The Ugly

Nobody reads this blog on Mondays so here goes with the "ugly". I pulled into Edmonton around 6 pm on Thursday evening and booked a room at the Holiday Inn Express. After 12 hours on the road and hardly a break, I wanted to grab a quick bite and hit the bed. There was only one restaurant within walking distance and that was a Swiss Chalet, right next door. The minute they brought me the 'Hot Chicken Sandwich', I had a feeling. It tasted really awful and I only ate part of it, I suppose, the part with the poison in it. Flash forward 24 hours.

After arriving in Saskatoon early afternoon the next day, I was offered some fruit by Aunt Anne who was the first person I visited. She had a bowl of cherries there and I was thinking that I had never before in my life felt like turning down fresh cherries but ate three or four anyway. Later that afternoon I went to the BBQ and as everyone was eager to get to the food, I held back, wondering where my appetite had gone. I was the last in line and even then took very little. I was feeling 'off'. Less than an hour later, I excused myself and went to the washroom, feeling very hot, nauseous, and perspiring like the temperature had just shot up to the thirties. I came back out later and excused myself from the party, feeling rather disoriented and not at all like speaking to anyone. I drove home and that is when the thunderstorm broke out that I wrote about earlier. I made it home without incident, but just barely. Thus began the ugliest 24 hours in recent memory. It had been at least 15 - 20 years since the last time I had thrown up anything, but that night I made up for lost time. I was in the bathroom more often than not and when I was in bed I dare not sleep lest I have an accident. I tried to keep hydrated but nothing would stay down. I lost the desire to do anything but run from the bed to the toilet. I told you it was ugly. No more detail here. Most of you have been there, done that.

And so is the saga of the missing Saturday, the full day of the cousin gathering when there was brunches, farm tours, and all sorts of visiting and catching up with the cousins. I missed it all. Finally, at around 4 pm. I made a decision to get out of bed, shower and shave, and go to the evening dinner whether I was sick or not. By this time I was rid of everything in my body except my spleen so surely I would be OK. As I was driving to Osler and looking for the church hall where they were gathering, I almost turned back. But, I had come all this way and I was not going to be cheated. I got there just as they were starting. I had a spoon full of mixed fruit and lots of Sprite and I slowly started feeling normal. I expected the fatigue and the weakness but lasted the evening and was so glad I had made the decision to be there. There was a tribute to all the Aunts, Uncles, and grandparents who had gone before, as well as to the ones who still remained. Each family tree branch gave a pictorial or written report on those that did not make it to the gathering, and then there was an auction of family memorabilia to raise funds to defray costs of the food and church rental. It was a whole lot of fun and we had a lot of laughs. My queasiness lasted through to the following day and I did not eat a full meal until Monday, but only had the odd snack with plenty of water.

I am trying to prevent this episode from turning my time in Osler into a bad memory. There was more than enough happiness and joy to outlast the illness, and in time I will remember only the 'good'.

As for missing out on the Saturday activities, I must say that brothers Garry and Bruce spent all Sunday afternoon with me, even though the gathering was officially over, and did the whole farm tour with me. It was great. I still missed out on a lot of visiting with the others, but then I made up for it by getting to spend some really quality time with these guys.