#Stomach Flu Diagnosis

[anuragparihar]

Understanding Stomach Flu: Causes, Symptoms, and How Desai Surgical Hospital Can Help

Stomach flu, or viral gastroenteritis, is a highly contagious infection that inflames the stomach and intestines, leading to symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal discomfort. Although most cases resolve without medical intervention, severe instances, particularly in vulnerable populations like children, elderly individuals, or those with weakened immune systems, may require professional care. Desai Surgical Hospital specializes in diagnosing and treating gastrointestinal conditions like stomach flu, offering comprehensive care to manage dehydration, alleviate symptoms, and promote recovery. If you're experiencing symptoms or need expert guidance, don't hesitate to visit Desai Surgical Hospital for personalized care and treatment. To Know more: https://desaisurgical.com/

[gguk-n]

Chapter 1- The Arrangement

Arranged For Love (Carlos Sainz Jr x Reader)

Series Masterlist

Summary- Everything seemed to be going well for Y/N until it doesn't. Will this life altering event bring her closer to her family. Will this life altering event introduce her to Carlos?

The reader is Y/N, other than that everyone has a name

Y/N was majoring in Business; just like her grandma, Anika Baker had wanted. "You're smart, you're rational and the best of all you're kind" she would tell her grand daughter growing up. That's why she was currently studying to maybe take over her family business when she grew up.

She grew up in a matriarchy, where after the untimely death of her grandfather; her grandmother took the lead and brought the company to where it is now. Eventually, she did step back and let her son, Ivan and daughter-in-law, Rose Aguirre handle it. That was when Y/N was born. The first born of their family, she was so pampered; she got whatever she wanted. She had her dad wrapped around her little pudgy finger.

So, when her parents were away, their grandmother raised her and her siblings. She fed them, helped them with their homework and best of all, told them stories of kings and dragons. Y/N would sit intently while her grandmother would massage her feet after a tiring day at school or give her a head massage when it ached. Y/N would always love spending time with her, one way or another.

Y/N was off too college as soon as she turned 18. She finally got to be back home after 2 years for longer than a few weeks; the reason wasn't something to be happy about since a virus had spread across the world and was killing people at an alarming rate. Which meant school, colleges, offices had all shut down and were working from home. When she hugged her grandma for the first time in 6 months; "You've gotten thinner since the last time I saw you" she squinted her eyes at her grandma. "You know how it is with age, I don't have the appetite anymore" her grandmother reasoned. "Well, you should still eat. I'm gonna make sure you gain weight before I leave" Y/N said determined. "Sure, sweetheart" she laughed. "Let's have food. It's nice to have everyone back home, together for once" she emphasised. Y/N held her grandmother's hand as they walked to the dining table for lunch.

A month or so after she was back, her grandmother had started feeling ill. She wouldn't be able to hold down any food and she had been complaining of a stomach ache. With COVID restrictions, getting an appointment was extremely difficult. After a week or so, thankfully, her dad was now at the doctor's office with his mother. The kids were at home, dotting it down to the regular stomach flu which was taking longer than usual to clear.

What came as a surprise to the family, after a couple tests was that, the matriarch of the house was suffering from stomach cancer. Couple more tests later, and it said that it had advanced quite a bit having spread all over the body. The doctors weren't sure what they could do other than ease her pain. Everyone was crying in their rooms while trying to hold a tough facade in front of Anika, so as to not worry her.

At breakfast, a few days after the diagnosis. "You lot are all cry babies. It's just cancer. I'll get the treatment and be well" Anika smiled. Everyone hoped what she was saying was true. But as the treatments started; things started to get worse for her. The medicines were taking a toll on her. Their once active grandmother was reduced to bathroom runs and staying put in her bed. She barely had the energy to eat on her own.

The matriarch's children were sad and couldn't help but cry since they couldn't do much for their mother other than watch. The grandkids would think of ways to make food exciting for their grandmother. The whole family had come together. They were all living together to care for their ailing mother. "I like this very much" Anika told Y/N. "What do you like, grandma?" she asked. "Having all my children here, fretting over me" she said looking at her 2 children fondly. Y/N smiled, "They always fret over you, for as long as I can remember" she replied. "Hmm...but this feel different...it feels nice" she hummed.

They had a scare a few months later; Anika's health had deteriorated suddenly and needed hospitalisation. When she was admitted in the hospital; everyone went to visit her in turns. "I wish I got to see at least one of my grandkids get married" she said barely above a whisper. She beckoned Y/N forward, "Darling, you're the oldest. You're the smartest. You always listen to your grandma don't you" she cooed. "Grandma, I don't like where this is going." she mumbled. "I know it is too much to ask for but why don't you get married. I'll find you a nice man" she reasoned. "Grandma, no. I'm only 20. I'm not getting married, not yet anyways." she whined. "ugh! I love you grandma, I really do but I don't have any plans of getting married, yet" she said pulling away from her grandma. "I'm going home. I hope you get well soon" she stormed off.

Y/N was fuming, she got that her grandma was sick and wanted to see major milestones in her grandkids lives and she wanted to share her happiness with her too but that doesn't mean she will throw her own granddaughter under the bus. She hated the fact that it was always her who would have to do as the elders told her to. Why couldn't it be her siblings or her cousins for once? Why did she have to get a married now? She has so much she wants to achieve, she can't be tied down just yet. People her age barely even remembered the name of the person they last slept with and she should get married; her grandma had gone crazy, she thought.

While Y/N was losing her mind because her grandma wanted her married; Carlos Sainz Junior was losing his mind since he got a contract with Ferrari next year.

In the world of Formula One, there was a change in tide. Sebastian Vettel would no longer be driving for Ferrari in the upcoming season; instead he was being replaced with an up and coming driving Carlos Sainz who was currently driving for McLaren. COVID had put a damper on things; but nothing could contain Carlos's excitement. He would be driving in red next year, something almost every driver had dreamt of when they dreamt of Formula One.

Carlos was your typical Formula One driver, he asked his father for guidance since he was a Rally Champion and looked up to some great drivers as inspiration. He had big plans; plan of winning his first race, plans of winning a championship title, plans of racing until he was 60 but none of those plans involved getting married any time soon. He couldn't imagine himself settling down, just yet even though his sister was planning on getting married herself. He had a long way to go; the biggest obstacle, he wasn't dating anyone as of yet so obviously marriage was off the table for the foreseeable future.

Now, there's a saying, sickness brings the lost together. That's exactly what had happened. Carlos senior had grown up with a family, albeit only for a few years of his childhood but those were formative years and he had spent a lot of his time with the Kastner family. They were his neighbours and even after they had moved away, they had still stayed in touch. He wouldn't forget their kindness and hospitality. For the few years that they were around he was incharge of making sure the oldest of the Kastner family, Ivan got to and back from school safely.

When Carlos senior found out about the ailing health of Mrs Kastner who would make him delicious food and baby sat them when necessary, he flew in as soon as he could with his family in tow. COVID didn't make it easy to visit the sick but Carlos senior would be damned if he didn't meet or introduce his kids to the woman he talked about. Carlos senior greeted Ivan, "You've aged" he laughed patting his back. "As if you haven't" he clapped back. The two happy to see each other after a very long time apart. "I heard Aunt Anika is sick" Carlos senior spoke. "News travels fast" Ivan chuckled. "Not fast enough since she's been sick for a while and I only found out after she was admitted" Carlos senior pointed out. "Yes, yes, she'll be discharged soon. She's been doing so much better for the past few days" Ivan explained. "That's good to know" Carlos senior sighed. "Can we meet her?" he asked hopeful. "I think she'll be over the moon when she find out you've come. She kept up with all your races" Ivan added. "I'm glad she did. I think it was the combined prayers of my mother and yours that I'm still alive after being this reckless" Carlos senior laughed. "That I will not disagree with" Ivan smiled opening the door to the hospital room where Anika was reading the day's paper. She placed the paper down to see who it was and a smile broke out on her face; "Carlos, darling, how've been? I've missed you" she spoke trying to get up but Carlos senior was already by her side, "Don't get up. I'm right here" he leaned down and hugged her. "I've missed you too." he whispered. She patted his back, "I see you've done well for yourself" she said scanning the faces of the 4 people behind him. He pulled away and introduced his wife and 3 kids to her. "Did he get into rallying just like his father?" she asked shaking Carlos junior's hand. "Worse, he's in Formula One" Carlos senior smiled. "Darling, stay safe. I might have to start praying for one more now" she shook her head. "This is the woman who was best friend's with your grandmother and they love each other too much" Carlos senior announced to his kids. "What team does he race for?" Anika asked Carlos senior drawing his attention. "I'm racing for McLaren now, but I'll be racing for Ferrari next year" Carlos junior replied. "congratulations dear. And Carlos, a bit narcissistic I think to name your kid after you" she laughed.

