I Hate Being Sick

When something doesn't go according to plan, my comment is usually, "It could always be worse."

Well, I've been sick, BUT....it could have been worse.

Last Thursday I stayed late at work to get some things done. I left there around 8:45 pm, came home, took a shower, ate a little something, talked to Ted, then got ready for bed. As I walked into the bathroom (the older you get, the more quality time you spend in the bathroom), I suddenly felt a huge chill come over me. When I came back to the bedroom, my teeth were chattering and I had goosebumps all over me. I went to bed with two extra blankets on me and eventually fell asleep.

I woke up at some point and Pepina was asleep on my shoulder. I was also suddenly very hot. Then I started really feeling crappy. I took my temp and it was 101.7, which is pretty high for me. I rarely run a temp, and my normal is anywhere from the upper 95s to the lower 96s, so I was about 5.5 to 6 degrees above normal.

I went to the recliner in our bedroom and just laid back and moaned (now I think it's funny, but it sure wasn't then). When Ted got up I asked him if he could get me a glass of ice and a can of Cherry 7 Up. I needed something cold, but something with a little flavor. I took my temp again and it was down to 101.5. I alternated between freezing and burning up.

By then it was 5:30. Ted said that I was NOT going to school. Duh, I knew that. I could barely move because I was so achy and sore and with a high temp, they'd turn me away at the door. Ted told me that I looked awful. I can always count on him to make me feel better.

He said he was going to call my principal and tell her I wasn't going to be in. Last spring she moved and got a new landline phone number, in addition to a new cell number. Her cell number was in my purse, so I told him where it was and he called. He had to leave a message, but I told him he had to talk to her in person.

The problem? My phone tree sheet was sitting on my desk at work. I'd planned on making some copies of it on Friday so that I could put one by every phone in our house. Little did I know that I would need it that morning.

Ted called Kris, the other reading intervention teacher, to get our principal's phone number. Fortunately we're good friends, so she didn't mind a call from Ted at 5:35 am...at least not too much, hahaha.

Thank goodness she had the number and Ted was able to make the call to my principal. He got ready for work and left. I just continued to moan and groan and try to get comfortable. (FYI, you can't get comfortable when you don't feel well.)

A few hours later my temp was down to 101.2, but then I got a terrible headache. And dizziness set in. I was a mess. I was finally able to doze off for a while and when I woke up the dizziness wasn't as bad, but I still had the headache. Finally I felt like I could tolerate taking acetaminophen and that helped my temp go down.

The rest of the day was pretty much a blur, except that Pepina would not leave me. She either slept on me, or sat on the bed and stared at me all day long.

Saturday wasn't much better. In fact, when Ted got up Saturday morning, I felt him reach down and hold my wrist to check for a pulse. He said, "What would the neighbors think if I just got up and went to work and left you dead in bed?" Gee thanks. I never thought of it that way.

Saturday night I didn't sleep more than about 2 hours total and that was rough. The fever was still coming and going. Sunday started off a little better, but by the afternoon it was all downhill again. I called off for Monday because I knew I still had a fever. We are to be 24 hours fever-free without Tylenol before coming back.

The last time I took Tylenol was late Sunday night, and I've had no fever today, sooooooooo, tomorrow I get to back to school! I still don't have many sick days accumulated since I used them all up for my cancer stint, then in the past few years I've had a serious bout of bronchitis, threw my back out, and a few other illnesses that required me to take time off. I don't like to use sick days unless I absolutely HAVE to, so I'm glad to be able to go back to work.

The REAL downside to being sick the whole weekend? Alex was home and I really couldn't do anything with him and only talk to him from a distance. I sure don't want him getting sick.

So how could it have been worse? I could have had vomiting and "bathroom issues," if you know what I mean, AND I DIDN'T!

Hopefully this will be my one and only sickness for the school year....from my keyboard to God's ears!