I was awake when Keith came back from taking Mike to work this morning but instead of him moving about in the kitchen and making himself a cup of tea, I heard him retching in our downstairs cloakroom.
I rushed down and found him crouched over the loo, shaking and trying to be sick. Keith and I have been together for thirty years and I have only known him be sick on one other occasion - when we went to the Lake District for the day and he ate a dodgy sandwich from a motorway services! I was extremely shocked and worried, especially as he said he felt freezing cold and couldn't get warm...
I took him upstairs and he got into bed, saying he felt dreadful. My first thought was that it was the Chinese takeaway last night and I put our throws over him and wrapped his feet in a fleece to try and get him warm.
I then went and woke Sophie and I said I was worried it was sepsis as he had cut his thumb badly the other day. She was as worried as me and she kept an eye on him while I went and googled his symptoms. I also called 111 but they said the line was really busy so I went through a series of questions on the NHS website but I was reassured he would show other signs if it was sepsis.
I texted Sara at work to say that Keith was ill and I was going to stay with him for a while to make sure he was OK. I had a shower and Sophie also got ready as she was working today as well, and the weather outside was horrible, with grey skies and a steady rainfall, so I knew she would be needed at work.
By 9.30am Keith was downstairs and saying he felt a little better and that he wasn't so cold any more. I texted Sara to say that I would be in at 10am and work until 2pm as I had to go and get Mike from work.
I took Sophie to work and we went in her car as I was worried about getting a parking space. Luckily, just as I arrived someone came out of a space so I was able to squeeze in. Work was OK and everyone was really understanding about Keith but I was very glad when it was 2pm and I could leave to get Mike.
Back home Keith had gone back to bed and was asleep but he said he felt a little better. I checked him over and his skin was hot and I couldn't see any strange markings so I was reassured again that it wasn't sepsis. It was clear he had a fever so I gave him some more paracetamol and left him to go back to sleep.
Mike wanted a lift into town as he was meeting a friend so I dropped him off in the centre and on the way back home called into the Co-op to buy dinner for tonight. It was shopping day and we hadn't any food in the house! I chose Chicken Kievs and decided to serve it with long stem broccoli, sauteed potatoes and mushrooms as well as a cheese sauce.
Back home again, Keith was still asleep, but when he woke up he said he had a terrible headache, which is another sign of having an infection, rather than the food poisoning we originally suspected. After picking Sophie up from work and cooking dinner (which was delicious!) I encouraged Keith to come downstairs for a while and it was then that I noticed his right lower leg was burning hot and bright red. I asked Sophie to google cellulitis and it sounded very much like he had that. Unless his symptoms were really serious, it was recommended he go to the doctor's so we decided to call them first thing in the morning and make an appointment straight away!
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