Love story : Dee and Dang

I want to take a moment and quickly recap the past 7 days. I’m sorry for having left you in the dark, but, as you will see, I’ve been caught up in a whirlwind.

This time last week, I was just being released from the hospital in Thailand. That’s right, the farang succumbed to the dreaded food poisoning. It’s sad, really. I was so very proud of myself. I had been in Thailand for a month, and nothing….. not the first illness. I was feeling adjusted and figured that if I hadn’t gotten sick by then, I wasn’t going to. Wrong!!!!

On my last weekend in Thailand, Dang (my future wife) and I were going to spend it on the coast. I thought a relaxing weekend next to the sea would be just the thing. We could get out of Bangkok, be away from everyone by ourselves, and really enjoy eachother. In theory, it was a great idea; in practice…. not so much.

Just before we left Friday night, I started feeling a bit naustious. Dang asked what was wrong; I told her that I was feeling a bit naustious; and she gave me some medicine (like Mylanta). I thought, “O.k. That will help. I’ll be better before we ever make it to the hotel.” I wasn’t.

On the way to our destination, I kept feeling worse and worse. By the time we arrived, I was cramping so bad that I wanted to cry and felt like passing out. This all occured over a period of not more than two or three hours. Whatever I had, it was fast.

When we arrived at the bungalo, I couldn’t wait any longer. I made it to the restroom and commensed my first round of vomitting. Before I had started, I had bolted the door. This isn’t something that I like to have people around for- I’ve always done this by myself. Dang was outside on the porch and heard me all the way out there. She quickly rushed to the bathroom to find the door locked. She cried out to me, “Papa, are you O.k.”

“No, I’m not!!! I’m sick, Mama.”

“Papa, the door is locked,” she said with obvious worry in her voice. “Please let me in. Mama wants to help.”

For the first time in my life, I unlocked the door. I could tell that keeping her out would cause her harm. She wanted to be there, and, deep down, I needed her there, and trust me, she was there for everything…. vomit, snot, spit, tears, gags, and heaves. She didn’t shy away the least bit. She took good care of me.

After two rounds of vomitting, I finally threw-up everything on my stomach- the last round was rough- and layed down. One would think I would have finished with the vomitting, but I didn’t. Niext, the worse pain of my life set in. Truly, I’ve never hurt this bad- ever! I was cramping, running a fever, and couldn’t decide if I was hot or cold.

“I’m hot. I’m cold. I’m hot. I’m cold. I’m hot. I’m cold.” You get the picture.

Dang delt with that for what seemed like an eternity. I couldn’t tell you, for I’m not sure what was actually going on. Dang finally got me to sleep by telling me a story- listening to her voice is like listening to an angel, and it always calms me.

I awoke after having slept only a half hour. The pain was, believe it or not, even worse. I couldn’t bear it any longer. Plus, I was genuinely frightened by the level of pain that I was in. It was time to go to the hospital.

Mama got me there, and quickly I might add. She took care of everything. In less than a half hour, I’m guessing, I was in the ER. I’m not going to bore you with too many details. What I want you to know is this one detail: I wanted my “wife.” At that moment, for some reason, I couldn’t see Dang as my wife-to-be…. she was my wife. I could see beyond the surface then, and see her for who she truly was to me- my wife.

To be continued……