MidReal Story

Poisoned Abroad: A Student's Struggle

Matt571

Scenario:Taotao is a student from China who is studying at a further education college in central England. Six weeks into the course, she goes to the nearby city of Birmingham with her friends from the course Wen, Wei and Angela. Taotao has a prawn dish, her friends all have chicken dishes. The next day Taotao wakes up with a very bad pain in her stomach and she has to rush to the toilet where she has bad diarrhoea. She makes many urgent visits to the toilet all day and is in very bad discomfort. The next day, Wen gets some rehydration sachets for Taotao and the day after, with the toilet visits being never-ending, gets her some kaolin medicine. Taotao's condition soon starts to improve and she's able to eat plain foods like rice, bananas and toast, but it's not until the end of the week when the horrible diarrhoea finally ends, even though the medicine helped reduce it. Taotao thinks she's had salmonella. She's back at college on Monday and her strength has returned

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Taotao is a student from China who is studying at a further education college in central England. Six weeks into the course, she goes to the nearby city of Birmingham with her friends from the course Wen, Wei and Angela. Taotao has a prawn dish, her friends all have chicken dishes. The next day Taotao wakes up with a very bad pain in her stomach and she has to rush to the toilet where she has bad diarrhoea. She makes many urgent visits to the toilet all day and is in very bad discomfort. The next day, Wen gets some rehydration sachets for Taotao and the day after, with the toilet visits being never-ending, gets her some kaolin medicine. Taotao's condition soon starts to improve and she's able to eat plain foods like rice, bananas and toast, but it's not until the end of the week when the horrible diarrhoea finally ends, even though the medicine helped reduce it. Taotao thinks she's had salmonella. She's back at college on Monday and her strength has returned

Angela Smith

British student and Taotao's friend from college but not as close to the other three Chinese students, curly blonde hair and blue eyes, outgoing and empathetic

Wei Chen

Chinese student and Taotao's friend, friends with Taotao and Wen but not as close to Angela, athletic build with short hair, humorous and supportive

Wen Zhang

Chinese student and Taotao's close friend, friends with Taotao, Wei, and Angela, tall with glasses, caring and resourceful

I'm woken by a sudden and very sharp pain in my stomach.

It's six-thirty in the morning and I'm still getting used to the English autumn after the Chinese summer.

I've been at the further education college in central England for six weeks and I've still not fully adjusted to the time difference and the weather.

I lie in my narrow single bed for a few minutes, hoping that it's just wind or something I ate for dinner.

But it soon becomes clear that whatever this is, it's not just going to go away.

The pain is deep and intense, like period pain but I'm not due yet.

I throw back the duvet and get out of bed, walking across the small en-suite room to the toilet.

I sit down on the toilet and try to pee.

There's a faint burning sensation as I do this, but nothing else happens.

The pain in my stomach is getting worse now, spreading up into my chest and down into my bowels.

I stand and look in the toilet, hoping that whatever is happening will become clear, but there's nothing to see.

Just water.

Oh God, oh God.

I want to go back to bed and forget about this, but I know that whatever this is, it's not going to let me.