For the coffee lovers in the house, you will agree with me that there is something comforting about getting yourself a warm cup of coffee when it is the first thought in the morning, especially when your body feels like it's falling apart. I remember one particular morning when I longed for that comfort, hoping it could somehow give me strength against the sickness that was creeping in.
Typhoid had its grip on me, though I hadn't realized it the previous day before. I had bought some sachets of Nescafe just in case, telling myself that a familiar taste would chase the sickness and make me feel stronger but I was wrong.
This was how it happened...
The next day when I woke up, everything about me changed, nothing was the same as the previous day, my body system was weaker, my tongue bitter and I lay shivering in bed, unable to even sit up. I managed to call my friend and when he came around to check on me, I pleaded with her to help me boil some water so I could take a sachet Nescafe and make a coffee, I thought I could manage but the outcome was a severe one.
The moment I took a sip into my mouth, thinking the taste would be different, my body rebelled. I spit it out and ran outside to vomit as I couldn't hold it back and that was when I knew my sickness was getting worse.
My friend offered to take me to the hospital but I didn't want to go at first, but after watching the situation for a few hours and no change, I eventually stood up, sluggishly took a bath and he held my hands to the main road for a bike to take us to the hospital.
I was tested for typhoid and fever which has gotten deep into my body. I was prescribed drugs and the kinds of food to eat for the next few days. For that period, I never took any coffee for fear of what happened before not to happen. But I wasn't myself! I felt so uneasy for not taking coffee every morning which had turned into a daily routine.
As I lay in bed, would stare at the remaining Nescafe sachets on the cabinet, hoping for the day I would be back on my feet and resume my daily coffee. That moment was a hard one, with discomfort and weakness plus the non-stop vomiting even after taking drugs. I had to go back to the hospital to be injected before I became healthy again.
For almost a week, I couldn't take my coffee. From the frustration that accompanied me when I couldn't take my daily morning coffee to the relief I had when I eventually stood up on my feet when the sickness was gone brought back the happiness in my heart.
Sickness is a bad thing and I don't wish to experience it again. So far, the sickness has disappeared since last month and I am grateful to God because I can take my coffee whenever I want with nothing restricting me except on days when I just decide not to or when there are lots of things that have occupied me just like what happened some weeks back.
All images are mind