It was Last day in Taipei and we were getting ready to head to Korea and then Japan. As Jess and I were browsing the night market in Taipei I suddenly started having coughs. At first I didn’t think much of it since I’m sensitive to dust and temperature so it came as a shock when I realized that little cough suddenly mutated into a full blown flu like disease. The next morning (about 5-6 hours before our flight to Korea), I started experiencing symptoms such as chills, fatigue, diarrhea, muscle weakness with the exception of fever and vomiting. These symptoms got even worst as we sat at the airport waiting to board the flight. I was literally a walking zombie, feeling weak and shivering everywhere I go. Once I boarded the plane, I immediately asked for a blanket and slept 3 hours straight till we got to Korea. My body did feel a little better after some rest and because I didn’t have a fever, I was lucky enough to not get quarantined from immigration.

Once we checked into our hotel in Korea, Jess and I went out for a quick bite and then I was basically knocked out at the hotel. During the middle of the night I had a nose bleed, I figure it was the combination of cold and pain reliever medicines I’ve been taking, the weather and how hot the room is. Jess canceled all our plans for Korea so I might as much rest as I can (I basically slept a good 24 hours). The symptoms persisted as we headed for our next flight to Japan (again no fever or vomiting).

During our flight to Japan I slept most of the way there and when I woke up, I suddenly an overwhelming heat in my body, I started having cold sweats and my lips started to turn pale according to Jess and it felt like my whole body is about to shut down. With my last ounce of strength, I asked jess if she got something sweet and she found some chocolate candy in her bag that she got from Taiwan (Jess told me later that she found that before the flight and was about to throw it out but decided not to) and gave me a few pieces. I was immediately better after that sugar had gotten into my system but the other symptoms continue to persist and my diarrhea had actually gotten worst. It was so bad that I need to frequently visit the bathroom to make sure I didn’t poop in my pants, it sounds funny but when you are traveling a long distance and feeling weak and exhausted, it’s definitely no joke. 

After a long trip, we finally got to our hotel in Japan. We took it easy that night and I made sure to drink plenty of fluid to make sure I didn’t get dehydrated from diarrhea. 

The next day I felt 60% better and most of the symptoms were gone except the diarrhea so I thought it would be safe for us to explore the local area. Well not true, we made it to our first destination and ate lunch with no problem but as we were heading to our second location, my nose started bleeding, it was minor bleed so we brought some tissue from the local convenient store and continue our way.

After dinner as we are heading to the Dotonbori area in Osaka, my nose started bleeding again and this time a little worst and came out really fast. I wiped the blood off my face and told Jess it’s probably best we head back to the hotel. Once we were back at the hotel, I changed into my pjs and was about to get ready for bed when suddenly my nose started bleeding again and this time worst than the last two. Both of us panicked as we know that this is not normal and something is wrong. But Jess sat by my side as I’m holding the bridge of my nose to try to stop the bleeding and she prayed for me. The nosebleed was bad, and took almost 15 mins to stop the bleeding.

Afterward I slowly climbed into bed and slept for approximately 20 mins when suddenly I felt another rush of blood coming from my nose. I got up and jess immediately got me tissues and at this point the two of us are basically breaking down. We were contemplating if we should go to the ER or call a doctor to the hotel and etc. 15 mins in and the bleeding still didn’t stop, Jess came by side and said we should pray together, so we did.  25 mins in and the bleeding continue, at this point I think the two of us were just extremely freaked out and once again Jess came to me and said let’s pray again, so we did. 30 mins in and the bleeding continues, at this point I told Jess I think we need to plan for worst case scenario and have someone take me to the ER cause the bleed just ain’t stopping. We stopped for a moment before taking any action and we prayed one more time together. After we finished praying, and as we were getting ready to call the hotel lobby and I told Jess to hold off cause I think the bleed just stopped. I sat on the couch with Jess, both of us shocked on what just happened, praising God and giving thanks.

I climbed into bed praying that no more blood will come out from my nose. And nothing, not even a little bit.

I spent the rest of the night trying to make sense of what just happened because I was quite sure that could have been my last day on Earth. I know it was no coincidence because there were just too many variables involved and for them to line up in that specific sequences seems improbable. If that kind of coincidence is possible, I would have coincidentally won the lottery by now. 

There was a God who answered our prayer that night and it felt so warm and comforting to know that He’s not just watching from afar. I felt His healing hands wrapped around me and embraced me, so and so that I broke down crying thinking about His love and how much He cared for me. 

I cried in the bathroom while I was trying to take a poop and out came - Solid Poop

Amen!