Lanzarote, Canary Islands - Day 7
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Every morning I wake up thinking this is the day Andi will start feeling better, and every day he’s the same as he’s been for the past week. I’m sure he’s thinking the very same thing — how much longer can this sickness last?! This morning, Andi said he feels “like a 6/10,” but that number seems to decline pretty quickly after he gets up and moving.
I’m finally feeling back to myself after having a nasty respiratory cold & cough the first 10 days of February. I had enough energy today to do a workout in our airbnb. It felt really good to move my body for exercise after being cooped up inside our rented house all week.
While I did my workout this morning, Andi announced that he was going to go to the grocery store. There’s a fine balance between buying too much food while staying in an airbnb (and having to throw it all away when you check-out) and not having enough food to eat while you’re there. Normally, we usually buy a few “kid foods” like spaghetti, yogurt, cereal, bread, and cookies, and then Andi and I eat in restaurants. We haven’t done that this week because Andi has been so sick. I’ve been eating a lot of toast, yogurt, and fruit the past few days and the kids have been more than happy with spaghetti everyday. I’ll be nice to see what Andi comes back with from the store to replenish our food supplies.
After my workout, Tory, Aden, and I did some school work at the kitchen table. I think having a low-key week has been good for them to get into a bit of a routine. Last week, we adventured hard in Morocco and did all of our school work in the evenings. That was hard. We’re all tired and not our freshest selves by late afternoon, but sometimes that’s the way it works out.
Andi returned from the grocery store around Noon and seemed to be feeling OK. He said he wanted to eat something substantial (something other than Gatorade, canned pears, and applesauce), so he grilled chicken kabobs on the outdoor grill by the pool, and made a salad. I wasn’t so sure he should be eating that, but he said he just wanted to eat something with flavor and get back to feeling normal again. Can’t blame him for that.
Of course, a few minutes after eating lunch Andi was feeling nauseous again. He went to lay down in the bedroom, and I cleaned up the dishes. This has been my view of Lanzarote Island everyday as I stand at the kitchen sink to wash dishes for the thousandth time. I can see a volcanic island in the distance, but from inside the walls of our rented house it feels like I could be anywhere. I’m going stir-crazy after five days of Andi being sick. Everyday, I pray for God to help him feel better, and for the rest of us to stay healthy. I am literally climbing the walls in here.
After lunch, the kids and I finished the rest of their school work and then we went outside to our airbnb’s pool. Andi had several work calls this afternoon, so he wanted the kids and I to stay outside of the house until he finished at 5:00pm. He still wasn’t feeling the greatest, but at least his fever and vomiting have stopped. Luckily, he can do his work calls from the comforts of our airbnb living room and make trips to the bathroom as needed.
The sun was hotter today with temperatures reaching 80 degrees. Our airbnb’s pool is filled with freezing cold water, but it actually felt nice on our bodies in the heat. I don’t know how Aden was able to swim in that cold water for as long as he did though. He is a fish! I told him people pay big money to “cold plunge” in frigid water like that. “Why?” he said, with a quizzical look on his face.
Since Andi went to the grocery store today we had few more food options for dinner. Tory made herself some gnocchi. I re-heated chicken kabobs for Aden and I to eat, and Andi went back to eating chicken noodle soup and Jello.
Andi called the same house doctor to re-visit him at our airbnb tonight. While the vomitting has stopped for the most part, his repeated diarrhea continues. Andi is dehydrated and concerned there’s a stomach bug still at play that he just can’t kick on his own. We are leaving for Portugal on Friday, and Andi wants to feel better before we leave. At this point, he’s not sure he can go anywhere that’s not next to a bathroom.
The Spanish doctor arrived to our airbnb at 9:30pm. He did not seem pleased to be making house calls so late in the evening, and said his wife was waiting for him in the car because they had dinner reservations tonight (today is Valentine’s Day). But, the doctor told Andi that he feels badly for him, and wanted to make sure he’s OK. He checked Andi’s vitals and inspected Andi’s stomach with his hands. He said nothing major seems out of the ordinary, and encouraged Andi to continue to drink lots of liquids. He wrote Andi a prescription for Ciprofloxin — an antibiotic that will hopefully kill whatever stomach bug he’s still fighting. The doctor’s house visit cost us $80 USD.
Tomorrow is our final day on the island of Lanzarote and I would really like to do something fun. More than anything, I want Andi to feel better! He is run-down and depleted after being so sick. After six days of this, I have to believe he’s turning a corner.
