...Things couldn't get any worse, right? It just couldn't.
She prayed.
"Are you feeling any pain now?"
"Yes."
"Tell me when it increases."
His hands were gentle as they probed her, his pressure was light but she felt the pain and winced.
"How often does this happen?"
"Not much but this days it's been frequent."
"Do you have any discomfort after eating, say an hour?"
She thought before she answered "More than an hour."
"Alcohol?"
"No I don't drink"
"Good job, any vomiting?"
"No."
"Dizziness?"
"Yes."
He pressed a hand to her wrist "Your pulse is a bit fast."
"It's my friends." Tale said confidently.
"They are worried about you and with good reason."
She kept quiet and decided to stare at the ceiling.
"Describe the pain to me." he got out his pen to note it down.
"It's a burning or an aching, more like an intense hunger pain. Sometimes it gets pretty bad."
"I bet. What have you been taking?"
"Gestid and a few pills."
"Stress?"
"Everyone is under some kind of stress."
"For how long has this been happening?"
"I really can't recall. For a long time."
"Sleeping well?"
"I try."
He got out a light and checked her pupil.
"Headaches?"
"A few."
"We have to check your blood pressure."
A nurse came to them that time and did the checks. They made her stand to check her weight. She kept feeling weaker by the minute.
"Your blood pressure is a little high, your heart is strong but you are considerably underweight for a woman your age."
"What does that mean?" she felt her stomach churn a little bit
"Lost any weight?"
"I've always been this slim if that is what you are asking."
"Lucky you. We would run a few tests."
She was happy to hear this was almost over.
"We would run an X-ray test, and an upper G.I to actually pin point and eliminate any mistakes. So we would have you admitted and –"
"Admitted? No I can't stay here please, just give me drugs and I would be out of your hair." She was feeling panicked now. People got admitted over very serious issues not something as small as ulcer. She felt her stomach rumble again and this time she wanted to vomit.
"I don't feel so good," she tried to stand up
"You should lay down for a bit."
"No I feel like throwing up," her hand flew to her mouth. Can today get any worse?
"I need a sink here!" the doctor called out
The nurse who had been silent got her a sink in time for her to let go.
She threw up all she had managed to eat that day and then some, she had the feeling to really cry but she couldn't. Now she felt hot and her head ached her more than before.
In an old fashion method the doctor put a hand to her forehead. "You seem to be running a fever."
"I wasn't a few minutes ago." she managed to say after the nurse wiped her face with a cold towel and gave her a cup of water to rinse her mouth with.
Because she was weak and lightheaded she laid back closing her eyes trying to find comfort in her thought that this was only temporal and she was going to be feeling good soon.
"How do you feel right now?"
"Weak." her voice was merely a whisper. She remembered now that she had been having a few symptoms of fever the past week that she gladly ignored.
They hooked a drip on her hand as the doctor checked her heart beat as well, then told the nurse a few words she couldn't understand before walking out and drawing the curtain on her.
...
It was noon when she opened her eyes again, she had slept for a long time, she stared at the ceiling as she tried to make sense of where she really was.
Looking from the ceiling to her side, to the bed, she closed her eyes again to remember what had happened and remembered Precious yelling and trying to make a call, she remembered herself sprawled on the floor of a mall.
But her head still ached and her joints felt a bit stiff. She turned her head to find Precious sleeping and Su Yan staring at her. His face held a coldness she hadn't seen before but he said nothing. She turned back to the ceiling closing her eyes, closing her eyes to it all.
A nurse entered her room then and she was grateful.
She wasn't strong enough to handle anyone and she could sense an argument brewing. The lady walked to her bedside and introduced herself as Nurse Itoro (1) as she explained she was taking her to get more tests done.
She nodded as she didn't trust herself to speak.