Gingivostomatitis

...is the name of the Virus that I had contracted in the last week. It sucks!

It all started last Tuesday night when I, after a very good eating at Cafe Rio, had emptied my entire belly in only two minutes through a very loud and disturbing puking session. At first it seemed like it was just food poisoning when other puking sessions followed. Thursday morning, I had not eaten or drank very much of anything, I awoke feeling very uneasy and found my way upstairs to get some water. The toilet however was calling me once again. This time I puked NOTHING for my belly was empty and I began to shake and get dizzy. I had dehydrated myself and had very very low blood sugar. I really had no idea that his was only the beginning of a very long drawn out sickness.

I developed a fever and small white bumps in my throat. My throat was killing me and what do you do with a fever? Feed it! How in the world was I suppossed to do that!? After being nauseuos and now my throat being sore, food was not sounding very friendly to me. I continued to endure my water/milk/yogurt diet in hopes that i woudl be fione the next day.

Come Friday, I felt like it should be over by now. I decided to go to school and work but boy that was a bad idea. I was running a high fever all day and had no idea how to bring it down. I tried to drink as much as i could and I even got a frosty. I tried to go home early from work but NO ONE could cover for me. Even after asking my boss to close early, she refused and made me stay the entire time. Worst of all... it was PIZZA FRIDAY! My favorite Friday ever! I couldn't even have a slice my mouth hurt so much.

After work though, I convinced myself to go see a doctor,. I don't have insurance but I really needed to find out what the deal was. It was possibly Strep and if it was, I needed to get antibiotics to fix it. The doctor did the strep test and it came up negative. She told me I had a virus and that I just need to ride it through. You can imagine my disappointment. After a $85.00 appointment to find out there is nothing they can do or even tell me exactly what it was. LAME! I went home discouraged and hoped that the worst of it was over. WRONG!

The next morning my throat was COVERED in white bumps, fever was still high and now my gums were inflammed and my voice was gone. I had no voice at all and it hurt to talk. I was freaking out! Here I was, on Labor Day weekend, a Vocal Performance Major with no voice and still sick as ever. Was this going to get worse? What the hell did I have and would it damage my voice permenantly? When would it end? I couldn't miss anymore classes, especially it being the beginning of the semester.

At this point in time, my Sister and my mom found out I was sick. They came and visited me over the weekend. They brought me food and drinks like the great family they are. On Saturday night, I had a really rough night. I woke up and made myself some eggs like one of my roommates suggested. Around noon, I ralphed up everything I tried to eat that morning including those nasty eggs. This was getting out of hand. I absolutely broke down. I wasn't sure what to do anymore. I turned to my roommates for a blessing. The blessing was comforting and told me I would learn from this sickness and it would pass in time.

When I broke down, I had called my mom and expressed my concerns. So she came to see me Sunday and took me to Emergency Room at Cottonwood Hospital. After 2 bags of saline solution to re-hydrate me, the doctor gave me the diagnosis. Gingivostomatitis. A Herpes Simplex Virus that lasts for 7-10 days. I probably got from some one at school. He said it was a seasonal virus and usually see it during the begining of school. Other then that, I didn't get much more information about it. It's like a cancer sore when it comes to the herpes part of it. It's very contagious as long as the sores are there so I am to stay away from people until this goes away.

So here I am. I'm at my sister's now (she decided to take me home to take care of me) and it's been 8 days since the intial spew that Tuesday night. I have missed so much school and work. I feel so lazy doing nothing but drinking and sleeping. My voice has slighty come back and I hope I can go back to school tomorrow. At least, just to be there in choir to take down notes. Well, wish me luck and all.