The atmosphere was lively and bright, everyone was busy catching up with each other and trying to let each other know what was going on with the other.

In all of this, the gears in Anika's head were spinning. If Carlos's son, Carlos was single he would be the right fit for her grand daughter. She had always adored and dotted on Carlos senior growing up, so it would only make sense that she would want a good family to take care of her grand daughter. If there's anything to go by how Carlos senior turned out, Carlos junior would fit right in with their family. She felt giddy thinking about the possibility of merging their two families. She knew if everything went well, they could easily be getting married at the end of the year or the beginning of the next. She just wanted what was good for her grand daughter, having something nice come out of it like a handsome and rich husband was a bonus.

The Sainz would be staying in town for a few days before they would be leaving. Anika had invited them over for dinner once she would be discharged since she couldn't send them away without feeding them herself. It was a day before her discharge and she was sat with both Ivan and Carlos. "Since the two of you are here, there's a proposition I would like to make" she said. The two men sat up straight waiting for Anika to continue. "I might not live long" she began but was cut off by mutual 'nos and you'll live a long life' before she shushed them. "Let's listen to the doctors and I know they are trying their best but we have to be realistic too. If I do live long, I'll get to watch the happiness unfold if don't then I'll at least be a part of some of it." she explained. The two men were very confused with where she was trying to go. "I want to make a proposition like I said, I think it would be great if Carlos's son, Carlos married Ivan's daughter, Y/N. I've always wanted to watch my grand kids get married, this way I can die happy" she finished. Their mouths opened and closed a few times before Carlos spoke, "Aren't they still too young?" he asked. "It's just a suggestion, it's up to you two and them to decided if they'll go through with it. Would I be happy if they got married? Obviously but at the end of the day it'll all up to the kids. I just want what's best for them" Anika said. The two men were thinking. They were stuck. "You two can think about it, maybe we can introduce them to each other at the dinner tomorrow" Anika said hopeful. This was going to be difficult conversation to have for both Carlos and Ivan, they thought.

Taglist- @herexpertcollector @redrevvedup @chaostudee @larastark3107 @jovialpainterunknown @vip-access @sugarvibez @champomiel @inarabee @virazeeee @seonghwaexile @champ15ns @ajthefujoshi @musicheaux @npcmia @marvel-ous-miss-maisie @mochipatch @gleeblegnarp @formula1-motogpfan @taliya8346282844eliviahdgdajs

[hoodjam]

how does it make you feel?

warning: short, Choso gets a b0ner & creams

Choso hasn’t felt like this ever. Between the fluttering butterflies in his stomach and the constant heat on his face, he thought he was coming down with the flu, but it only happens when you’re around.

He enjoyed everything about you, from the way your hair is done, how your smile makes him smile, or how your body looks in the outfits you wear.

God, he just wanted to feel your body on his, how soft you’d feel. He knew it’d be perfect. And all he could do was stare at you, as you paced in your living room.

However, he couldn’t make the first move, due to his flu symptoms.

“Oh, Cho you warm? Are you ok?” Your silky voice, floated over his ears, effectively pinking his cheeks. Though, seeing this you cupped his face, feeling the heat of his face and mistaken his diagnosis.

“Cho! You are warm, scalding even. Let me get you some medicine.” You rushed out, upset. Again, without words, Choso also felt himself react to your closeness.

His heart threatened to beat from his chest, his hands sweated, as he clenched them into fists, and his mind raced.

“Her hands are so soft, and she’s touching me! I want her to touch me everywhere. I’m so hard right now, I want her… wait I’m hard?!” He thought he would implode because there’s no way you didn’t feel him poking you in your lower belly.

Your eyebrows twitched, and then her face went blank. He was cooked, he fumbled, he was done. “Oh, Cho-I didn’t know you-“ you started, suddenly shy.

“I like you a lot, this is why, yeah.” He explained, desperately trying to remove himself from you.

But held his face still, and you smiled, “I like you too.” And for the millionth time today, he was blessed, as you pressed your lips on his.

He immediately reacted, pressing your hips on his, squeezing the flesh under his fingers. His heart still beating twice as fast.

Suddenly, he became a moaning whiny mess, creaming his pants, still pushing his hips into yours.

You pulled away feeling his slick seep into your clothes, “Oh, we better take care of that.” You whispered, taking his hand and heading to your room.

a/n : thanks for reading I hope y’all enjoy, feedback is welcomed

[hb-writes]

Doting

Summary: When Mia's sudden stomach pain turns out to be appendicitis, the Cullen family's doting nature comes out. Takes place pre-Twilight/ Bella, but not by much (it's the same school year).

Characters: All of the Cullens are present, but focus is mainly on Carlisle Cullen, Esme Cullen, Edward Cullen & Mia Cullen (OC)

Content Warnings: medical stuff - ER visit, appendicitis, appendectomy, surgery recovery

Twilight (Mia Cullen) Masterlist

It was usually Carlisle and Edward who monitored the majority of Mia’s medical needs. It was Carlisle and Edward who did the assessing and diagnosing, determining the need for a visit to her pediatrician or the emergency room. Determining what could and should be cared for by them at home, knowing that she received a fair bit more at-home care than most children did because most kids didn’t have a father and brother with medical degrees. Most kids didn’t have so many people paying such close attention. Most people didn't have so many people close who cared and had the ability to see in one way or another what was going on...

Most people didn't have a Carlisle or an Edward, with their medical degrees and their decades of experience and knowledge.

Most people didn't have an Alice who had visions of the future or a Jasper who could sense moods.

But even so, it had been Esme and her mother’s intuition—her thorough knowledge of her youngest child—who figured out something was wrong with their Mia.

Mia had been quiet when she came home from school, slightly withdrawn as she went through the motions of saying goodbye to her siblings before they left for their hunting trip. No one questioned the behavior. Mia understood why she couldn’t go, but she was always a bit disappointed when the others left her behind anyway.

She first mentioned the stomach ache after they left, declining dinner and informing Esme that her stomach had been off all day. Mia figured it had just been nerves about the science test that was worth 40% of her grade this quarter, and when the test had passed but the unease in her stomach didn’t dissipate, Mia assumed she had caught a bug. It seemed likely—it was flu season after all. 

But the flu didn’t feel like this. It could be awful, sure, but the persistent pain Mia had felt…she knew it was something more. And it was something she couldn’t hide or explain away. She was in enough pain that she didn’t even care to hide it from her mother. Mia was in enough pain that she didn’t fight when Esme announced that they needed to go to the hospital. 

Mia only braced herself against the pain as her mother situated her in the front seat of the car, too engrossed in her discomfort, too desperate for relief to even be bothered about where they were going. 

It was Carlisle’s new resident, a bright-eyed young woman who grew up and attended college and medical school on the other side of the country, moving to Forks 6 months ago for her training, who greeted them and examined Mia while Carlisle was busy treating a farmer who had the misfortune of having his arm stuck in a piece of farm equipment. 

It was the resident who endured Mia’s screams as she gently pressed her fingers to Mia’s stomach. It was the resident who had studied the sonogram images of Mia’s abdomen. It was the resident who explained to Esme and Mia the diagnosis and the prognosis and the next steps. It was the resident who prescribed some pain killers while they waited.

Mia was resting by the time Carlisle was able to get away, curled into the fetal position with her head in Esme’s lap, both of them huddled in the hospital bed.

Carlisle kissed his wife and stroked a cool thumb across his daughter’s flushed cheek before pulling the chart from the end of the bed. He had already been briefed, but he liked to see the blood work for himself. Liked to see her vitals. Liked to be sure for himself even though he trusted his resident’s assessment. 

As soon as the appendicitis was diagnosed, they started the medications—antibiotics to fight the infection and pain killers to help keep her comfortable. 

Carlisle knew his daughter would be fine. They had caught it before the appendix ruptured. She would have a quick surgery and head home. She would recover and have little to show for the whole ordeal aside from a memory and a small scar that would fade to nothing over time. 

“She’ll be okay,” Carlisle said, unsure if the assurance was more for himself or for his wife. “Flanders is a terrific surgeon.” 

Esme nodded at her husband before looking back to their daughter, smoothing back the sweaty hair on Mia’s forehead. Esme had been so grateful when Mia fell asleep, so grateful for the speed with which the IV-administered pain medication had swarmed her daughter’s system, swiftly easing Mia’s torment. But there was a fear that still refused to budge, a worry that had settled itself in Esme’s heart and every fiber of her being. 

Carlisle pulled her to his side and kissed his wife’s forehead, careful that the movement didn’t disturb their sleeping child. Carlisle knew the words wouldn’t be enough to soothe Esme. 

The words…The knowledge that she would be fine…That an appendectomy was standard…easy…None of that had soothed him either. 

The only thing that would offer any relief was seeing their child on the other side of this.

