Tag Archives: Sick

Rambling Thoughts of a Sickie

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I have a feeling you may get more blog posts out of me now that I’m sick with pneumonia. After all, I have to do a lot of sitting around doing nothing, and blogging fits in that category.

I’m not sure if it’s the drugs I’m taking or the fever (that’s currently being masked by Tylenol and Ibuprofen, but is still there), but when I sleep at night, I have one long connected dream. But the thing is, it’s not like a usual dream, where you don’t feel like you have any control over it. This type of dream I semi-control as much as I control my thoughts right before I fall asleep…that make sense? And when I get woken up, it takes me longer to distinguish between reality and my dream.

Speaking of sleep, I’m sleeping well. Every time that I wake up though, it’s been time for to take this or that. I actually wasn’t able to keep in my head all the times, so I’ve had to start writing them down.

I know this sounds crazy, but I don’t really feel bad. I cough all the time, and that’s what’s the most painful, but when my cough isn’t acting up, I’m just feeling tired. I’ve not really felt fully awake and aware since Sunday morning, before all this.

I still have the kids until late afternoon today. I’m basically make them do all the things I would normally do: wash the sheets, make and clean up the meals, and maybe even packing my stuff (though I think I can just throw it quickly into my bags). I will have them put it all in my car, though!

I covet your prayers. I’m very thankful that though pneumonia may be fatal in some, God has given me a healthy body and modern medicine. I don’t take those blessings lightly. This has been a week that I have seen God’s grace more clearly since any time since the fire in 2007.

When I Do Something, I Do It Big

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If you’ve been reading along this week, you know that I’ve been watching a friend’s 5 kids this week while not at work. Which sounds harder than it is, as their grandparents have been watching them during the day, so I’ve come home each night to dinner, clean laundry, and a clean house. I’d totally single parent if it was like this!

You probably also recognize that this is a busy time at work for me as well, being the last week of the tax season.

But what you don’t know, is that I also have pneumonia. Seriously, I have no idea where THAT came from.

I’ve been dry coughing and having chills and sweats all week, so I realized I should take the opportunity today to run and get checked out. Since I was short on time, so I went to a minute clinic. The nurse practitioner took one look at me and my high heart rate, and immediately referred me to urgent care.

I get to urgent care and tell them why I was there, and they immediately rushed me back. It was kinda spooky, actually. But they quickly realized that it wasn’t a cardiac problem, and slowed down. The doctor did hear some wheazing in the ole lung (of course it’s the right one acting up!), so he ordered chest xrays, which showed the gunk that is pneumonia.

I’m already feeling better this evening, due in part to calls from home. The prescription cough medicine has helped, too.

On a more pleasant note, the past couple of weeks I’ve heard so much good news about the forward progress of adoptions! You should definitely check out the pics of precious little Peanut! I can’t wait to meet her in person.

This 28-Year-Old Body

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Well, my body is definitely showing it’s age.  Or really, it’s showing it’s age plus 40.

Saturday, as I was bending sideways to set an empty laundry basket on a chair a pain akin to being stabbed hit my lower back.  This isn’t anything new, as it happened Labor Day 2008, but it wasn’t like I was expecting it, either.

By limiting what I did and taking Tylenol at regular intervals, I was able to tolerate the pain with a slow, limping gate.  I thought I was on the mend, but then after a night of waking up every time I wanted to roll over because I couldn’t (I’m a very active sleeper, apparently), I realized that I had a problem.

It took everything I had to get out of the bed in the morning.

Perhaps I would have continued to wait it out on a normal week, but knowing that I’m scheduled to board a plane in the wee hours of Wednesday morning (can you imagine walking–let alone hauling luggage–through the airport like this?), I had to seek treatment.

So instead of heading off to my Sunday school Christmas party, I headed out to a nearby urgent care.  The doctor was great and easily detected the muscle spasm.  I’m now on a course of steroids and have muscle relaxers that I only plan on taking to sleep.

With the muscle relaxer, I was able to sleep well last night and even could get out of bed when the alarm went off.  Though under the influence of the drug (at least that’s what I’ll blame it on), I decided to push back my wakeup alarm 3o minutes.  Not sure why I made that decision, though I do remember doing it.

So, here’s to getting better!  Between the bum back and the end of the cold, I think I’m ready for work…where I am going to be filmed for a video to play in our waiting area.

Let’s just hope I still have my voice.

What I Learned This Weekend

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As nasty as these things are, they seem to pass quickly, praise God.

Disposable ice buckets make excellent barf buckets.

Having a nurse for an aunt is incredibly handy.

Watching my brother make his wedding vows is incredibly surreal.

My brother’s friends don’t remain high schoolers forever.

Illness is a great distraction when I’m trying not to cry.

Just because he’s getting married doesn’t mean my brother will stop being a pest.

