Sick in Saudi (Again!)

Saturday 25th July 2009
Now, now!! Before you accuse me of ignoring you, my blogsters, let me say how BAD my internet connection has been lately. I always put aside the weekend Thursday or Friday or, if not done, at the latest I do it on Saturday evenings. But ALWAYS I have been foiled by, as I referred to last time, the “Curse Of Mobily”.

I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong but it just seems as though this connection is getting so much WORSE the hotter the summer period gets. And I have NO IDEA what to do to make it better. Or even if I CAN make it better.

Far too many times lately it has been as good as down for the best part of the day. I used to be able to rely on daytime at weekends for my best surfing time, but no more. The weekend just gone, for example, I had almost ZERO uptime. And I know it to be so because I didn't go out at all since I was feeling ill.

Yes, indeed, sick again. Why this time? Well I really don't know, but here are my top theories …. in no order of preference. Firstly, my cheese was off. I thought it tasted funny but kept on eating it because it was actually quite good in this state. But the longer I went on, the less wise I felt about eating cheese that tasted like “bin food”. Eventually, in the latter stages of last week, I really DID feel rough and so thought it best to be kind to myself and my refuse tip.

“A bit rough?”, you say. Well, yesssss and not like the last flu-suspect time. This was different and actually was more worrying. It's gone now, but it involved an iffy stomach and dizzy spells on Wednesday morning and afternoon.

What could THAT mean? Not sure. Sometimes such dizzy spells mean trouble in the ears which was worrying as I'd had all that ear problem stuff earlier in the term here and thought it cured. Dizzy spells meant that lying down made the room spin madly as if I'd been a night on the town (impossible of course here!), or it meant that, on one occasion, standing up to go back into class after the long break time needed two “goes” because the first attempt sat me down again pretty sharpish and needed me to hold on to the chair to keep my balance.

Doesn't sound good, does it? No, I didn't go to the doctor. Whatever for? A special appointment, the effort to get myself over there and a hot walk into the bargain. Yes, you could say I should take advantage of the facilities. But YOU try a wander across the exposed concrete in near 50-degree celsius heat in mid afternoon and then YOU will see the problems it brings when you're not feeling at your best.

Well, I took a rest at the weekend. Didn't go out (except to the laundry room), and didn't even make my once-a-week trip to town for shopping and coffee. Quite simply I did NOT feel up to it and even felt decidedly wobbly still. So really it WAS the best thing to do just to take things easy and have a rest.

And that did it. Had a good rest Thursday and Friday, got to bed in good time Friday night, even put myself a new pillow on the bed. Got up this Saturday morning feeling MUCH better.

So you know what I think all that dizziness was about? Plain and simple – the HEAT! Yes! These last two weeks it really HAS been absurdly hot and I mean MORE than normal. My umbrella offers me little or no protection when a hot wind is blowing and dust is flying. The purpose OF the umbrella is just to keep the sun off my head. Yes, to some extent it helps, but my face is still well exposed. AND NOW I have, for some bizarre reason, some VERY raw spots round the sides of my neck left and right. Makes wearing collared shirts in the morning a rather painful affair especially the newer shirts I have with their stiffer collars. OUCH!!

And STILL it is only the end of July! STILL they tell us that it will get EVEN HOTTER! Well, so in that case I hope there is somebody to pick me up off the floor next time! I mean, I walk the minimum I can, but I do so at some of the worst times of day – namely from midday to just after 1pm. Well, I HAVE TO at those times because it is the beginning and end of lunch hours. I CAN'T NOT go to and from lunch, and believe me it is far better to do my lunches at home in my room instead of going over to the hospital canteen which IS that Hot Walk over the concrete. No Way matey!!

Even though I was feeling better this morning, I was AGAIN feeling a bit rough after my walk back to the college building after lunchtime in all that heat.

And so it will continue ….

One thing I was wondering today is about my clipon sunglasses and their effectiveness. Since it has been nasty headaches which have been part of my problem, one wonders if these have been brought on by not proper UVA filtering by my clipon sunglasses. If they have not been keeping out the sunlight properly then this would explain the headaches and the dizzy feeling suffered at and before the weekend. Something I must consider when I am away from here in about a month's time.