Asher is not hungry, the problem is a big one.

Cris Ballonoff
Apr 19, 2022
3 min read

4-11-22 Linden’s Journal Day 2-3 Trek, staying at Lang Tang Village, Sunrise Hotel

Today we were supposed to be in the next town, but thanks to Asher, we are not. I will tell more about that in a bit. Yesterday all of us hiked from Lama Hotel up to Langtang Village, about 3200 feet higher than Lama Hotel. The day started out very nice and sunny without a cloud in the sky. Then, as we neared the next destination, it started to rain. First, it was just a few drops here and there, but slowly, bigger, and bigger rain drops started making their way down from the dark sky. I was a little ahead of the group with Emmanuel and Asher when this happened. We speed walked to the next shelter which was a cute town that at first glance looked deserted with a bench under a cover of tin. Our threesome sat there for about 5-6 minutes before the rest of the group caught up running in to the covered area. We were all soaked. As our group gathered, we heard not the light pitter patter of rain, but the rock solid tinks of hail. And that was when we were still about 30 minutes from Sunrise Hotel, the hotel that we were staying at. Luckily, about ten minutes after we began the hike again, the storm decreased into rain once more. When Emmanuel, Asher, and I finally got to the hotel, it looked as if we decided to take a swim in a lake. Shortly after, the rest of our people stepped through looking the same. My pack and duffel bag weren’t much better either, but it all worked out thanks to the drying and healing powers of a warm fire.

Now, back to Asher. Last night after we got to the hotel, it was time for dinner. We had ordered dinner about 1.5 hours before that, but that is just the new normal, I guess. Anyway, once the food got there, Asher started explaining how he was not yet hungry. One thing I have learned with the experience of having Asher as a brother is that when Asher is not hungry, the problem is a big one. He also was slumped down in his booth with his glossy eyes staring at nothing whatsoever. This was not going to be pretty. Sure enough, he ended up eating about a sixth of his plate and then wandering downstairs to get on his getaway, his screen. As the rest of us finished dinner, and were about to leave, Asher comes drowsily up the stairs and practically falls onto Mom and says he feels nauseous, surprise, surprise. Our first move was bringing him downstairs and into his bed. Then came the vomiting. This made us think that it was altitude sickness but did not make sense because there was no headache, and we usually go to that elevation every weekend on our getaways to Winter Park. It still didn’t make sense. After this, we made the decision to stay in that town one more day and let him rest the next, Before we went to bed at about nine o’clock it happened about 4-5 times. It was very hard for everyone to pull Mom away from her sick baby, but Dad finally convinced her that he had got it and to go to sleep with me in the other room. She did though insist that she would keep the door unlocked so she could help if needed. So that was that and I fell asleep quickly but woke awake later multiple times when I heard Asher coughing or throwing up or Mom creeping out of the room to help. In the morning, Mom informed me that my brother had thrown up about 20 times during the night and had diarrhea three times. That now seemed more like food poisoning which is still what I think. The news of the sick 11 year old spread quickly among the hotel and even to the town doctor. The doctor soon made his way to our hotel room and right beside Asher. That doctor did not seem much like a doctor from appearance but seemed very intelligent and logical. He gave us some different medications for later and was a lot of help. Today Asher has been throwing up and having a really bad tummy ache but has improved and right now is on Mom’s bed sleeping because he only got about an hour of sleep last night. We will probably have an update once he wakes up. Overall, this is a beautiful place and I am excited to get to the next destination!