Nausea and vomiting.

     This past Friday night Lee came over to chill and grab some dinner, since Lee leaves to hike the Pacific Crest Trail this week. The Pacific Crest Trail is essentially the Appalachian Trail of the West coast, taking one from the Mexican border in California to the Canadian border in Washington.
   Lee drops in, and around this same time I begin feeling quite nauseous and achy.  I figured maybe I didn't eat and drink enough on my ride, so I drink a bit of Gatorade and attempt to ignore it.   A bit of time goes by, I am now curled up on the couch, the question is not if I am going to vomit, the question is when.  Lee then leaves and I am left to suffer alone.  All this time I am concerned about working the next day, do I feel shitty enough to call off?   Around the time Kim gets home I empty dinner in the toilet.  I share many similarities with my father; attention to detail, a kind heart, stubbornness, and the way we vomit.  Dad vomits in a very violent fashion.  It only happened a few times growing up, but when he did the sounds of his suffering filled the house.  You're convinced that someone is torturing him in the bathroom.  What ensued was a horrendous night of vomiting, sleeping on the bathroom floor, and the chills.  The other awesome thing about nausea and vomiting for me is being a nurse.  Which means I am playing out anatomy and physiology while vomiting.  I am attempting to diagnose the causal factor with my distress and also worrying about aspirating.  Aspirating is where the contents of one's emesis ends up in the respiratory tract and usually causes a nasty pneumonia.  Additionally, I feel so guilty when I'm sick because I know how much worse my patients feel, even though I'm convinced I'm on the edge of death.  Needless to say I called in and let them know I wasn't coming in to work.  I've only had to call off from work three times in the four and a half years I've been a nurse, but I still feel guilty every time it happens.  
    The next day was thankfully uneventful in terms of vomiting.  I laid around the house all day alternating between sleeping and sips of Gatorade.  Kim was fantastic when she got back from work, she made me some soup, and sterilized the bathroom.  I'm not sure how people living alone can manage through illness alone.  Today, I feel much better and as of now Kim hasn't shown any signs of catching my bug.  Anyways, wash your hands frequently and enjoy the rest of your weekend.