulty with transportation and verbal communication. We all are also in the same boat with no extended family to help us. And, if there was a situation that we needed extra help from them, we would have to wait for visas to be processed and all of the other hassles that go with traveling overseas. This vulnerability is definitely one of the hardships of living in a country such as China. It takes a lot of praying for me to overcome this feeling, but I try really hard not to let it become an obsession!!
It is now Wednesday, and I am almost back to normal!! Just in time to start our fall traveling!
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