—

The surgery was laparoscopic. Minimally invasive. No complications. She was discharged home on the same day from the recovery room with discharge notes and a prescription for pain medication. 

Mia was asleep on the couch, settled between Esme and Carlisle when the front door burst open, Edward emerging with a wild look in his eye. It was a full minute before Alice caught up.

“She’s—”

“I saw—” Alice began, the words caught in her throat as the vision she’d seen flashed in her memory again. Edward swallowed as it washed over his mind as well. 

“She’s fine,” Carlisle said, his gaze drifting towards the front door as Rose, Jasper, and Emmett came into the room. “Our Mia had appendicitis, but your mother spotted it in time and she’s healing.” 

Carlisle’s words and the sight of their sister sleeping peacefully brought some relief—Carlisle could see the slight change in each of his children as they integrated the information, taking in his assurances. 

Even so, he extricated himself from the sofa and crossed the room to pull her discharge papers from his bag. He wordlessly passed them to his son for review before glancing back at Mia. 

Jasper stood a ways back, but the others had taken up the space Carlisle had vacated, crowding around Mia as she continued to sleep. 

She would be fine. More than fine. While she recovered, she would be cared for and doted on almost too well. She would receive far better care than any hospital could offer.

Carlisle had taken a few days off from the hospital to be with her, but he knew it wasn’t truly warranted. Mia had more than enough volunteers ready to help nursing her back to health. 

“She should be up and moving soon,” Edward murmured as he looked over the papers. “Even if she doesn’t want to be.” 

Carlisle nodded.

“She did a little walking at the hospital before they released her.” 

“How did she do?” 

Carlisle answered through a glance and a small smirk that told Edward his sister had been full of complaints through every step she took.

“Your sister is a terrible patient.”

“And they’ll do nothing but enable her,” Edward said, nodding toward the others. 

“A little doting won’t hurt her,” Carlisle mused, knowing that he planned to dote a little himself. He glanced at Edward. “You were able to go hunting?” 

“Barely,” Edward answered, his gaze moving to Jasper who was still at the edge of the room and keeping a distance. “The others should head back out.”

“And you?” Carlisle asked. 

“I’ll be fine,” Edward answered. “I’ll stay.” 

Carlisle snorted softly. “Go hunt, son.” Carlisle took back the discharge papers. 

“I should—”

“Your sister is safe,” Carlisle interrupted. “And she'll be asleep for a few hours still. And your mother and I are here with her. Take your siblings back out to hunt.” 

Edward looked torn, his dark eyes settled on his sleeping sister. Carlisle’s gaze remained on his son as he watched his sister. 

You can have a turn doting on her after you’ve fed.

Edward glanced at Carlisle. He hadn’t said it aloud, but Edward heard it all the same.

The nourishment will help you better navigate the recovery. 

Carlisle hadn’t said it or even thought it, but Edward knew that what Carlisle truly meant was that feeding would give him a little more patience. Feeding would help Edward navigate his sister’s complaining about getting off the couch and completing her exercises and following the discharge instructions with the least amount of bickering. Feeding would lower the odds of Carlisle and Esme having to play referee. 

What Edward didn’t realize was that Carlisle also meant that before Edward could care for his sister, he needed to care for himself. 

What Edward didn’t realize was that Mia wasn’t the only Cullen Carlisle was doting on. 

Carlisle placed a hand on Edward’s shoulder, squeezing once before he crossed the room and began the process of ushering his other children from the room, communicating the plan to resume their hunting trip to the others while giving Edward the opportunity to approach Mia and Esme on his own. 

Esme gave a gentle smile as Edward approached, sitting on the edge of the coffee table in front of them. Edward took the hand Esme offered.

“She’ll be fine,” Esme said. “They all said the recovery should be simple.” 

Edward raised an eyebrow. Esme chuckled, a bit of light entering her eyes for the first time since this ordeal started. 

“Well, it should be simple when it comes to the medical piece, at least,” she amended. 

Edward snorted, barely a sound emitted as he did it, but Mia’s eyes fluttered open anyway, locking on him immediately. 

“Edward?” 

Some tension Edward hadn’t realized he was holding shifted at hearing her voice. Esme released his hand. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I got my appendix out,” Mia mumbled, the hint of a smile on her lips though it disappeared as she shifted position, her face suddenly scrunched up as she winced at a lash of pain. 

“Careful,” Edward said, his hands instinctively shooting forward to steady her. 

“I’m fine,” she hissed, though she was far from it, a small bead of sweat forming at her hairline and a bit of foggy exhaustion creeping in after just a few minutes awake, after just a few seconds of misguided movement. 

Edward gave his mother a knowing look and Esme schooled her features, but Mia had somehow caught it, even distracted as she was with her pain. 

“It’s not funny. I just had surgery and—”

“You’re awake,” Carlisle said gently and as if it was the best news in the world. He offered a smile to Mia as he approached, his sudden presence easily putting an end to a rant he knew would only rile her up. 

“Edward, the others are waiting for you,” he said, squeezing Edward’s shoulder. 

Edward nodded. “I’ll be back soon,” he offered to Mia and Esme before standing and moving slowly towards the front door. 

“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” Carlisle asked as he took Edward’s place on the coffee table.

Edward slowed his steps as he waited to hear Mia’s answer, hoping she’d give their father a more honest and complete answer than she had given him. There was none of the sarcasm Edward had received—none of the bite in her voice either—as his sister answered Carlisle’s question with a question, her voice small and timid. 

“Can I have some ice cream?” 

Edward stopped by the front door. His instinct was to return to the livingroom and answer. To interject and relay the instructions he’d just read in the discharge summary—she was restricted to clear liquids only for 24 hours post- surgery—but Carlisle answered before he could get the words out. 

“How about a popsicle?” he offered instead, just as well-versed in his daughter's discharge papers as the son who still lingered by the front door. 

Edward didn’t hear his sister’s answer, but he heard Carlisle stand and cross the room, a doting sentiment sent his way as Carlisle walked toward the kitchen. 

Go ahead, son. She’ll be fine.

Twilight (Mia Cullen) Masterlist

[darl-ingfics]

Feveruary Day 6: Spoon-Feeding

Fandom: Seventeen

Sickie: The8 (flu)

Caregiver(s): Joshua, mostly

Word Count: 908

Xu Minghao did not ask for help. He just didn’t. If he ever needed anything, he simply found a way to make it happen on his own. Why burden someone else when he was perfectly capable of managing himself? Sure, he’d accept help when it was given: if Hoshi clarified a dance move, he thanked him for it; if Jun automatically translated something for him, he appreciated it; if Mingyu offered to share a snack with him, he loved it. He thrived on the supporting hands his brothers offered to him, but only if the other party offered them freely. On principle, Xu Minghao preferred to be completely self-sufficient.

Even when he was laid up in bed with the worst flu of his life, Xu Minghao did not ask for help. 

He’d made it through two full days of rehearsal schedules and a Music Bank performance before his body gave out. Surviving on cough suppressants, tea, and the smallest amount of rice his stomach could handle, Minghao went about his day bundled up in hoodies and scarves he definitely hadn’t stolen from his members, adamantly insisting he was ‘fine, just run down,’ when asked. But during their Music Bank performance, he’d stumbled. His head went blank for a half second, the crushing reality of “God, I feel like shit” hitting him like a bullet train. Minghao was a professional, of course, and pushed on, knowing rationally his little mistake wouldn’t look like much to the audience. He pushed on through the cheers of their fans, through the hustle off stage, through the polite goodbyes to their industry colleagues and the network executives.

The second they had left the building, Minghao’s brain went dark and his legs gave out. He had no idea how they’d gotten him home; he vaguely remembered someone catching him when he’d passed out, and had flashes of memories in a doctor’s office (or was it the hospital? Or was it just the company doctor at the dorm? There had been a doctor with one of those things with the light that they shined in his eyes… that’s what Minghao remembered from the exchange, wherever it was.) 

But he did remember what happened when he’d woken up in his bed: 

Soonyoung and Seungcheol and Joshua crowded around him. Soonyoung brushing his hair back as he relayed his medical diagnosis: influenza, dehydration, stupidly high fever. Seungcheol’s voice stern and worried but his eyes sympathetic as he shared the company’s ‘diagnosis:’ no schedules until his fever was down without medication for at least 48 hours. Joshua folding him into a hug when he’d started to cry, whispering the sweet reassurances Junhei had taught him in Mandarin. 

He didn’t want to miss schedules. He didn’t want to be sick. He didn’t want to be a burden.

But that didn’t much matter. His body was in too much pain to move, his throat too sore to speak more than single word answers, his head too foggy to even make sense of what he needed. Minghao couldn’t have attended schedules despite how bad he wanted to; he could barely move his limbs without crying. Hell, he could barely THINK without crying. He felt terrible, horrible, awful. And it had only been a day, not even 24 since he’d collapsed outside Music Bank. How was he expected to just exist like this until his immune system got its act together?!

