The hero’s journey. If you didn’t learn this in school, then count yourself lucky. I spent hours analyzing books for their call to adventure, mentors, ordeals, and rewards. Every book follows a specific format, and if it didn’t, we would bend, mold, and force it to. 

My recent trip taught me a lot about the hero’s journey, mostly because I accidentally followed it while sick. Every step toward the illness and getting better was part of the journey every book character follows.

You can think I’m delusional, but you will follow it too when you end up sick and alone. Then you can think back to this lovely conversation and know that the crazy chick ended up right. Let’s talk about your hero’s journey into illness and back to health. 

Introduction to the Protagonist World

Your nose is unstuffed, you can hike, run, and live your best life. Nothing is stopping you. Nothing is bringing you down. There’s nothing to make you appreciate being healthy like being sick. These are the last waking moments of your ordinary world. I hope you’re enjoying them.

I was out camping in the Appalachians, surrounded by mountains, streams, and forests. I finished my second big hike of the trip, a four-hour trip up Grandfather Mountains to Calloway Peak. This is the very definition of “living my best life.”

Call to Action

The Cause is often the thing you knew you shouldn’t have done. Continue hiking in the rain instead of seeking shelter, refusing a jacket on a cold day, or touching every surface in the children’s museum. You know what you did. We are all the causes of our demise.

Mine was chicken. I love chicken. There are so many ways to cook it that make it delicious, and I can even convince myself it’s healthy in the process (even if the recipe adds more fat, sodium, and sugar than I should consume in a week). In all my vast knowledge, I decided to pre-cook chicken and bring it with me on my camping trip. As we will later learn, this was a mistake. 

Alas, hindsight is 20/20. On day two of my trip, I whipped up some fajitas with the chicken I made. After eating them, I sat back and enjoyed the rest of my evening. Read a book, watched the campfire, and got ready for bed. 

Crossing the Threshold

Something doesn’t feel entirely right. You know this feeling but dutifully ignore it. There’s no way you’re sick. You were healthy twelve hours ago! Nothing is going to change. But it does. Your health slips away as the hours pass until you accept the tragedy thrust upon you. You are sick. It is time to deal with the oncoming storm. 

The chicken sat heavy in my stomach. At first, I thought it needed a minute to digest. As time passed I started burping the taste up, maybe it was one of those days. Surely once I go to bed and wake up the next morning I will feel better. I padded down for the night and turned to my side, with no idea what would come.

First Challenge

The first challenge is the realization of what is about to come. The dawning knowledge that there is nothing you can do about it. If crossing the threshold is creating the inevitable, this is acceptance of the inevitable. No worries, though. This stage should be mild. 

Mine was a quick event. I woke up, and asked myself, “Am I about to puke?” Then I opened my car door (I was car camping) and promptly puked out the side. I got a quick answer to two questions at that moment. Yes, I was going to puke, and yes, I did have food poisoning. After puking a couple more times, I rolled back over and went back to bed. There was nothing else to do but wait. 

Dark Moment

This is the worst moment of your entire illness. You feel completely betrayed by your body; you can’t move without feeling weak, and all you want is to go back in time and change what’s happened. This is a moment of rage, fear, and anger at yourself and the situation. If you cuss, then you’re cussing. If you have faith, then you’re praying. If you could burn down everything in the immediate vicinity, then a fire department is being called.

I will not go into all the gross, gory details of my dark moment. No one wants that, not even my sister, who heard every detail. However, I will give you a few details to set the mood. Be warned if you’re sensitive to talking about being sick. 

It is 3 am. Rain is pounding the top of my car. I wake up with innate knowledge of what is to come. After shuffling around to grab an extra set of clothes and my shower kit, I start the 50-meter hike to the bathhouse. There was some unfortunate expelling of fluids. I skipped the bridge to preserve its health, walked across a calf-deep creek, and spent the next hour between the toilet and the shower. 

Final Conflict

We’ve almost made it! The worst part is over; we have our final conflict, and then we happily make our way to a healthy body and life. The only unfortunate part is this can last for hours. Sometimes it’s hard, and oftentimes it’s annoying, but I believe in us. 

My car was a 50-meter walk away, and I was practically debilitated, so I spent the next three hours sitting around or in the bathhouse. The worst of it was over; I was vomiting water and dry heaving, but nothing solid was coming out of me anymore. Thank God the campground was mostly empty, or I probably would have had some unfortunate visitors. However, I remained blissfully alone to suffer the final consequences of my actions.

Return Home

The journey and return home. What we all fight for from the moment we get sick. When our noses are stuffed, we dream of the days when they weren’t. When our throat hurts, we swear we will never be ungrateful again. The return home is arguably the best part of getting sick, we appreciate the things we always had so much more.

I slept for most of the following day. I was painfully weak; taking a walk to the bathhouse had me out of breath. I drove to Walgreens for some crackers and took breaks in between aisles. I was a little better the following day. The day after, I was normal again. Normal and more appreciative of my ability to walk 50 meters.

Conclusion

At least you can’t say this trip wasn’t eventful! Every new trip I take is a learning opportunity, and this one did not disappoint. Although getting sick isn’t the most ideal way to spend a whole day on vacation, I’d much rather it happen here than when I’m overseas. I have insurance in the States, at least. 

Have you gotten sick on a trip? How did you cope, and do you have any advice for more next time? Let me know! Thanks for reading! If you want more travel and bookish content, then join my newsletter! I send out reviews, events, and unfortunate stories every month. Stay brave!