On Tuesday I finally relent and make an appointment with the doctor. He orders blood and urine tests and I head on back to work. The best that I can do on this Tuesday is a long walk and some abdominal/lower back work because I feel horrible.
On Wednesday morning I drop off another urine sample at the doctor's office before heading for work. The doctor calls and we have a brief discussion, but I need to go back and give them more blood so that they can perform more tests. He makes a comment that most of my readings are very good, but some are off (hence the request for additional testing). And he makes a comment about red blood cells being a bit low. I wish I was in the doctor's office in person (rather than on the phone) because I could wring him by the neck and say, "That's because I've pissed them all down the effing toilet for the last few weeks". (Except that I would use the real f word here.) Instead I just tell him I'll give him more blood at 5pm today.
On Wednesday near noon I'm sitting at my desk and I start sweating and feeling light-headed. So I take a deep breath and lay my head down on the desk to let it pass. The next thing I know I'm on the floor wondering where I am. I slowly get up and re-establish myself and continue working - wondering how long I was gone. After giving more blood to the doctors (three ampules full this time) I get out for a long walk and relax for the rest of the evening.
Thursday and Friday are horrible days as I feel realy bad (to say the least), have a hard time concentrating, and have constant nausea. Though Friday is a bit better than Thursday. Thus it is that I am heading to see the doctor again on Friday afternoon to get the results of all of the testing.
The doctor informs me that I have hepatitis B. I mention to him that I remember having bad Japanese food the day before the Los Angeles river ride and even thinking about not riding because I felt so bad and had bad diarrhea. The doctor says that since I am already forming antibodies to the infection, that timing could be consistent. But says that it would be impossible to track down. As the docotr is examining me he notes how yellow my eye whites are and, as he pulls up my shirt to feel for liver hardening, he exclaims, "You're as yellow as a banana" and starts laughing. Then he says, "I'm sorry for having fun at your expense" but I'm laughing too because I noticed how yellow my skin had become in the last two days. So I go home, go for a walk (which I barely am able to complete), and lay down on the couch. Person C_T comes by and I tell him the diagnosis and insist that he go in and get a blood test (because hepatitis B can be transmitted by sharing glasses and eating utensils). Person C_T leaves near 10 pm and I collapse into bed.
Saturday is actually a reasonable day. I get out for a (very slow) aquarium ride before laying on the couch for two hours to watch a mountain stage of the Tour de France. Later I get out to the ATM, get gasoline for the car, and buy a few other little things (including a book) to get me through long days of laying on the couch. I get down for a nap near 3 pm and finally have enough energy after the nap to drive to the carwash. The rest of the evening is spent relaxing around the house.
On Sunday I get out for another slow (but faster than yesterday) bicycle ride around the aquarium. I notice that after both of these rides I smell nasty. Just plain nasty! And that explains why I think it's important to keep up some moderate exercise when one is sick - to get help the body get rid of the toxins. I spend most of the day watching the monumental mountain stage of the Tour de France before getting down for a 90 minute nap as I feel the fever coming back. (For the last week my morning temperature had been hovering about 1.5 degrees above normal and this morning it had dropped to just 0.5 degrees above normal. Making me hopeful that the worst was over.) Later I finish watching the mountain stage, spend a few minutes trimming roses and repairing a gate latch, take out the trash, and then relax some more. I'm down in bed for sleep just after 9 pm.
The alarm has been disabled in order to make sure that I get the sleep that my body dictates. When I wake up near 7 am on Monday morning, I lay in bed and decide whether to stay at home or go to work. Despite the magnetic and powerfull draw of potentially watching Jerry Springer and Oprah on the television, I eventually get out of bed and go to work. I find that I don't feel physically bad today (despite a jump in my morning temperature back to 1.5 degrees above normal), but I have a hard time concentrating. Thus I run down the list of things that I can accomplish and find myself fairly productive.