The Shot.....

Heard Round My Stomach...
Our last meal was a pork knee. Yes, a giant, roasted chunk of pork, with knee bones, ligaments and other things still attached. I should have known better on this one. It tasted good but looked just a bit undercooked on the inside. I felt fine after I ate it.

I even felt ok as we took a final photo at the hotel. It was at the airport that I knew I was in trouble. I could feel the sickness coming, I've had food poisoning many times before. I was starting to get cold, my thighs were beginning to ache. I walked down the long tunnel to board the plane with my luggage. I was feeling a bit faint. If this one were to play out as most had in the past, I was going to lose conciousness. I breathed deeply, trying to stay awake. A few feet inside the plane, in the first class section, I had to sit or fall down. I sat. Pingles looked a little panicked "can you get him some water please" she asked the stewardess. I just sat, breathed heavily, drank water. Was I gonna go out or stay awake? "Go to your seat, Pingles, I'll be back in a bit."

The stewardess reminded me I had to go back to my real seat. I asked her to tell me when the aisle was clear. The next time she looked at me, she relented. "Come sit here, sir, I will get you a blanket." She had me sit in the bulkhead, had me raise my feet on the wall, above my head. By this time, right on cue, the chills hit me. I was shaking so hard during the flight, my muscles began to ache.

Luckily, this was Czech Airlines - they didn't seem to be too concerned about notifying the French authorities that they had a passenger on board who was ill. "Can you call ahead for me to get a wheelchair? I am so weak that I don't think I can make the walk off the plane", I asked between shakes. "No, sir, you don't want do that - they will make you go hospital." She had a point. This was just some bad pork - I thought about the nightmare of paperwork and red tape in a French hospital and my chills got worse.

When we landed the fever had just begun to hit me. I took a deep breath, left the plane, walked past the French customs like I was feeling refreshed from my holidays. In the cab the fever was high. I was babbling and talking non-stop. It made sense at the time, but Pingles has since let me know I was talking crazy.

I spent all of Monday in bed, sleeping. By Tuesday, I was back at work though not at all back in one piece. Amazingly, Pingles didn't feel even a shade ill from the knee o'swine. She has a much tougher stomach than I.