It turns out that I am a lot sicker than I thought. What I initially deemed as a bad cold that simply refused to go away was actually something a lot more sinister. The culprit goes by the scientific name Influenza A (H1N1), a brand-new strain of flu caused by a new subtype of the virus responsible for the infamous swine flu.
The good news is: the symptoms that I have now — dizziness and a stuffed nose — are considered mild. Hence, I don’t have to be hospitalized; I just have to be quarantined at home. The doctor has given me oseltamivir capsules (also known as “Tamiflu” in Malaysia) which I need to take twice daily for the next five days. Naturally, I’ll be taking the usual supplements, as well — Vitamin C and whatnot — to help boost my immune system and, hopefully, speed up my recovery.
The bad news is: I have to be quarantined for seven long days. It just breaks my heart to hear the children playing downstairs, knowing fully well that I can’t be with them. I can’t even allow the twins to know that I’m around because they’re not yet capable of understanding what ‘contagious’ means. If they know their Mama is in her room, they would definitely insist on sleeping with Mama and would cry and scream if not allowed to do so. Thus, with a heavy heart, I must accept that the only way for me to be on quarantine is to continue hiding from them. (NB: I’ve started my self-imposed quarantine since Sunday night.)
How ironic of me to write just two days ago that “the worst is over“. The worst, apparently, was yet to come. That night, my temperature soared to 39.4°C (103°F). The thick mucus that filled my entire nasal cavity bore down on my face like a dead weight, exerting pressure on my cheeks and forehead, giving me the worst headache imaginable and the most perplexing case of toothache I ever had in my entire life. My lymph nodes were screaming in silent protest, as though pummeling away underneath my flesh. My back was riddled with muscles that felt impossibly tied up in knots. My arms and legs lay limp and heavy, powerless against the waves of pain that coursed through them. My entire body was in pain of such unspeakable proportions that all I could think of was: if no worldly pain can equal the pain of death, why was I feeling the way I did that night?
Considering that I have such a high threshold for pain — case in point: when I was in labour with RoundBoy, I didn’t feel a thing even though CTG results already registered 35-40% contractions — when I say that I was in so much pain that night, I mean excruciating, agonising, mind-numbing P A I N, pain bad enough to convince me that, perhaps, I wasn’t just battling yet another bad cold and that maybe, just maybe, it could be H1N1. That, plus the fact that our next-door neighbour just got diagnosed with H1N1…plus the SMS exchange between me and Dr A, whose answers convinced me to go to the nearest hospital to get myself tested the very next day.
And so here I am now, locked up with my own volition in my own bedroom, with my mobile phone and MacBook Pro as my windows to the outside world and my knitting projects to keep my hands busy. The dizziness, albeit mild, is rather disturbing and I find that I cannot concentrate nor read for long periods of time. It took me forever to edit this post, for instance. Mention something random like motorhome towing and it would take me a few seconds to process what you’re saying. The best word to describe my mental state right now is blur, in the Malaysian sense of the word.
I’m still trying to figure out how and when I could have picked up the virus. Could it have been during my Philippine trip? Was it brought in by the Americans whom I met on the 21st of October at the office? Maybe it was one of the staff at the office…or perhaps even one of my friends? I may never know…
I’m just thankful that I got diagnosed before it’s too late, that my symptoms are mild enough not to necessitate hospitalisation, and that I seem to be responding to the medication — my coughing has reduced noticeably and there’s a marked decrease in my nasal congestion.
All I can advise you is to eat properly, have enough sleep and to take supplements so that your immune system won’t get easily compromised. Please make it a habit to cough or sneeze into the crook of your arm or into your sleeve (teach your children to do this as well!). Oh, and do wash your hands frequently and properly.
For the curious, here is the complete chronology of the events leading up to my ‘exotic’ illness:-
This is buah salak, scientifically known as salacca zalacca, or snakeskin fruit in English.
Buah salak (snakeskin fruit)
It’s a fruit native to Malaysia and Indonesia, closely resembling the size and shape of a fig…but — as its name suggests — with a skin like that of a snake.
Don’t be scared of its reptile-like outer covering. Just break off the top portion of the fruit and the skin will tear apart quite easily, revealing the garlic-like cloves inside.
Buah salak peeled
And don’t start eating it just yet. You must rub your thumb back and forth over the flesh… so that this thin waxy layer can be peeled off.
A thin but waxy layer
Continue rubbing until you can peel the whole paper-thin layer off. It’s actually edible but it feels weird on the tongue and is better off removed.
Keep on rubbing...
Now, you can take a bite of the sweet, juicy, firm flesh. The texture can range from dry and crumbly (salak pondoh from Yogyakarta) to moist and crunchy (salak Bali). Just watch out for the seed inside — it’s hard as stone.
Watch out for the seed!
The seed looks like a polished chestnut, doesn’t it?
The seed of the buah salak
Almost seems like a shame to throw these beauties away…
Buah salak seeds resembling chestnuts
So the next time you see these bizarre-looking fruits peddled by the roadside, give them a try!
Tags: fruit
My last FaceBook status update on Thursday, 29th October, read:
“Mimi feels that the flu is God’s most subtle but most effective reminder of how frail we are as humans. Not only is my nose blocked, my sense of taste is also hindered, and my left ear feels as though there’s some fluid stuck inside it.”
It’s now Monday and I’m not quite over that bout of flu yet, making me wonder if it’s just one flu virus I’m battling or multiple versions of it, considering that the fever came and went several times. (I wonder if the flu + meningitis + pneumonococcal vaccinations which I had on three separate occasions had something to do with it?)
Never before had the flu rendered me so weak for so long, filling all my nasal cavities with fluid and mucus, disrupting my sense of smell and taste, playing tricks with my sense of balance.
But the worst is over. I may still be a bit dizzy but the fever’s gone and I can breathe almost normally now. Thank you, God, for healing me.
The only question left is…will I be well enough to report for work Monday morning?
Tags: sick
To my dearest RoundBoy,
Eight years and a little over an hour ago, you made your grand entrance to this world — all 4.05 kg of your roundness.
My goodness! Did I just say EIGHT years? Why, it seems like only yesterday when you were a newborn baby whose plump little cheeks were practically begging to be pinched…
You maintained your roundness for many, many years, and looked your roundest when you were cuddled up with Simba like this…
And now, look at you! You’ve grown up — pensive, reflective, insightful…
You’re no longer as round as you used to be. But I don’t care. You’ll always be ‘RoundBoy’ to me.
In fact, the more I think about it, the more I realise that five, ten…maybe even twenty years from now, you will still be RoundBoy to me.
You will always be my RoundBoy. You will always be my baby.
Happy Birthday, RoundBoy!
With all the love in the whole wide world,
Mama
One often-overlooked tourist destination in KL is probably the Royal Selangor Pewter Visitor Centre.
I believe it tends to get overlooked because although it’s not far from the city centre, it’s tucked away in a quiet part of the city and is a bit out of the way from the normal tourist route.
Nevertheless, I love taking people there because it offers a glimpse into Malaysia’s tin-mining past. Well, that and the fact that they give complimentary guided tours (available in various languages at that!), entrance is free, and there are no crowds to jostle with.
Before you get inside the building, you’ll find the world’s biggest tankard displayed outside. It’s apparently listed in the Guinness Book of World Records with its impressive statistics: 1.987 metres tall, weighs 1,557kg and has a capacity to fill 2,796 litres of beer. Naturally, the world’s biggest tankard is made of pewter.
A tour of the Royal Selangor Visitor Centre begins with The Gallery section that showcases the brand’s journey since its founding in 1885.
More pics after the jump…
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: pewter