It absolutely did not help that Junhei was in China, filming a drama. Building his acting career. Following his dream. Minghao shouldn’t even think about calling him; how could he ruin his brother’s day like that? But it was getting increasingly more difficult for his brain to switch between languages.

“Haohao?” Minghao opened his eyes, his internal rant broken as he blinked up at Joshua. “Hi baby. Mind if I sit with you?” Minghao gave a single shake of his head before scooching back to make room on the bed. Joshua sat down carefully, balancing a bowl in his hands. The older man smiled, soft and warm. “Kwannie made you something to eat. It’s a recipe your mom sent us a year or so ago, one that she said you really like when you’re not feeling well.” Minghao swallowed thickly as he peered forward at the bowl. His stomach rumbled hopefully. “We also need you to have something in your stomach before the next round of meds. Think you can do that?”

Minghao nodded, not trusting his voice. He moved to sit up, the process lethargic, and somewhat painful to watch as his arms nearly gave out from under him. A frustrated tear slipped down his cheek, prompting a second one because why the hell was he even crying? 

Joshua clicked his tongue, reaching forward to brush Minghao’s sweaty hair off of his forehead, which felt so incredibly satisfying to the dancer. “Would it be okay if I fed you?” Joshua asked gently. It was at that exact moment that it clicked: Joshua had been speaking to him in Mandarin the whole time. Minghao teared up again. “It’s also perfectly fine if you want to do it yourself!” Joshua said quickly, misinterpreting the sudden tears. “I just… you look really shaky and I just thought…” 

“No, hyung,” Minghao rasped. “Please… that’s okay with me.” 

Joshua’s smile could’ve rivaled the sun. 

Xu Minghao did not ask for help. But he also could never refuse when his brothers gave it so lovingly.

[calinaannehart]

time is shortening (down to the bone)

Chapter 2

“Okay, Bobby should be here any minute, he’s going to take you to chemo, but then he’s got that meeting with the chief so Hen is going to pick you up and bring you home. Then she and Karen have got a playdate with Mara’s brother so Chim’s going to come over after he’s dropped Jee off at the Lee’s. I think he’s got this plan for, like, a movie marathon or something, so save your energy for that, and then Eddie will take over from him and do your physio with you. Now, I’ve told him that you’re leg has been pretty bad the past few days so don’t try and just suffer through it, you hear me? And then Eddie will stay with you until I get off my shift, I should be back about eight, but that will all depend on how the traffic is at—what?”

Tommy’s looking up at him from his spot on the couch, heated blanket draped over his legs, and his head is cocked to one side matching the fond, yet slightly exasperated, smile that he’s directing at Buck.

“You know you wrote this all on the calendar already, right?” Tommy says, throwing a thumb over his shoulder toward the kitchen. “I haven’t lost my memory yet.” His eyes scrunch as his smile turns teasing.

Despite everything he’s going through Tommy hasn’t lost that dry sense of humor that had caught Buck’s attention. Right from that first meeting, when Chim had driven them to the harbor station after calling Tommy for help finding the cruise ship, there had been something special about Tommy. Buck just hadn’t been able to work out what it was straight away.

The man had swanned out of the hanger clad in a blue jumpsuit that should have been unflattering, but somehow looked like he’d swiped it right from a fashion catwalk, and greeted Chim with an embrace that dwarfed the small man. Tommy had shaken Buck’s and Eddie’s hands in turn and asked them what their plan was. He hadn’t even taken a second to consider another option when Chimney had asked if he could get them a helicopter.

“For Captain Nash, anything,” Tommy had said solemnly, leaving Buck wondering what the story was behind the vow, and had bustled them toward a bright yellow helicopter with an instruction to stay out of sight until Hen arrived.

It hadn’t been until they’d safely landed on the rescue ship, grabbing a much-needed warm drink after watching Bobby and Athena reunite, that Buck realized he’d introduced himself as Evan rather than by his chosen name. Tommy had stood next to him, full of jokes about how no one would fire them now that they were officially heroes, and had asked Buck if that was how life was now at the 118. He hadn’t registered at first that Tommy was talking to him as he was so used to hearing the name Evan directed at him. But strangely, he hadn’t minded in the least.

Maybe that should have been his first hint at just how much the man was about to turn Buck’s whole life around.

“I know, I just…it’s a lot of moving parts, you know?” Buck shrugs as he stuffs a clean LAFD tee into his duffle bag.

It had hurt so much seeing Tommy suffering so much. It had been three days before the vomiting had let up enough for him to be able to keep down more than a few sips of water and a handful of saltine crackers. Buck had stayed for the duration of it, calling out sick claiming a stomach flu, and turning down all offers from the 118 to stop by and check on him and find him not at home. He’d confessed the truth when he’d returned for their next block of shifts, having gotten Tommy’s permission to share the news of his diagnosis, and just as Buck had predicted everyone had been shocked but had also offered to do whatever they could to help.

Getting Tommy to accept that help from someone other than Buck, however, had been more of a battle. When Buck had taken vacation days for the second cycle Tommy had been agitated, insisting Buck didn’t need to babysit him, that he could just check on Tommy after his shift. It had been hard not to let his frustration show when he’d reminded the man how he’d had to clean up the vomit before it stained the rug, how he’d washed weeks’ worth of dishes and done multiple loads of laundry, how he’d had to help Tommy in and out of the bathtub because he hadn’t had enough energy to stand, let alone wash himself.

“I���m not judging you for it,” Buck had insisted, softening his voice when he’d spotted the embarrassment on Tommy’s face. “I can’t imagine how hard this is for you. Watching you suffer is one thing, but actually going through it? I wouldn’t cope any better. Just accept the help, Tommy. Even if you say no I’m going to be here anyway, all of us are.”

read on ao3

@911bingo

If you like please reblog!!!

[sae-something]

Echo woman was amazing and very thorough and, drum roll, I was fucking right. My appendix is roughly 4 times the size it should be (should be 3mm thick, mine is 12). Everyone in the GP's office was so supportive - everyone outraged at how the emergency department sent me away with a stomach flu diagnosis on wednesday. Everyone is also very interested what my inflammation levels are doing right now, considering they were so low on tues/wednesday despite already having been in pain for 6 days at that point.

Anyway. I'm at home now to quickly gather some stuff and have to go to the hospital. A friend is driving to me right now to pick me up and bring me there. Didn't ask yet but hope he'll be willing to stay with me for a bit.

I am in practical mode now but also feel very scared. I miss my dad. He was always so awesome with medical/practical things like this.

Oh and as a cherry on top, of course I saw mom as I cycled home from the GP. We cycled on the same bike path in opposite directions so had to pass each other. I just stared at the road.

Anyway. I think after appendix surgery they try to send you home asap, preferably the next day, so idk when I'll be back home. We'll see how it goes???? Scared. But yeah. Don't worry if I don't post anything for a couple days.

Wish me luck 🥲

[aheckinmess]

All I Want for Christmas is You

(Part 20 of The Snowball Effect)

Read on AO3.

Tags: Enji Todoroki, Endeavor, Female Reader, Reader Has an Ice Quirk, Endeavor x Reader, Enji Todoroki x Reader, MHA Christmas Special, Giving Your Partner a Surprise Christmas Gift Early, Shoto is Mentioned, You Get Sick Again, You Go Get Checked Out, Exciting Fun News Awaits, Expecting Reader

Word Count: 430 words

Summary: Enji isn't expecting a surprise Christmas gift from you but, then again, you didn't expect to have one for him, either.

Playlist: The Snowball Effect

December 20

Enji insists you visit the doctor when your sinus infection returns for another round of congestion and bed rest. Only this time it brings with it nausea and a tension headache.

“If you haven’t been to the doctor by the time I finish patrol this afternoon, I’m throwing you over my shoulder to take you myself.” Enji warns, holding you by the cheeks. “I need you to take care of yourself for me, okay?”

“I know.” You whine. “I’ll go.”

After arriving and learning you need to set up a check-up anyway, you offer to wait around for an hour until your regular doctor has an opening. Upon being called to the back, you’re treated to a basic check-up and a few tests to see if you have the flu or COVID.

Dr. Sin has your diagnosis in a matter of minutes: a sinus infection and a stomach bug.

. . . . .

When Enji returns from patrol, he finds you in an instant.

“Did you call Dr. Sin?”

“Yes, Enchan.” You laugh. “It’s just a sinus infection; they gave me some antibiotics.”

“Another sinus infection?” Enji frowns.

“Check the papers if you don’t believe me!” You snort. “I can’t help it that my sinuses are just silly little guys.”

“No, but you can take better care of the love of my life.” The whiskers of his beard tickle your neck as he kisses your shoulder. “Let me see the papers.”

You hand over the documents and lean into his side.

