Food Poisoning...

Last night I was with Carla at Target. We were walking out of the store and I got a funny feeling. Can't really describe it. Just a notion that something was going on and I didn't have all the facts yet. So I tell Carla. I've got a weird feeling. Like what? I'm not sure. Hmm...

We drive home. Carla is housesitting so she dropped me off, grabbed some stuff then left. Courtney's car is a bit whomper-jawed in the driveway. She didn't pull all the way into it. I thought, silly girl, she could have pulled up...

I walk into the house. It's real quiet. Courtney? Yeah? Just by the way she says yeah I know somethings wrong. She's hurting. I come into her room, and look around for her. She's there and looking like death warmed over. “I have food poisoning.”

I'm blessed enough to have had food poisoning before. Its pretty much one of the worst feelings ever. You never know how its going to hit you and there’s not really much you can do about it. You just have to let it run its course.

Its time for bed. We tuck in for the evening. (Sidenote: I sleep like the dead. Unless someone needs to be cared for. Then I'm a super light sleeper.) Sometime in the night I hear Court get up. Are you ok? “I'm freezing.” Ok, she has chills. I jump out of bed and go hunting for all the blankets we have in the house. I figure if she has chills she's going to have fever and will need to sweat it off. The bed gets loaded down with blankets and pillows fluffed. Ready for her to rest. I go back to bed.

Around 2:30 this morning I can hear her coughing. Ok, coughing doesn't need my assistance. I lay there listening to every sound to make sure she doesn't need me. Then I hear "Allison." That tone takes me back. It is the tone of voice my sister used to get when she was throwing up. When we were little, Leanne used to get sick a lot. (Heavy metal poisoning.) I learned how to take care of someone who is vomiting. After you do it so much you learn to curb your gag reflex because someone else needs your care and attention at the moment. You can barf, just do it on your own time...

Court was definitely throwing up. (It was strange how easy I fell back into the vomit routine. I went around the house pulling things without even thinking.) I go get a glass of water, a cool cloth for her face, and some crackers. Took the trashcan out of my room, gave it a new bag then placed it by her bed. Asked her if she wanted to take a bath and she said not yet. She was feeling real weak and didn't want to pass out. But she sounded so much better after she threw up. Thats the thing with food poisoning, once its out of your system, you're weak but definitely on the mend.

It was hard to watch her hurt but I’m thankful He let us go through that together. Its been a while since I’ve been able to serve Court. The last time I held her hair back while she yacked we were at Canes...