Ramadan: Day 16

Ramadan Giveth, Ramadan Maketh Sick.

The last 12 hours have been hell. It started when I almost got hit by a mini-bus. Actually, I did get hit by a mini-bus. It was turning right…I was walking straight. All of a sudden I feel something rubbing up against my arm. I turn to see the broad-side of the bus 6 inches from my face. Yikes.

Fast-forward 30 minutes. Normally, I am ravenously hungry at 3 AM and, thus, pack away the food during sohur. Not last night. I had been feeling off for most of the evening, so the grub was downright repulsive. That didn’t stop me from eating, mind you, it just made eating a lot less enjoyable.

Move ahead to about 6 AM. I woke up on absolute fire and sick to my stomach. My neck was stiff, my lower back hurt, and my head was throbbing. Sleep seemed impossible, so I just lied there hoping it would go away. Any time I got up, the fan in the room caused me to shiver uncontrollably. So for the first time since arriving I had to curl up underneath a blanket just to stay warm, even though my fever was running awfully hot. By 8:30, I was able to convince myself to do what most people fear more than fear itself: manually induce vomiting. After the first attempt, I realized that I would need some water to facilitate the process, so I broke fasting only to heave it back up right away.

I did feel a lot better after that little event, but it still didn’t help me sleep. At some point over the next two hours I could feel my fever dissipate and the shivering cease. Little consolation, though, as all I could do is wait for Salman’s alarm to go off over and over and over again without him waking up.

Alas, I made it to work, albeit after a “zombified” walk that took close to an hour, instead of the usual 40 minutes. Because I am sick, I can break fast, but I don’t think eating is such a good idea at this point.