His breath catches as you tilt your head up to smile at him. He brings his arms around your waist and presses his forehead to yours with wide, pleading eyes.

“Is it true? We’re expecting another baby, too?” He rubs your cheek with his thumb. “Why didn’t you lead with that?!”

“Well, I’d thought about telling you I had a stomach bug, but I figured it’d be easier to treat it as a surprise early Christmas present and make you see it yourself.” 

His lips crash against yours as he spins you around. When he sets you down, his calloused palms caress your stomach.

“Are you excited to have another little one in your arms?” You coo.

“I can’t wait. I really can’t wait.” He whispers in a broken cry. “I’m so happy! Shoto will have a little sibling and it’s been so long since we’ve tried for another girl. Maybe Fuyumi will finally get a little sister.” He rambles and then peppers kisses all over your face again.

You giggle and tangle your fingers in his spiky red hair.

“Merry Christmas, Enji.”

Day 21

Credit to @saradika-graphics for the holiday banner! Thank you so much!

[intothewildsea]

medical stuff under cut, nothing graphic tho

I went to the ER last night for severe abdominal pain, but after a CT scan the doctor said it's just a really bad case of the stomach flu. It doesn't feel like the stomach flu though??? So I'm kinda sus about that diagnosis. Unfortunately I don't have enough PTO to miss work today but I'm self isolating at my desk and masked up.

I might try to poke at drafts today since I probably won't get much actual work done but I'm running on 3 hours of sleep. ;^;

[notesfortherapy]

i think the worst part of fibro has got to be the first year or so after diagnosis. Before diagnosis you have the hope that it's something curable, or something that you can treat with medication that will make the pain evapourate. After diagnosis you're just kind of left to sit with this label and even though your doc is all big smiles and "you'll get better if you just believe" well...most of us are smart enough, and in enough pain to understand this isnt something you can happy thought your way out of.

But I will say... I'm almost a year on from my official diagnosis now and...well... I am doing better. i'm far from cured, I'm always in some level of background pain, and on my worst days its a fight to see through the fog, which is far worse than when my symptoms started.

But, I know the beast Im dealing with now.

I know for me my pain is tied heavily to my hormonal cycle (thank you prostaglandins). I know that for most of a month, 2 rounds of ibruprofen a day are enough to keep the pain in check (fuck you prostaglandins), but not enough to give me a bad stomach. I know that I have to try to walk a few times a week, and that if I end up ill in bed for weeks, i will need to build my stamina back up or i'll suffer for it. I know that when I do get sick, my body will hurt like a motherf**ker, whether it's the flu or a sniffle. I know that I can't be in the office for more than 3 days a week. I know sleep is REALLY IMPORTANT, and that somedays I will need podcasts and somedays I will need earplugs, but either way, I should aim to passout before midnight every night. And I know that the pain will come and the pain will go and I'll work with it. Sometimes it'll be sad because I might have to cancel or rearrange something. Othertimes, I'll be shocked that I managed to stand on my feet for 4 hours and still had energy to smile.

I guess what I'm saying is, the fibro might improve, but you WILL improve at living with it. You get to know you're pain, and eventually it's like living with a slightly annoying roomate who's always got the music up just a little too loud.

Ah f*ck now I need to name it.

[maisietheyellowlab]

Maisie's recovery update:

Regarding the bladder surgery, she's recovering really well. Stitches healed nicely. We still have to do an ultrasound somewhat soon to see how things are healing on the inside, and that's mostly it.

HOWEVER, there of course had to be other complications. She first got a somewhat bad ear infection that is now under control, and then when the ears seemed to be doing better, she started throwing up.

She was throwing up every 30 min - 2 hours Friday night - Sunday morning, so we went to the emergency vet on Sunday asap.

She got an IV, antibiotic, glucose, and anti nausea meds, so she stopped throwing up, but she was still very obviously sick and nauseous. Refused food (and still mostly is) and barely moved. I have never seen her in such a horrible state tbh, it was and kinda still is pretty scary. She's feeling a tiny bit better today, licked some PB, and had a tiny piece of salami, so she's starting to get her appetite back. Fortunately she has't been refusing water for long, so at the very least she'll take some sips out of my hands.

Going to the vet today again for a check up. Hopefully, she keeps improving and that will be the end of it.

Oh, the general diagnosis is gastritis and it most likely happened bc her urinary vet diet food was irritating her stomach a little bit (she's been eating grass more often ever since she was put on this food, but it's the best one so far for her) + she gulped down a dog ice cream in basically one bite on Thursday, so that was probably the last straw for her.

Moral of the story, do Not let your dogs eat ice cream quickly, I guess.

Well, the vet said it could also be a stomach flu-like virus, but the ice cream sure didn't help.

Soo yeah, the past week has been a Ride.

[slippinmickeys]

Prompt: shortly after the breakup, mulder comes by to pick up something and finds scully felled by a stomach bug/flu/other non-fatal illness. Things are still awkward between them but also decades of history and love etc. what happens next?

It was all she could do to roll off the couch when the doorbell rang, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders and shuffling to the door.

Every muscle in her body ached, her head pounded, her nose was a faucet she couldn’t turn off and her throat was on fire. It was the flu, she had self-diagnosed, and it had leveled her. She had had to call in sick, a move her supervisor at Our Lady of Sorrows had met with irritation rather than sympathy, but at present, she felt too miserable to care.

At the door was — she hoped — the Hunan Palace delivery person bearing several orders of hot and sour soup. She hadn’t had much of an appetite, nor the energy to make herself anything substantive, but she knew she needed to eat. And the phone call to the local Asian restaurant had zapped whatever energy reserves she’d had left. The soup would act as a minor restorative.

She swung open the door, expecting to see Don, the usual Hunan driver (and one of the few people of her acquaintance who wasn’t as tall as she was), but her gaze had to keep climbing to identify the person at her door, and when her eyes reached those of her visitor, she visibly startled.

“Mulder,” she said, her voice croaking from disuse and illness. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey Scully,” he said, his face conveying an apprehensive buoyancy, “sorry I didn’t call first, I—geez, are you okay?”

“I have the flu,” she said weakly, as if it wasn’t obvious.

Several expressions passed over his face in succession. For the first time she noticed that he had a small bankers box in his hands, which he shuffled from one hip to the other. She sniffed and he followed her gaze to the box in his hands.

“I was cleaning out the extra room and found some of your things,” he explained. “I was in the neighborhood, and…”

Scully felt her eyebrows raise. Cleaning and Mulder weren’t two words that went together very often, certainly not since the depression that gripped him had forced her to leave him for her own mental well being. She glanced at his face. His color was better than since she’d last seen him, and the careworn look in his eye had faded somewhat. He looked like he was maybe getting regular sunlight and exercise. She smiled, despite how miserable she felt.

“Um, thank you,” she said, nodding at the box.

Mulder gave her a close-lipped smile of his own and took a step forward, sliding the box onto the floor just inside her door. When he straightened, he slid his hands into his back pockets and tilted his head at her.

“Scully, is there anything I can do for y-“

His question was cut off by the click of Scully’s front gate and they both turned their attention to see Don trundling up the walkway with a large paper bag.

“Miss Dana,” the man said, inclining his head at her politely, and handing over her food. The bag was warm under her hands, the paper felty and soft.

“Thanks, Don,” she said and the delivery man retreated back the way he came. Then she sniffed again, loudly. She could feel a trickle of mucus threatening to break free of her nostrils.

Mulder stood in the doorway, his brow a chevron of concern. Without removing his gaze from hers, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, handing it over without a word. She paused before reaching out and accepting it. In the early years of their partnership, he was not the kind of man that carried one around. It wasn’t until her cancer diagnosis that she noticed he seemed to always have a handkerchief on hand, and she had used it to catch the leaking crimson of her lifeblood more than once. Something inside her clenched.

“Thank you,” she said, dabbing the cloth to her nose. And then a wave of vertigo hit her and she leaned hard against the frame, nearly dropping the bag of soup.

“Whoa,” Mulder said, reaching out a hand to steady her.

Before she knew it, he had taken the take-out from her, and was steering her back into the house, closing the door behind him.

“Come on,” he said sweetly, taking the blanket from her shoulders as she approached the couch where she’d been resting, practically falling back into it. He set down the food and snapped out the blanket, gently settling it over her as she laid down, lowering himself to sit next to her hip a moment later.

He reached forward and felt her forehead, his palm blessedly cool against skin that felt too hot and too tight. His hand lingered there, then moved the back of his fingers to her cheek, his touch light, almost a caress.

“You feel really warm, Scully.”

“Fever,” she agreed, not having the energy to expound any further. A fresh set of chills wracked her body.

“Have you taken anything?” he asked gently.

“Ibuprofen, a couple hours ago,” her voice was gravelly. “Might be time for-“

“Tylenol?” he finished for her.

