Tiny House Becomes A Tiny Hell | Being Sick in a Tiny House
We've officially been in our tiny house in downtown Grand Rapids for 3 months. We moved in on September 22, just before ArtPrize and we are now settling into a rhythm in our small space. However, we recently had an experience that we did not foresee happening.
For some reason, we never considered what it would be like getting sick in our tiny house.
We recently traveled to Egypt (yes to see the Pyramids, Valley of the Kings and all things ancient Egypt) and on the way back, my wife caught a bad stomach bug. It didn't hit until a couple of days after our return, but she ended up in the emergency room for several hours. Thankfully we live less than 1 mile from the nearest hospital, so great care was available.
She was treated for a stomach bacteria that put her in bed for the following 5 days. She didn't eat during that time, was able to keep fluids down, but the only reason for her to get out of bed was to use the bathroom.
Now here is a question for you: do you have that person in the family that has one volume, which is LOUD?
Well, if you do, that is me.
I do not have a quiet mode. I'm either sleeping and happily resting, or I'm up and going. My wife is constantly amused that somehow I even eat loud.
So, after 48 hours of confinement, taking care of her and wanting to get some end of the year work done, she kicked me out. It basically came to the point of, "Either get in bed, be quiet and fall asleep or leave and go do something for a few hours so I can rest..."
Now I'm obviously thankful that my wife, even when sick, is independent enough to care for herself, but the crazy part is, we didn't consider what it would be like for one of us to be sick and bedridden in our tiny house.
Fast forward 10 days and my wife is back to her normal self. She's excited about Christmas this week and this past weekend was out shopping as much as she could.
As soon as she got excited about Christmas again, I knew she was feeling better.
The moral of the story is, as a married couple in a tiny house, you probably won't have your own "space".
Thankfully we love spending time with each other and have lived and worked together for years. However, there will always be situations that come up that will test the limits of what we are prepared for.
We did not realize that for a short time our tiny house would become a tiny hell as Rebecca recovered from her stomach bug.