Cube with a blocked view.

Bring out your dead...

At 2 am this morning I swear I heard someone wandering up and down the street calling that out.

"But I'm not dead, yet!"...just wishing I were.

12:00 am: I wake up feeling worse than I had yet. I couldn't believe a person could feel this bad without being dead, or almost there. I even considered it could be the plague, as certain friends have been teasing. I knew I was thirsty and as we all know, with the flu, the worst side effect is dehydration. So up I get for water. Shaking and trying to hold a glass of water long enough to drink it without wearing it. Then back to bed to try to sleep.

1:00 am: I figure I really should take my temperature. Up I get to turn on the light, find the thermometer AND my curling stopwatch. Only me. 3 minutes later - 101 degrees. Not great. Tylenol... tylenol reduces a fever. I MUST have tylenol around the house somewhere. Like a junkie in search of my next fix, off I go rummaging through cabinets and shaking like a leaf. I can barely hold the glass of water to take the two extra strength pills. At this point, I wonder if I really should be going back to bed or making my way to a hospital for expert care.

1:43 am: I wonder if my temperature dropped with the tylenol. I whack the touch lamp a couple times for some light and dig out the thermometer and stopwatch again. Yup, still up over 100. Maybe I should call someone.... Meanwhile, Tigger's decided he's had enough of me waking him up tossing and turning. So off he goes in search of food. At this point, I realize I forgot to feed him. So on top of being closer to death than I've EVER been, I'm going to have a pissed off cat wanting me to feed him. I turn on the radio for some background noise and await the inevitable. As if on cue...up jumps Tigger. He paces across the head of the bed a couple times meowing. At my groan of pain, he stops and looks at me. He walks over and sniffs my head as if trying to determine whether I'm faking the death groans. Seconds later he starts purring and curls up next to my head. It's a miracle.

2:00 am: Ok, I need cough syrup and some kleenex. Both are downstairs so off I go. Probably not the wisest decision but I managed to somehow get down the stairs...and back up...without falling and seriously injuring myself. But when I stopped to feed the cats I forgot the kleenex. I decide to leave them downstairs and again question my sanity. 911, it's an easy number to dial. Ooohhhh, better yet, I could call T, who lives in another town 30 minutes or more away, and ask him to come get me to take me to the hospital. Instead, I roll over and try to fall asleep.

3:00 am: I just want to die. Every time I roll over I'm reminded that my fever hasn't gone down any - the heat waves rising from the pillow are the big tip off. Hospital? Or wait for that dr's appt at 10:40. I decide again to wait for the dr's appt and drag my butt to the bathroom for another glass of water. Something has to help. Then back to bed. I wonder if the dr will send me to the hospital. I wonder if anyone would come visit me. Hell, would anyone even know I wasn't at home? At some point I fall asleep again.

Some early morning hour: a vague memory of weird dreams about cute medics telling me I should've called them. Yeah, I know. But at least it's better than nightmares about snakes. Also a vague memory of being bathed in sweat. Hmmm, I think I should wash my sheets.

7:45 am: I get up and send work an email letting them know I won't be in and am going to see a dr.

9:30 am: Who woulda thought a shower could feel soooooo good? I stood under that hot water for what seemed like forever. It was pure heaven. Ok, so there would be no carts rolling by the house carrying me away with the dead. At least not yet. Hey... I might even get out of this without spending time in the hospital. Just one more bonus.

10:40: I'm in the dr's office telling her my symptoms. Shockingly, she's on time for once. She checks my breathing and plays that little joke dr's love when people can't breath well..."Take a deep breath...now quickly exhale." Yeah, that's easy. She chuckles as I start to cough and says she figured that would happen since she heard the 'bronchial spasm' Go figure. Off she sends me to the X-Ray lab since she is concerned I've developed pneumonia. Great, just what I need. Another miracle and the X-Ray lab is almost empty. I'm the first one called in (woo hoo) she hands me a blue shirt thingy and tells me to strip from the waist up, put on the shirt, then wait until I'm called. Wow, will the fun ever end. Anyway, before long, I'm back in the dr's office. At this point I'm tired of the dizzy spells. But I want to know what's wrong and I want something to fix it. NOW. So I wait. When I get back in to see the dr, I find out I have bronchitis and possibly in the beginning stages of bronchial pneumonia. I leave with a prescription for antibiotics and a dr's note telling me to stay home for a week. Damn, now I have to cancel curling...

posted by Erin @ 7:34 PM