Reductio ad acceptum?

I fell sick in the first week of June. Had been eating out a little too often in the last week of May; all kinds of stuff: South East Asian (twice), Bengali, Tex-Mex (well...TGIF anyway), plus the usual junk at work. Apparently my system decided it'd had enough.

I went down to para-typhoid, which wasn't discovered till it was in its second phase (symptoms: periodic high fever, severe bodyache, shivering).

Shivering? Oh yeah- that was the malaria which I apparently caught as well thanks to my state already being weakened by the typhus.

So it was only half-jokingly that I asked Dr. S on my second day of four in the hospital: Anything else? He replied, Yes we suspect jaundice as well.

My bilrubin was 2.0 (normal is about 1). A rather uncomfortable sonographic scan later, my liver was diagnosed as a little distended but otherwise ok. No jaundice.

Phew. Small mercies.

It was a little difficult getting used to the idea of being hospitalised for 'just a fever'. After all I'd been working till late the previous evening and being my usual efficient self wasn't I? But with a temperature of 103 and drips stuck into me virtually all day long, there was no way the good doctor was leaving me out of his sight.

After 4 days in a white room, staring at the ceiling and devouring whatever reading material was at hand (including the labels of all my prescribed drugs), I had to spend the next week at home, doing pretty much nothing. The week after that I was strong enough to "work from home", which meant little more than checking my email first thing in the morning and wearing myself wretched on the first ten-minute call I took. The week after, I returned to the workplace but the first day back was exhausting, so on everyone's advice, stayed home to "regain my strength" and returned the following week.

It's been about 10 weeks now. Taking my doctor's warning of a possible relapse seriously, my diet is severely restricted: no alcohol, no fried foods, no junk of any sort. I'm staying off anything uncooked or which has been lying around for a while after cooking- this includes salads (except fresh-cut at home), cut fruit, pastries, savouries- basically all the good food groups! it also rules out most of the menu at the cafetaria at work. I'd never realised how oily shit dominates the fare on offer till now.

I get visions sometimes- of steaming meat samosas, of sizzling sausages and greasy fat chips. My mouth is actually watering as I type this.

But I'm scared as hell of the r-word and fear is a powerful motivator. Plus the realisation that this forced abstinence is actually benefiting my body no end.

I am now around 90 kg (198 lbs), down from 103 (226lbs) when this journal began. My waist size is now 38 and not 40++ as recorded on Day 1 of these chronicles. I am fitting into all those ball-scrunching underpants and even a pair of regular fit 38 inch Levis that I had bought "just in case". Any fatty who's tried to lose the lard knows what I'm talking about :)

So well... things aint as bleak as they sound. Happy Independence Day!