Sausages.

Recently I’d bought reduced sausage’s, that was nothing new, for 95% of the food I buy for myself and my family is reduced, but maybe it was in the fridge too long, I wasn’t sure, one pack was chicken and the other was pork. I’d put them in the same small roasting tin and had turned it up on high so they could be cooked quickly, while I had a bath, then as I was going out I turned them off and knowing they were 75% done, I wouldn’t have to wait long, on my return, for them to be finished and would soon be eating them between a sandwich! I’ve done this many time in the past with other meats. I had, as usual left them in the oven, and on my return, put the oven back on, while I did other things, I was now starving, I’d not had time for breakfast, it was now just past Lunch time, the oven was on high!

The meal was just for Paul and myself not the Kids. I’d turned them over again, Paul would have his much later on, I could see that four were cooked and I took them out leaving the others to carry on cooking, I turned down the fire, so Paul’s could carry on at a lower temperature. I quickly buttered two slices of bread and put mayonnaise on them, cutting my sandwich in half, I sat in the Living Room and really enjoyed them. When Paul’s was cooked, I turned the oven off and let them cool down in the oven, making sure it was cooked!

Many hours later, Paul said, “I’m ready to eat now,” I said, “It’s sausages, but it’s been reheated twice already,” He said, “That’s OK,” So, I took them from the oven where they were cold and reheated them in the microwave, making sure they were hot! I did Paul six slices of bread, making three sandwiches, he had brown sauce on his.

The next day, Paul said, “I have the runs very bad, it’s like water!” He wanted me to get something from the chemist. I text my friend and asked her the name of the scheme she’d told me about, she quickly texts me back to inform me again it was called the Minor Ailment Scheme.

I Googled what was allowed under the scheme, and yes diarrhoea was included on the list. I went to the chemist that is near our home and doctors and said to the Assistant, “Under the Minor Ailment Scheme, please can I have Imodium, for my Husband, as he has the runs very bad.” She replied, “Under the scheme, he has to be here in person,” I said, “He has the runs very bad he can’t be far from the loo,” She repeated herself, and so did I.

I could see I was in stale mate so I said, “OK, I will buy it as Husband needs it” I bought Dioralyte and Imodium, as my Husband Paul had said, “Get whatever they recommend,” And that was what was recommended. After I paid, the Assistant in the Chemist said to me, “Can I see your card?” I asked her, “What do you?” She explained, “You need to show your card each time you use the Scheme, I’d forgotten, she’d mentioned it, but I just assumed it would take ages, and that was what I didn’t have, I wanted the medicine now for Paul, she went on, “You can get the card from your Doctors who will stamp it with their Stamp and put their sticker of the Doctors on the front. She gave me two cards, one for me and one for Paul.

I went next door to my doctors and asked the receptionist for their Stickers, for my Minor Ailment Scheme card. I was in and out the Doctors in under two minutes! So, I went back to the chemist next door and said, “Now that I have my card with the Doctors stamps etc can I have a refund and have the medicine free on the scheme?” The Assistant went behind the back and asked the Pharmacist, the Assistant came back to me and said, “Yes you can have a full refund, but you still can’t have those items free on the scheme as the Person still has to be here in person.” I said again, “My Husband has the runs, very bad, he can’t leave the house.” So, the Assistant asked, “What do you want to do?” I said, “I’ll keep them, as I have to have them.”

Back at home, I didn’t go into all the detail, I decided to tell him the following day, Paul took the two tiny tablets like it said on the box, and he was soon as right as rain! The runs had stopped!

The following day on the evening, I began suddenly to feel queasy, I tried to dismiss it, as nothing, for there was no logic as to why I would feel unwell, but the feeling wouldn’t go away, and I suddenly felt like I was going to be sick! So, I got up and left the Lounge and went to the bathroom and it was disgusting! Lumpy and very bitter! I didn’t tell the others in the home, I just hoped it was a one-off, but I was wrong I was sick again and again! It was just gross, I’d been to work in the morning and for Lunch we’d been to one of my favourite places, MacDonald’s!!! My hot chocolate was sweet and moreish the Big Mac not so, it wasn’t very hot, just lukewarm, I still enjoyed it and ate it all, but now I blamed the Big Mac for me been sick, then things got worse, I had the runs! VERY bad! Like Paul, it was like water, I thought I was dying! I felt, what had I done to deserve this? So, it was coming out both ends, thankfully not at the same time!

