Vegan's Chronicles

Food Poisoning in Korea!

I don't have any blog-worthy food to talk about lately because for the past 3 days or so, I have just been eating bland white rice soup. This is because for the very first time in my life, I got food poisoning. I suspect that the culprit was a cob of corn that I bought from a street vendor near the Express Bus Terminal, on my way to Cheonan to see my parents. I didn't even eat half of it, but it still got me!

The next day after I ate it, I was feeling queasy and had bodyaches and little energy. I wasn't feeling good, but it wasn't anything too serious. But that wasn't the worst part. After a dinner of watery rice, my parents and I decided to go for a stroll around the apartment. One minute I was slowly walking, and the next, I was writhing on the ground in excruciating pain. It was freaky because it got to the point where my arms were curled up against my chest, and my fingers were completely stiff and bloodless- I couldn't feel them or move them even if I wanted to. I also felt my tongue getting numb! So there I was lying in the middle of the parking lot, panting for breath, feeling like I was gonna die! My dad rushed to get his car keys to drive me to the hospital, where I ended up in the Emergency Room. Talk about drama.

Dis is my arm with an IV needle & tube stuck to it

At the hospital, I got all sorts of shots and an IV drip, and they took a blood test, urine test, and x-rays. I even got to wear a huge hospital gown/pajama outfit. It was quite the hospital experience. I think at first the doctors were concerned that my appendix had ruptured, but according to the test results, that wasn't the case, so they said I probably just had food poisoning. I recovered pretty quickly once I got to the hospital and I felt okay while I was there, but then once I returned home, I started getting stomach aches again, although not nearly as bad as the first time. The tummy aches came and went for about 2 days, and I could only eat watery, bloated white rice! Pretty much after I ate anything, my stomach would cramp up.

Only today, 4 days after eating the corn, do I feel significantly better. I feel like I have been deprived of good food, so I'm craving all sorts of things right now. I still have to be careful about what I eat though, so I won't be indulging in baking any time soon. :(

So yes, that was my weekend. For those of you in Korea... be careful when buying street food! I bought my corn from a lady who was selling food by the subway exit. I probably should've known better than to buy food from her. Lesson learned. Thank God for good health and the ability to see another day.