She nodded weakly, trying not to appear too surprised.

“You know I always listened when you talked,” he said. She had no rebuttal. “Where’s your bathroom?”

She pointed toward it and he was off, reappearing a few minutes later with a bottle of acetaminophen and the water cup she kept in the bathroom. He handed over a few dusty pills and she swallowed them down, wincing as they passed through the ragged sharpness of her throat.

Mulder reached down and picked up the soup she’d ordered.

“Think you can eat something?”

She tried to sit up. “I probably should,” she said, but Mulder pressed her back into the cushions.

“I’ll get it,” he said, and he was once again off, and she closed her eyes, listening to him banging around in her kitchen a minute later, looking for god knew what.

It was nice having another person in her space, she discovered. All wasn’t quiet and still and lonely. Even just the soft sounds of Mulder’s footsteps in the other room settled a quiet and cozy domesticity over her space that had been lacking and she was lulled into an easeful drowsiness.

She dozed for however long until she heard the soft thud of a wooden tray being placed on the coffee table near her head. She opened her eyes to see Mulder shifting a few things around on the table, pushing aside some medical journals, and sliding a box of Kleenex and the TV remote where she could reach them.

On the tray was a steaming bowl of dark, oily soup and a sweating glass of water half filled with ice. Next to the bowl was one of the thin white napkins from Hunan Palace, and on top sat a silver, rounded soup spoon, one of the nice ones from her Aunt Olive’s china set. She pushed herself up onto an elbow.

“Thank you, Mulder,” she said quietly, suddenly feeling quite sorry for herself.

He kneeled down next to her and gave her a nod and she had the strangest urge to tip herself forward into his lap and howl at the injustice of her infirmity, of her empty, empty life. She knew his arms would come around her, knew he’d drop soft kisses into her hair, knew she’d feel all the love that still existed between them, love that they both studiously ignored, awkward as an empty table setting.

Instead, she swung her feet to the floor and considered the food in front of her.

“Is there anything else I can do for you,” he asked, “before… before I go?”

She merely shook her head, not trusting herself to speak.

He rose, his knees popping as he did so. “I’ll call later,” he said, his warm, heavy hand briefly on her shoulder, squeezing, “and check in.”

She reached forward and picked up the soup spoon and a few moments later she heard her front door open and close and the silence pressed back in, the stillness. The loneliness. She could still feel his touch.

[roostercat41]

Hi friends, for those that acquired their disability later in life (not born with it or got it in childhood) how long did it take for it to “set in”? Like I have mental health disorders and I could kinda tell that I was going to have them forever so it wasn’t like a big shock or what ever when I thought about being mentally ill forever and I could get a lot of help like therapy and medication to help even though I have a really misunderstood diagnosis (bpd) (I know this is not for everyone and it won’t last me forever) but I was recently diagnosed with gastroparesis (within the last 2 years) and I guess it hasn’t fully hit me that ill be like this forever and there is so little knowledge of it, medical treatments or help. I guess I keep pretending I have the stomach flu all the time and just pretend it will go away. How to I just let it hit me and realize it’s really going to be my life forever?

[christinescupofcoffee]

Throughout the Dark Months of April and May a top gear/grand tour special

this is a very twisted, fucked up, and darkly hilarious fic, inspired by true events that happened to me this year—named for the cocteau twins song! i initially wrote this anonymously but i decided to shed the mask a couple of weeks ago. bundle up and pour yourself a cup of tea.

ao3 link

Chapter One: Needles and Pins

I had about fifteen minutes to think quick about what to do for myself when the doctor gave the diagnosis. Blood clots, two in her lungs, and one in her leg. And to make matters worse, no one had any idea as to whether or not it was genetic. The whir of the helicopter blades outside of the hospital told me that I only had so much time before I could make a decision. I hung off to the side of her room and rubbed my temples with my fingertips.

The tube down her throat. The mask on her face to help her breathe. The wires hooked up to her. Her skin with a fine layer of slime for the ultrasound on her chest and the thing that showed the truth to me.

I never believed that I would be seeing my mother in this fashion.

I hitched up my satchel and lingered off to the side. Somewhere in the emergency room was a telephone I could use to call up James and ask him for a ride.

Stupid me. I had not had my driver’s license as of yet. Definitely something to consider when the dust settled somewhere down the line.

But I had my worries that this was going to be a long time ordeal, especially with the helicopter approaching faster. I was more concerned with how I could return home, and yet the thought hung over me like a cloud heavy with rain. This could be fatal to her. This could be a threat to me as well, somewhere down the line.

It all started back around New Year’s, when she and I received our annual flu shots. I took it in stride, but she developed a slight cough. We both shrugged it off, and we never really went out that much anyway: I hung out with James and a few other friends, but she strictly held down our fort up there atop the mountainside. When she began to fall ill, I spent more time at home to care for her.

The next thing I knew, she retreated to her bed more often as she lost her breath even so much as tending to the bathroom. I would cook dinner for her and find myself packing up more leftovers into the fridge.

I helped her in changing the sheets on her bed one evening, and it sounded as though she had been running a marathon prior to then, even though she had only strode about a few meters. I wound up having to do it myself as she sat off to the side nearly hyperventilating.

We both believed it to be the flu, but she lacked the fever and the sickly feeling in her stomach.

Come this day in late February, I finally told her to go to the hospital and at least have herself checked. We left the house at eleven-thirty after she had spent the better part of an hour merely putting her clothes on. I guided her out to the car, and at that point, her breathing was laced with loud shrieks that would wake the neighbors. Our closest neighbor was a hundred yards away, just to put that in perspective.

All the while, I worried about us veering off that mountain road at some point, like her labored harsh breathing was going to be too much of a burden. And all the while, I thought about having my own license.

We reached the hospital and I helped her out of the car. She leaned against the side panel with her hands on her knees, completely winded and shaking.

I fetched the security guard for a wheelchair and an oxygen tank, and thus, we found ourselves locked away in the emergency room. After being turned around looking for the water fountain and accidentally winding up in the radiology department, and after making a complete arse of myself asking the nurses how long this would take, the truth revealed itself to me like the full moon ready to rise that evening. And worse, still, no one knew if this was months in the making or if it manifested as a result of the needle.

I peered out the windows over the head of her hospital bed to find the light was fading. Indeed, the noise of the emergency room rang throughout my ears, louder than ever. A blur of a day was ending, and I needed a phone.

I held off to the side of the room with my satchel over my shoulder and my jacket tucked under my arm. She had given me the car key as well as the house key, and I knew that, once James turned up, I was going to have to find a way back to the car and bring it back home. There had to be a way to work it all out.

It had to work out. I just knew in my heart of hearts that it had to work out somehow.

I lingered off to the side with my things and watched them load up my mother onto the stretcher for the ride on the helicopter. I watched them hook her up to what I initially thought to be an iron lung, that is until I turned my head to the other side of the room. There on the wall stood the pay phone.

In my pocket was plenty of loose change for a quick one.

Though we had lived in the States for nearly five years at that point, I still had a bit of trouble discerning cents from pence.

A few into the slot, and I dialed his number.

“Hello?”

“James! It’s Richard.”

“What’s going on?” He paused for a moment. “What’s all that noise? Where are you, the rodeo?”

“My mum’s in the hospital, she’s got blood clots, mate,” I told him, and I found myself winded right then as well. “They’re airlifting her down to the valley. I can’t really go with her because there’s too many things to do back home.”

“Oh, bloody hell… er, you don’t have a ride, right?” 

“I’m afraid not,” I confessed, my heart sinking at the mere suggestion of leaving my mother alone in a big hospital about an hour away from there.

“Right, er… hang on. I’ll be there soon. I’m helping Jezza with some things, I’ll be there soon. Deep breath. Things will be alright. I’ll be right there.”

“Okay. I’ll be in the waiting room. Thank you.”

We hung up at the same time, and I knew I was going to have to call my father and tell him the truth about it as well. Needless to say, he nearly hit the roof when I did.

When I hung up again, I ran my fingers through my hair and counted my change. I had plenty for more calls if I wanted, but I needed to see my mother off to the helicopter. The iron lung strapped to her mouth and shoulders, her body entombed in the protective canvas and the heavy straps on the stretcher itself, and a catheter jutted out from between her legs. The coat of arms enshrouded around me in iron, the way that the ghosts haunted me, and I had to face the abyss all alone.

A nurse with long platinum blonde hair and wrapped in black scrubs strode up to me with a look of concern on her face.

“How are you doing? Is everything okay?” she asked me.

“I guess I am, yes,” I told her. “I’m taking this better than I thought I would.”

“Can I get you anything? Do you need anything?”

“I am really, really thirsty,” I confessed, especially since I hadn’t had a drink of water since we had arrived there.

“Okay, I can do that for you. And do you know how you’re getting home, too?”