I still hadn’t told anyone in my family, I felt if I talked about it, it would happen some more, but there didn’t seem to be an end in sight! So, I told my family. By now I was tired, it had literally taken a lot out of me, I was exhausted! But it wasn’t safe to go to bed, not yet! Paul said, “Take two Imodium,” I replied, “I can’t take tablets, let alone capsules!” He said, “They’re small, drink with water.” Well I know I can’t take tablets with water, for the water goes down and the tablet remains, but desperate cause for desperate measures, so I went into the kitchen cupboard and opened the box and was very surprised to see there had only been six tablets in total in the box! I took out two and with great effort I put one in my mouth, and concentrated hard, and without adding water I eased the first tablet to the back of my throat…… and after about six seconds it went down! Phew! I then drank a bit of water. Would I be able to do this a second time? I Have a fear of swallowing tablets, it makes me heave, or I feel it’s going to get stuck, go down the wrong way, or even scratch me on the way down! It’s silly really, I remember when I was in my twenty’s that one of the tablets I was taking at the time had scratched me and that I’d felt that it had cut my windpipe! That’s totally impossible! But for everything, I ask for liquid form of medication, but sadly that isn’t always the case, in some things it has to be tablets only. So, taking my second tablet I took it, and after about ten seconds in my mouth, it went down without water and with a huge sigh of relief I took a sip or two or water.

But my troubles were not over! It was 3am and the tablets were not an instant fix, for when I’d first gone up to bed, I’d been sick, I was scared for I was unable to breath in, I struggling for breath, I was on my own for Paul had not yet gone to bed, so to help myself, I had to force myself to cough, that did the trick, and I was able to take a breath into my body! It was more like water now for in-between sick’s, I’d taken sips of water. I came back down and told Paul, “I’m going to sleep downstairs on the sofa, so I’ll be near the bathroom.” I sat down, closed my eyes, but the cats had other ideas, one came and sat on my lap and the other tugged on the hem of my dressing gown! It wasn’t going to work. So, I got two huge bin liners and cut them both in half one I laid on the bed with a towel on top and the other I spread onto the floor with loo roll by my head! The time was now 4.30am! Thank goodness I was on a late shift later that day.

I awoke very, VERY late at 8.am unheard of for me to be asleep SO late, but thank goodness all was well, there’d been no accidents as I slept, nor had I been sick. The tablets had worked! It was like a miracle!

I didn’t have my customary milky tea I had black tea with sugar it was horrible but didn’t want to upset anything, if you know what I mean. So, that was kept down and in so two hours later I was bold enough to have thick set honey on toast, no butter, that too I kept down and in!

Later that day, I went to work and I acted, like everything was normal, I was better though, but I didn’t feel 100% in fact I felt only 50% could have done with the day off, but I don’t have time off work unless I’m very ill, like I was the night before! The night before, would have been impossible. I said to Paul, “I think it was the Big Mac that I’d eaten,” He said, “No, it was the sausages that we both ate,” And I had to agree with him. I felt a bit better each day, first 70% then 80% then three day later I had the runs very, very badly again, it seems to come back with a vengeance! It was like the tablet had kept the ‘bug’ inside me.

I had planned to go back to the chemist, to get Imodium tablets for myself, but I just knew they’d say, “When was the last time you had a bowel movement?” My reply would have been something like, “Four hours ago,” And the very fact that I was standing in the chemist, would show them that I was telling them porkies! So, I decided against going back to the chemist, to get my free Imodium.

Two things that I did think of that I wouldn’t have normally, have thought of recently, was those who are dying who have no control of their bowel movements and have to be changed and washed and secondly how amazing a tiny tablet can make such a HUGE difference SO quickly, how fortunate we are to readily have them so easily available, and the difference they make to our lives. There are millions of people around the World today, who don’t have any access to a tiny tablet, an almost wonder drug like Imodium.

Don’t reheat your food twice! Keep safe. x