So if you've been paying any attention to the news at all you've heard about the E. coli outbreak in Germany. Beginning in early May a particularly virulent strain of E. coli that is believed to have originated in northern Germany slowly reached the rest of Europe and around the world. Two thousand people have been sickened and about 25 have died. I'd been getting scary emails from IES and my parents warning us about the outbreak but beyond that it's hardly been central to my daily life here.
Shortly after dropping Claire off at the train station early Saturday morning I started to feel sick. I get short little episodes of stomach virus/food poisoning from time to time, so I knew I would take it easy for the day and feel fine by the next. As the day wore on the pain got worse and worse until they were the absolute WORST stomach pains I have ever felt. The sensation was one of acid burning away in my stomach. I tried to sleep through it but all I could do was writhe and squirm around, I could not find a comfortable position to lessen the pain even a little bit. At this point I was beginning to wonder if these were, in fact, signs of sickness. The idea of getting E. coli was certainly not impossible. It had spread to southern Germany and I had eaten raw vegetables that week, thought to be the source of the outbreak. If the pain continued, I decided, I would go to the hospital.
After what seemed like a light year the pain finally started to go away. By the time I went to bed the worst was over but I knew this was not going to be a quick bout of the usual stomach bug. I woke up early the next morning with the burning acid sensation back, though thankfully it was not as severe. Later in the day I felt well enough to go to Seepark with Heather, though my stomach still felt totally off. Once again I could feel another wave of burning pain coming on so I rushed home, curled up in bed and waited for it to pass.
On Monday I felt better, and by Tuesday evening I felt almost completely back to normal.
phew....have I been able to rein you in with this dramatic little story?
So thankfully I managed to avoided E. coli. Or I had it and my immune system fought if off well, though I think that is unlikely.
What other dramatic events have taken place here lately? Neal and Claire came to visit! It was wonderful to have people from Wooster and from home here in Freiburg. We had a fantastic time together and I was so happy to be able to show them around my third home after NoVA and Wooster.
Sorry for the lack of posts and stories, y'all. It's a stressful time for right now as I am deep into term papers and final exams. I feel very conflicted: On the one hand I can't wait for June 24 to come because it means I am DONE with work, on the other hand I want the days to go by slower as it means some great people will be leaving us and I am closer to leaving Freiburg! Next week is Pentecostal break (one of the many benefits of being in Catholic southern Germany) so I will be headed on a little trip. I won't spill the dets yet but expect a big post on that sometime next week. In the meantime I will say I'll be going to a place that looks something like this:
Jealous much? I know I can't wait.....:D
Shortly after dropping Claire off at the train station early Saturday morning I started to feel sick. I get short little episodes of stomach virus/food poisoning from time to time, so I knew I would take it easy for the day and feel fine by the next. As the day wore on the pain got worse and worse until they were the absolute WORST stomach pains I have ever felt. The sensation was one of acid burning away in my stomach. I tried to sleep through it but all I could do was writhe and squirm around, I could not find a comfortable position to lessen the pain even a little bit. At this point I was beginning to wonder if these were, in fact, signs of sickness. The idea of getting E. coli was certainly not impossible. It had spread to southern Germany and I had eaten raw vegetables that week, thought to be the source of the outbreak. If the pain continued, I decided, I would go to the hospital.
After what seemed like a light year the pain finally started to go away. By the time I went to bed the worst was over but I knew this was not going to be a quick bout of the usual stomach bug. I woke up early the next morning with the burning acid sensation back, though thankfully it was not as severe. Later in the day I felt well enough to go to Seepark with Heather, though my stomach still felt totally off. Once again I could feel another wave of burning pain coming on so I rushed home, curled up in bed and waited for it to pass.
On Monday I felt better, and by Tuesday evening I felt almost completely back to normal.
phew....have I been able to rein you in with this dramatic little story?
So thankfully I managed to avoided E. coli. Or I had it and my immune system fought if off well, though I think that is unlikely.
What other dramatic events have taken place here lately? Neal and Claire came to visit! It was wonderful to have people from Wooster and from home here in Freiburg. We had a fantastic time together and I was so happy to be able to show them around my third home after NoVA and Wooster.
Sorry for the lack of posts and stories, y'all. It's a stressful time for right now as I am deep into term papers and final exams. I feel very conflicted: On the one hand I can't wait for June 24 to come because it means I am DONE with work, on the other hand I want the days to go by slower as it means some great people will be leaving us and I am closer to leaving Freiburg! Next week is Pentecostal break (one of the many benefits of being in Catholic southern Germany) so I will be headed on a little trip. I won't spill the dets yet but expect a big post on that sometime next week. In the meantime I will say I'll be going to a place that looks something like this:
 |
Jealous much? I know I can't wait.....:D
Wait, is that Loch Ness???
ReplyDelete