Jacksonville 3, FL

On The Road,

HORRIBLY SICK.

I’ve had a low grade headache in the morning, upgrading to bad at noon. Nausea. Flu-like aches and pains. But I still had to find a box for the bike, get it packed, and get it shipped.

I just threw up violently in the toilet. At least the bike is shipped. I fly out tomorrow at 1:46 pm. Just checked in, online.

UPDATE, 22-JUL-2017 12:14 EDT: Feeling about 80% well now, up from 50% this morning, so I’m updating yesterday’s post from the JAX airport.

I woke up feeling wrong. The motel was out of coffee, so I made my own from a coffee bag I had brought from a previous motel. Through the day, my headache and nausea got worse.

In the morning, I drove to Walmart to get packing tape and some groceries. I originally planned to get lunch at Ibex, and Ethiopian place near my motel. But I was feeling so ill, I decided to just go to Wendy’s and get a Frosty and Chili. Only ate a few spoonfuls of the chili, then had to lie down.

I drove out a little later to get a bike box (the UPS store didn’t have one that was big enough). Brought the box back, then had to lie down again. Got up at 5 pm or so, moving slowly.

bike box
This is the box I got from Bikes, Etc. for $15. Typically, these have been free, but $15 was fair. What should have been a simple task of packing was a Herculean effort with a headache and nausea. I had 1 hour to make it to UPS before the place closed at 6:30 pm. Made it.
check in bag
The check-in bag is mostly packed.

When I got back, I lay down on the bed, again. Basically, from 7 pm to midnight, I just lay on the bed, fitfully trying to rest, and not doing very well. Then I decided to eat some fruit, thinking that I needed hydration, and simple food like fruit would stay down. Nope.

fruit and chili
I got a package of fruit salad from Walmart when I bought the packing tape there earlier. I was thinking that fruit would at least stay down. Nope.

— picture of massive vomit in the toilet omitted —

powerade
I felt a little better, but not perfect, after throwing up. I walked to the Shell station at midnight to get a Powerade (electrolyte drink). I sipped it very gingerly, for fear I would throw up again.

From then until dawn, I tried again to rest, but it was hard. The room smelled funny, and it didn’t help that my T-shirt probably had vomit on it.

Theories on why I got sick:

  • Ate some of the beef jerky from my front pack, which may have gone bad in the rain
  • Ate hard pork cracklings – too much salt (hypernatremia).
  • That big bug that bit me in the swamp in the nature preserve could have given me a virus
  • After emptying my fuel bottle into the car, I left the open bottle in the car to purge it. Gasoline fumes?
  • Other fumes that were in the car from the time I rented it.
  • The motel may have sprayed bug spray on the air conditioner. I did see one roach on it the first day I got there
  • The local man, Leon, with whom I shook hands outside the thrift store.
  • The $6.99 shrimp boil
  • Bad water in the motel
  • Staying multiple days in one motel without riding in fresh air

Miles ridden: 0

(Visited 123 times, 1 visit(s) today)

      1. Update: almost certainly food poisoning. Not gas fumes, dehydration, any kind of chemical in the car. Unfortunately, Merrianne came down with it about 2 days after I got home, as I was recovering. It’s not airborne, though, as neither of our children got it. Must be passed through contact or food handling.

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