“My friend is coming to pick me up,” I informed her. “He might be a while, though.”

“If he doesn’t come, I’ll take you home instead,” she assured me.

“Oh, God, thank you!” I proclaimed. She returned to me with a cup of water for me, and I followed them outside as they hauled my mother out to the helipad right outside the hospital. The keys jingled in my pockets but I knew they couldn’t hear me over the cacophony of the emergency room. I lingered back in the corridor until we reached the rim of the hospital perimeter, where they forbade me from going unless I was riding the helicopter myself. I held back, but I gave her a final pat on the shoulder before they hauled off with her. The helicopter stood there on the helipad, with the propeller blades and the back rudder shiny and strong against the waning light.

I watched them go up to the dirt trail there, and I figured it would be best to fetch my things from the car. I attached my water bottle to my belt loop with the carabiner, and I tucked my books into my satchel.

I glanced over at the helipad once more as I stood before the driver’s side door and locked up the car once again. The final rays of light over the propeller, and I knew I had to get home.

Best thing I could do was return to the cozy waiting room and at the very least try to relax myself with something to read. It was particularly strange being alone like that, and I knew it would be even more peculiar once I returned to the house alone, especially when I hadn’t left the porch light on for myself.

I sat down in the chair by the window and opened one book. I tucked my legs underneath my body and tried to focus on the words before me. I had no idea if the incoming darkness had anything to do with it, but I had my worries that James wasn’t coming, especially when I remembered that he didn’t live very far from there. Indeed, I craned my neck for a glimpse outside to the parking lot: off in the distance stood the mountains, capped with a fine layer of snow and frozen fog. James lived way over there, but it usually only took him about ten minutes to do that straight shot across town.

Surely, it couldn’t have been that difficult. Don’t tell me the bastard got lost.

I returned to my book with a shake of my head and a sigh through my nose. I had to focus and relax otherwise I was going to drive myself crazy. I took a quick glimpse at the clock on the wall on the other side of the room: fifteen minutes to six.

There was also another pay phone on the other side of the room.

But I needed to relax for a time, however. 

I pointed my gaze to the words on the page before me. In fact, I finished an entire chapter before I tucked the bookmark back in between the pages and took another glimpse at the clock.

“Half past six?” I muttered. I put my book back into my satchel and strode across the room for the phone. Another few cents into the slot. I dialed his number again.

“What?”

“Where are you?” I demanded. “It’s been nearly an hour, I really would like to get home.”

“I’m still stuck here with him! It’s always just one more thing and one more thing and one more thing after that. I’ll be there in ten minutes. I swear, I’ll be right there.”

“Okay, I’ll be right outside,” I said, slightly exasperated. I hung up again, and I had no idea where that nurse had gone off to. As far as I knew, she had already clocked out and returned home herself.

I headed outside with my things, where I was met with the cold air of the nightfall on the crown of my head. I stopped for a second and put my jacket back on over me, and I slung my bag over my shoulder once again. I stepped up to the curb and I searched about for that squarish yellow Austin Princess that resembled a piece of cheese to emerge from the darkness. I let my eyes wander off to the right: the highway was alive tonight, and I faced my own darkness as well with my family far and away from me and my friend nowhere to be seen.

Golden yellow headlights swept over me as a car rolled into the parking lot right then. I stepped back as it slowed down to the curb, and I wondered what they were doing.

A rich royal blue Porsche 911 rolled up before me as if to take me for a ride. The passenger window rolled down, and I spotted a woman behind the wheel. She clicked on the overhead light so I could see her smooth black hair and her olive skin.

“You look like you’re headed somewhere,” she called out to me, and I inched closer to the window to better speak to her.

“I’m waiting for my friend,” I confessed to her over the roar of the motorway off in the distance. “But I don’t know where he is, though.”

“Doesn’t seem like much of a friend,” she so bluntly put it. I swallowed at that. “I could give you a lift. I came to talk to the hospital administrator about something really quick, but I think they went to dinner.”

“Yeah, it’s… getting a bit late,” I remarked.

“Hop in, and I’ll go and do that really quick. It’ll only take about five minutes, if that. If you don’t mind waiting.”

“Well… as long as I’m in a really beautiful car, I don’t mind at all.”

She showed me a thoughtful smile and unlocked the door for me. I tucked my satchel into the backseat and unhooked my water bottle from my belt, and I bowed into the front seat next to her. The front interior smelled of leather and also vanilla and cinnamon. She had burned some incense in there at some point. 

I spotted a trio of golden filigrees dangling off her rear-view mirror, and it seemed as though I had stepped into a witch’s den.

She took to the first spot by the front door and switched off the car.

“I’ll be right back,” she promised me. “What’s your name, by the way?”

“Richard. Richard Hammond.”

“I’m Gabriela,” she replied. “May I ask why you were at the hospital?”

“It’s my mother,” I explained, and I was met with a sudden wave of exhaustion. “She has a triad of blood clots. She had to be airlifted down to the valley and I was left alone back there for about an hour.”

“Oh, you poor thing,” she cooed to me. “I promise you this will be quick.” She ducked out of there and headed back to the waiting room. I watched her go in the rear-view mirror to those big sliding doors, and then I brought my gaze back to the inside of the car. I could tell she had had it for a while, despite the retention of the new car smell under the incense. A part of me wanted to drive it myself, and I knew in my heart of hearts that I would be careful with this beauty, but I took another glance at the filigree on the mirror. 

Something told me not to play with fire like that.

Instead, I reached out to the dashboard to feel the smooth face of everything. An absolute boy’s dream before me, and I noticed the doors opening again through the rear-view mirror. She strode out of the hospital and returned to the car.

“Not in?” I asked her as she climbed back in.

“Not at all. Dinner time and it’s a Saturday night to boot. So…” She turned the ignition key and the car hummed to life.

“Whoa,” I breathed out.

“Beauty, isn’t it?”

“I never believed I’d see a 911 up here in the mountains of California,” I confessed to her. She showed me a quaint smile as she drove me back home by my direction; at one point, on the road back up to the house, the moon rose up over the horizon and bathed us in that bright white light, as if to comfort us, as if to comfort me in particular.

I guided her all the way to the end of the cul-de-sac and the house, enshrined in complete darkness and silence.

“Here we are,” she decreed.

“Okay…” I said wistfully. I almost didn’t want to leave that car. But I was exhausted, and I needed a bit of relief from such a long and trying day. I turned my attention over to her.

“Gabriela, you said?”

“Gabriela Texeira,” she clarified.

“Brazilian lady,” I followed along.

“Close. I was born in Portugal but grew up in Canada and I moved here last year.”

“Wow. Well, I grew up in Birmingham, over in England. I moved here about five years ago. My friend James, who’s also from England, came here last year. He was supposed to come and pick me up but he got tied up.” I then cleared my throat. “May I ask as to why you moved here, of all places, from Canada?”

“It is a very, very long story,” she replied. “One that would require a number of meetings between you and me.”

“Oh, dear,” I muttered to myself. “Perhaps I should take your number before I head back inside?”

“Tell you what. I’ll swing by tomorrow to see how you’re doing and we can buy some breakfast together. How does that sound?”

“It sounds wonderful,” I confessed to her, and my voice broke right then. I was in desperate need of a drink of water and a shower.

“I’ll be here at around… half past nine?” she suggested.

“I’ll be up and atom at that point,” I vowed to her, and she extended her arms to me for one final hearty embrace before I stepped out to the night.

“Go and get some sleep, too,” she advised me, and her voice was lighter than air at that point. Maybe this whole thing was not as bad as I had initially believed as I closed the door and made my way down the walkway towards my front door. Because we had left the house at such an early hour, and I had believed that we would be in and out of the emergency room in a few hours or so time, the entire porch and front yard area were enshrouded in darkness. Darkness save for the bath of pale light from the moon over the horizon.

I unlocked the front door and quickly switched on the porch light, followed by the kitchen light. I was greeted by our labradoodle Ziggy who came trotting out of the dark bedroom.

At least I wasn’t entirely alone, but it was strange to behold the vacant silent house before me. And it was even stranger to know that I had a girl returning for me come the morning light.

[shion-yu]

Shion's Masterpost

Hello! I go by Shion. 28/she/EST. I love whump and have a particular fondness for illness, fevers and caretaking. Below you will find links to my OCs and their longer stories in mostly-chronological order (shorter stories excluded in this post due to link limit). Find individual character master posts below or my full OC writing masterpost on google docs. I use the tag #Shionwrites for writing and occasional art. And feel free to message me on discord! @yu.ba.to

My Writing/Select Masterpost

INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER MASTERPOSTS with short character bios, pics, timelines and Toyhouse links: Al & Theo | Cliff & Elliot | Ryo, Alex & Shu | Rey & Felix

MODERN STORIES in (mostly) chronological order.

