Isms Views on life in rural America

The Antelope County 4-H shows I viewed were a lot of fun. You could tell members invested a lot of time and energy in their projects. And, despite the heat, animals mostly cooperated.

I wish I had been able to see the other shows. Instead, I was battling an infection and made multiple trips to the emergency room to receive IV fluids and antibiotics.

The descent into sickness began Tuesday, once the paper was put to bed. A quick whoosh of something washed over me and, within minutes, a 103° fever began, complete with chills. I couldn’t stop shaking, so I went home and threw on a sweatshirt, had a discussion with the husband and headed to the ER.

Wednesday was rocky, but I powered through. During a Thursday follow-up appointment, my temperature spiked once again, so my health care provider said I needed a bag of fluids. She also said, “No work, which she translated to no fair.”

The fever flucuated all Friday and late afternoon, she called with a report. E. coli was detected. Made a quick trip to the pharmacy and began taking meds. The fever dropped and I felt better. By 8:30 Saturday morning, my temp returned to normal, so I headed toward the fairgrounds. To my dismay, the nausea and vomiting returned en route and the fever decided to make a return appearance. I turned around for home and crawled into bed.

By 2, the self-care talk began: Don’t get sick. Maybe I should just call the neighbor to take me to the hospital. Just let me fall asleep.

I have a fairly high pain tolerance but I’d had enough and called ER once more. After talking to the nurse, we decided I’d take ibuprofen and if the condition did not improve, I would call. The pills did not help, my head was throbbing and I couldn’t decide if I was hot or cold. So, naturally, I headed back to the ER for more fluids.

It’s now Tuesday and today is the first day I’ve felt like myself. I’ve had food poisoning twice, one a severe case that required hospitalization (three days before Courtney’s high school graduation.) This bout of E. coli was comparable. I recommend not getting it.

I didn’t like missing the fair, it’s coverage I enjoy and our readers rely on. However, there comes a point where my health has to be my number one priority. That point was last week, during one of the busiest weeks of the year for our newspaper.

If you shared photos with us, thank you. If you have photos to share, whether from a livestock show, static exhibit or a candid around the grounds, we appreciate it.