malade, très malade ...

So we had gone raw.  Meaning in this case only fresh fruits and vegetables, maybe cashews and almonds.  No food dehydrator, no blenders. Of course we had plenty of fresh squeezed orange juice.  We were living in the Palais and things were looking good.  Sure it was a bit dated, but we had our own kitchen and we were a bit off the beaten path, it was quiet and most days we were left to our own devices, I think maybe two tour groups came through the whole time we were there, to view the other areas of the Palais.  Sometimes as the sun would set, the world would calm and cool air would rush in through the open windows and doors.

Then the stomach came.  It came with a rush.  We both wanted to blame the melons.  It really had to be the melons.  The ones that look like huge cantaloupes on the outside but are more like honeydews on the inside.  I mean it had to be them, I ate one right before it hit, and I was really loving it.  I was hearing Dr. Latham on his tape, talking about cleansings and good melon cleansings.  I'm thinking, hell yeah.  Gonna clean all this old mess right out of me.  If the worse thing is the runs, then I can deal with them.

Then with a wretched twist, my stomach felt like it hit the floor, cramping incessantly.  It continued this as I continued getting dizzy, dizzier, then with the dizziness came chills and hot flashes.  Then, the cramping got worse, followed by mad dashes to the bathroom.  This went on for a few hours, as the cramps got worse.  Then after a while, I got dehydrated.  After a minute I passed out in the bathroom and woke up on the floor.  Because I started feeling dizzy before I passed out, I knew to make my way to the floor, but I passed out before I fully made my way down.  Moments after, Candice was there to make sure I was okay, because of the sound of my body hitting the floor, but okay I wasn't.  I had cracked something or pulled something in my back falling down, bumping into what ever pretty hard.  I couldn't move.  Slowly, slowly, slowly, Candice moved me to the bedroom, and helped me lay down.  Painfully, I waited for the next trip to the bathroom, where I couldn't make it, due to the pain and inability to walk.  Mind over matter though, right.

My mind is pushing me to thoughts of which hospital I will go to, and how I will get the neighbor to call.  I am figuring that if I can manipulate my way out of the bed and make the trip to the bathroom, I might not need to go.  I had strained some muscle clearly, and I figured it would be closed for business  at least four or five days, meaning I would be off of my feet.  But we go to the medina everyday for fresh fruit and veggies.  Plus, we are due to move to another rental in four or five days as well.  My stomach has not relented...  I wonder if the Adinal left over from Egypt will work, it hasn't expired.

My stomach didn't relent for at least four days, it really isn't 100% now.  It is in the 98% region.  This also ruined my raw food transition, because, in the end you want to clear everything out, but it needs to leave as a solid, sometimes... and in an orderly fashion.  In that regard, I was just a running fountain.  Well, you get the idea.

When my landlord came to help us move to his other flat, the garden apartment, which was beautiful, by the way.  I could tell that I was sicker in appearance than I felt, which was pretty horrible, by his expression.  I could barely move myself, let alone my suitcases.  Luckily, he was a big help, and he and a nephew, pretty much took care of the move.  The apartment was also on the first floor.  I managed after about a week at that apartment to get back to normal.  However, I think this bout of the stomach illness, in Fez was the worst I care to remember.  Luckily the Adinal from Egypt worked, because the stomach illness laughed at the Imodium from Marrakesh.

For all practical purposes the stomach illness cut two weeks from the trip and I can't blame anyone's cooking, because we were eating nothing cooked.  It was just the luck of the draw, and that melon.  Afterwards, we stuck to watermelons (just like the ones back home), peaches, nuts, and a pizza here and there for me and the kids.  Had to get solid.  The funny thing about that is that right when I was looking for some type of cooked food, anything, Ramadan hit.  So all the local restaurants, most of them were closed.  So my hopes of a regular movement were dashed.  But there was always Pisa, where we had a flight layover scheduled!  So there you have it, as we prepare for another bout of going raw again.  A picture or so to remember the medina by...

Entrance leading to the medina, nearly empty due to Ramadan