Mononucleosis (young Shu, Mathias, unrequited love)

Overworked (Shu, Mathias, fainting, fever)

"Why Wasn't I Enough?" (Al/Ollie, self-harm, suicide, angst)

Headaches | Oxygen Deprivation (Al/Theo, separate undated pre-transplant sickfics, acute with chronic illness, coughing)

Exhaustion (Alex, Shu, flu, father son relationship)

Not Your Fault Part 1/3 (Alex and Shu, Ryo, headcold, fever, father son relationship)

Ice Cream for Dinner (Alex and Shu, chicken pox, fluff)

False Alarm (Al/Theo, young Cliff, pre-lung transplant talk)

Experiment (Cliff/Elliot, their first meeting, no whump)

Hold Him While You Can (Cliff/Elliot, flu, Cliff's first time sick together, caretaking, high fever)

A Safe Place Part 1/4 (Cliff/Elliot, high fever, coughing, emeto, pneumonia, hospital)

“You’re not fine, you’re throwing up.” (Cliff/Elliot, follow up to A Safe Place, stomach bug)

Tales from the Waiting Room (Cliff/Elliot, accident)

Passing Out (Alex, sick Shu, fever, coughing, snz, contagion, working through the cold)

Campus Crud (Cliff/Elliot, pre-breakup angst)

"I'm not hungover, I'm just sick." (Cliff, Phoenix, angst)

Sick (Cliff, Claude, diagnosis of chronic illness)

Appendicitis (Ryo, Alex, Shu, sick while performing) 

Popsicle (Al/Theo, stomach flu, fluff)

I Still Think Of You (Cliff/Elliot, meeting back up)

Told You So (Cliff/Elliot, coughing)

“Great, I got a cold for my birthday.” (Alex, Shu, parental fluff)

Summer Flu (Alex, Shu, both sick)

Head Injury | Cardiac Arrest (Shu, Alex, Julian, domestic abuse, near death experience, hospitalization)

Borrowed Hoodie (Alex, Ryo, early dating, fluff)

Ears Ringing (Cliff/Elliot, delirium, feeding tube, hospital, ft. Shu)

Brain Fog | Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder (Cliff/Elliot, Alex, Shu being parental to Cliff, pneumonia, sick while partner is away)

“You didn’t use my cup, did you?” (Alex, Elliot, colds on tour)

Just the Two of Us (Shu, Paul, fever dreams, domestic abuse PTSD)

Turning Page Part 1/8 (Cliff/Elliot, severe illness, coma, delirium, opportunistic infection, hospital, angst)

Dizziness/Vertigo | My body is one big ache | Anaphylactic Response (Cliff, Elliot, married life before kids)

Doctor Turned Patient Part 1/2 (Ryo/Alex, Ryo's graduation, flu, fluff)

Cabin Pressure (Ryo/Alex ft. Nathan, sick while traveling/flying, fever, rival caretaker)

This is non-negotiable (Ryo/Alex, cold, stubborn Ryo)

Wait for Tomorrow | Hospital Bed (alt) (Cliff/Elliot, Mia, Al, hospital, parental angst, pre-transplant)

Rogue Organ (Cliff/Elliot as parents, Mia, surgery)

SICK LOVE AU: "You Look a Little Pale" | Lying | Isolation | Seizure | Under a Spell (Shu/Julian, medical abuse, gaslighting, rated M. The only series on here that approaches the “kink” category.)

FANTASY - REY

Kidnapping | Too Exhausted to Keep Running (Rey backstory, torture, experimentation, infection)

Flashback (Rey/Clerval, recovery, catatonia, trauma, platonic love)

"The Easy Way or the Hard Way" (Rey/Felix, undated incidents including lighthearted kidnapping, banter)

Bedside Vigils Part 1/2 (Rey/Felix, 2 part story, fever, magical exhaustion)

Out of the Woods Part 1/2 (Rey/Felix, fever, fainting, caretaking)

Field Medicine (Rey/Felix, giving self stitches)

An Honor and a Privilege (Rey/Felix, kidnapping, stabbing, fever, hallucinations, poisoning with convulsions)

Pulling a Ferris Bueller | Toxin/Poison (Rey/Felix, more random shenanigans, budding relationship)

FANFICTION, LISTS, MISC. 

Taco Fiesta 2.0 (Cliff/Jack, food poisoning, overeating)

Hold Me Tight (RW&RB fanfic, sick Henry, colds, sneezing)

Contagion (POV fic)

Challenge Masterposts: Ai-less Whumptober 2023 (completionist) | Hurt Comfort Bingo | Bad Things Happen Bingo | Nov(emeto)ber 2023 | WLC Winter Exchange ‘24 | Medwhump May 2024 (completionist) | Sicktember 2024 (completionist)

My AO3 account: shion_yu

My favorite OCs by other people!

[tarzantips]

What Does the Beginning of Monkeypox Look Like?

Recently, there has been concern over monkeypox, an uncommon viral disease. Knowing the initial symptoms is essential for prompt action and management.

Let’s read more into the initial stages and explore what are the first signs of monkeypox.

What Does the Beginning of Monkeypox Look Like?

1. Fever and Headache

The sudden elevation of body temperature is frequently suggestive of the start of monkeypox. A common first sign is a fever, which is frequently followed by a chronic headache. Attention is necessary because these mild symptoms could first be confused for other frequent illnesses.

2. Fatigue and Muscle Aches

As the infection spreads, people may become fatigued and develop widespread muscle aches. It is possible to confuse these symptoms for the flu or other viral diseases. But the confluence of fever, headache, exhaustion, and aches in the muscles ought to cause concern and necessitate more research.

3. Swollen Lymph Nodes

In its early stages, swollen lymph nodes are a hallmark of monkeypox. These tiny, bean-shaped structures are essential to the immunological response of the body. The armpit, groin, and neck areas are where the swelling is most frequently visible.

4. Skin Lesions

The development of skin lesions is one of the unique monkeypox symptoms. Like chickenpox, these lesions usually begin as elevated bumps that develop into blisters. The body's parts may be affected by the lesions, which may be broad.

5. Respiratory Symptoms

In addition to respiratory symptoms like coughing and shortness of breath, it can also cause these. It is important to pay attention to these symptoms as they may indicate how the virus is affecting the respiratory system.

6. Eye Redness and Sensitivity to Light

Some people who have this may get increased light sensitivity and ocular redness. These ocular symptoms may add to the overall clinical picture and might be especially uncomfortable.

7. Gastrointestinal Issues

The early signs of monkeypox can include vomiting, nausea, and stomach pain. When paired with other distinctive indicators, these gastrointestinal symptoms add even more complexity to the diagnosis.

Read: The Advantages of Home Remedies over OTC Medications

Monkeypox Prevention and Seeking Medical Attention

The health of the population depends on stopping this from spreading. Maintain proper hygiene by washing your hands frequently with soap and water. Steer clear of animals that might be viral carriers, particularly in areas where disease is common.

It goes without saying to get medical assistance as soon as possible if you or someone you know has any of the aforementioned symptoms. Make contact with your physician, let them know about your symptoms, and offer any pertinent travel or exposure history.

Early detection lowers the danger of transmission to others by enabling the implementation of suitable isolation measures.

Diagnostic Tests and Monkeypox Treatment

A thorough patient history, laboratory testing, and clinical evaluation are all used in the diagnosis of monkeypox. For confirmation, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, virus cultures, and blood tests are frequently used.

Although there are not many particular antiviral drugs for this disease, supportive care is essential. This could involve taking care of symptoms, avoiding bacterial infections that spread, and drinking enough water. Hospitalization may be required in extreme situations.

Public Health Measures

Coordinated public health measures are needed to stop the spread of the virus during monkeypox epidemics. This entails tracking down contacts, isolating afflicted people, and launching vaccination drives in areas where the illness is endemic.

To increase awareness of preventative actions and early symptom recognition, public health education is also important.

Is Monkeypox Curable?

Yes, although monkeypox is a dangerous sickness, it is usually a self-limiting disease, meaning that it often resolves without the need for special treatment. The majority of this disease victim recovers completely in a few weeks. Yet the disease's severity might vary, and in certain situations, medical attention can be required.

Monkeypox cannot be specifically treated with antivirals; nevertheless, supportive care can be given, such as symptom and consequence management.

Early Detection for Timely Treatment

Understanding the initial indications of monkeypox is essential for prompt detection and suitable medical attention. The key is to identify the combination of fever, headache, exhaustion, muscular aches, swollen lymph nodes, skin lesions, respiratory symptoms, eye redness, and gastrointestinal problems, even if these symptoms may match those of other prevalent illnesses.

For an accurate diagnosis and course of treatment, it is imperative that you or someone you know get medical help as soon as possible if you notice these symptoms. Recall that early identification can have a big impact on how cases of monkeypox turn out. Remain educated and watchful.

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