Journey back to Philadelphia, summer of 1793..
A pounding headache rages behind your eyes and you're burning with fever. Your face is flushed, you've lost all appetite, and your body is racked with shivers and aches. You're trying to convince yourself that it is merely a common flu, but you know the truth...
You have entered the first stage of yellow fever, which was the cause of Philadelphia's dramatic population decrease during the summer of 1793. And it is certainly not a common flu. Soon, the symptoms will seem to disappear. Some people recover during this time known as the remission stage, but not you. You are one of the many that will continue on to the toxic phase, causing you to have horrid abdominal pain; decreased urination; severe vomiting (potentially with blood); heart rhythm issues; liver failure (which can result in yellowing of the skin and eyes, or jaundice); kidney failure; seizures; bleeding from the mouth, nose, and eyes; and delirium.
You pray there is hope, but all the while, you wonder, How did I contract this? Will I live? Will my family fall victim to it as well? Why me? Why me....
You have entered the first stage of yellow fever, which was the cause of Philadelphia's dramatic population decrease during the summer of 1793. And it is certainly not a common flu. Soon, the symptoms will seem to disappear. Some people recover during this time known as the remission stage, but not you. You are one of the many that will continue on to the toxic phase, causing you to have horrid abdominal pain; decreased urination; severe vomiting (potentially with blood); heart rhythm issues; liver failure (which can result in yellowing of the skin and eyes, or jaundice); kidney failure; seizures; bleeding from the mouth, nose, and eyes; and delirium.
You pray there is hope, but all the while, you wonder, How did I contract this? Will I live? Will my family fall victim to it as well? Why me? Why me....