It was like any other ordinary morning where I would get out of bed and have my breakfast. For some reason, I decided to have a cup of Milo with condensed milk. Then, I headed towards aunty Dayang's house to have an English session with Christina. We were having lots of fun doing magic trick demonstrations, folding paper art crafts and sharing stories.
All of a sudden, my stomach felt uneasy, so Christina gave me a cup of 'akar penawar juice'. A few minutes later, I began to throw up and purge terribly. I must admit that 'akar penawar' is really a strong herbal medicine but I do not think that my body handled that medicine well.
Folding paper crafts with Christina just before I fell terribly ill.
Akar penawar, a strong traditional medicine used in Bario, Sarawak.
Anyway, that day was one of the most painful moments of my life - I vomited and purged about 13 times on that day itself. I could not sleep properly that night too due my terrible condition. I was weak, helpless, unresponsive and felt mightily dehydrated. I also had really high fever on the following day and felt that my bones were fragile. I assumed that the Milo and condensed milk triggered this condition. To make things worse, previously I consumed milk chocolate which is not good for diarrhoea.
Since I had a rough 5 days, I would really like to share some advice on how to handle vomiting, purging and high fever. Below are a few advice:
(i) Vomitting
Do not hold back if you feel like throwing up. Throw it all up as it helps to clear all the toxins in your body.
Take an anti-vomiting pill only if you cannot withstand the pain of vomiting.
Prepare a bucket near you incase you need to throw up.
(ii) Purging
Always keep a sharp eye for the nearest and available toilets.
Try to stick to a porridge diet.
Avoid spicy, oily and creamy food (milk, condensed milk, soy bean, biscuit and etc.).
Consume a packet or two of oral rehydration salt (ORS) per day to prevent dehydration.
Drink lots of 100 plus and bottled mineral water to keep you hydrated *most important*.
(iii) High Fever
Dip a cloth in really cold water and put it on your forehead and neck.
Bathe using cold water. Yes, it really helps.
Take two panadols (adult dosage) every six hours after a meal.
(iv) Overall Advice
Get plenty of rest.
Do not stay on the same posture for a long time, you will feel more lethargic.
Consult a doctor if your condition gets worse.
The nearest clinic is about a 10 minute drive from Tepu' Sina Rang's Homestay to the Klinik Kesihatan with only a charge of RM1 for Malaysian citizens.
I had a really bad time when I was terribly ill but I had good support from all the ten of my Diploma In Education course mates, our project coordinator (Daniel), our adult advisor (Jeremy), Tepu' Sina Rang, aunty Dayang, aunty Nicole, Dominic, Christina and all the other locals of Bario. I really thank all of them as I may not have recovered faster without their help.
It was also touching to hear that they were worried and concerned about my condition. They offered prayers, medicine, care and other basic necessities that I needed. I felt like I belong in that Kampung even though I am a stranger from another state. Truly so, they are very caring and I felt like a grandson to them.
The only thought that I had while I was sick was to just return back to my normal state. To be normal at that time would be considered a blessing for me. It is funny how being normal can mean so much to me when I am sick. When I am healthy, I tend to take my health for granted but only then I realised how wonderful is it to be normal again once you have recovered from a terrible condition. In a nutshell, everything feels good when you are healing.
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