Being ill gets me out of talking to virtual strangers.

Though the thought of most food makes me want to barf when I have a stomach bug, wedding cake still sounds appealing.

My brother can be kind and compassionate (to his sister!) when required.

My dad will always go to great lengths to care for his daughter.

When I’m ill, it’s always best to have my mommy around.

How NOT to Spend Your Brother’s Wedding

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I hadn’t planned on blogging this weekend.  I had thought I’d come back Monday with a cutesy “it all went well, and they’re married” post, but it seems that further developments require me to share the story with you prematurely.  At least if someone laughs at the situation, then I can feel like there’s some good from it!

So, last night after the rehearsal, I got ready for bed late.  Two of my Seattle cousins were sharing a hotel room with me, and I was doing my best to be quiet as I finished packing and showering while they slept.  As I lay under the covers, I felt unusually tense.  I assumed it was stress and/or the bed, but I found out otherwise shortly.

About an hour later, I woke up extremely hot.  I took measures to be cooler (including sitting on the cold toilet seat!), and was eventually able to cool off enough to get back to sleep.  Which lasted about 30 minutes.

At which time I knew I had an imminent date with that cold toilet, but didn’t quite make it.

Is now the time where I should say you might not want to read this if you’re queasy?  Or is it too late?

Yes, in the hotel room that I was sharing with the cousins I haven’t seen in 3 years, I threw up on the floor.  It’s a bad habit of mine; not making it to the bathroom (not that I throw up often).

At that point, I knew something was up.  I knew the tenseness and hot flashes I was feeling were not stress, but something far yuckier.

Not having any reasonable medicine, I woke up my cousins to ask if they did (they did not).  I found out later that they weren’t able to go back to sleep right away…I felt so bad!  I don’t want others to be miserable simply because I am.

Then I went down to my parents’ room and cried for help. That’s what parents are for, right?  My dad was able to find a 24-hour gas station in this 2,500-person town, and bought me a bottle of Pepto.  The color of which I promptly saw in the toilet bowl several more times in the middle of the night.

Scared to go back to bed, I slept on the recliner in my parents’ room.  I was able to sleep for about 45-minute stretches in between bathroom runs, so I certainly didn’t get much sleep.

When it was time for me to start getting ready to go to the church (5:30 AM), we knew we had a real problem on our hands.  I hoped it would have gone away, so that I wouldn’t even have to tell the bride, Amanda.  Unfortunately, there was no hiding it from her.

As an aside, Riley and Amanda were both incredibly gracious to me, carrying more for my health than my ability to participate.  She even texted me on their wedding evening to check in on me!  I’m so happy to be able to officially call her my sister.

So I went to church late (7 AM), with just enough time to get my hair and makeup done before picture.  I had one more bathroom run, but thanks to some medicine from my nurse aunt and her warning to eat and drink NOTHING, that was the last of it (I hope I didn’t jinx it…I’m not in the clear, yet)!

I was feeling better by pictures, and was able to fully participate.  But, as the time drug on and the drowsiness of the medicine started to kick in, it was obvious to all that I wasn’t all right (I’ve heard I was anything from pale or gray to green from various sources).  Thanks to some fast acting, I was made to lay down on a back pew until it was time for me again.  Without those naps between pictures and the wedding, I wouldn’t have made it!

Praise God, I was able to stick out the wedding, and look normal while doing it.  It was funny how many people whispered “Are you sure you’re okay?” to me as I walked down the aisle to take my place as maid of honor.  I actually think my sickness kept me for tearing up as I likely otherwise would have.  About 5 minutes from the end, I knew that I was on my last legs, but I made it…and promptly took a 2-hour nap during the reception.  At this point I was able to slowly introduce water back into my system, of which I was very grateful.

I also slept through the clean-up (I promise that I didn’t fake it to get out of work!) before we made the hour-and-a-half ride back to my parents house.  I’m thankful to be in some borrowed pajamas and resting with the TV to distract me (I have a hard time concentrating on reading at the moment).  I hope to take a nice bath shortly and hope into bed.  Here’s hoping for a must-needed good night’s sleep!

And that’s how NOT to spend your brother’s wedding.

Random Ramblings

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I can’t believe it’s December.  Like, really.  Last night I thought, “I’ll get a haircut in November or December” thinking that was a long time away.  Now that it IS December, I have no idea when I’d have time for a haircut!

December is always my favorite month, probably because my birthday (the 15th…you still have time to buy me a gift and stick it in the mail ;) ).  I’ve always been a huge Christmas fan, but I haven’t really felt the Christmas spirit this year.  I’ve been dutiful in planning Christmas presents (ordered the first ones in the wee hours when I was avoiding going to bed), but not in writing Christmas cards or decorating.  Still not sure either of those are going to happen.  We’ll see.

I’ve been struggling with a cough since a couple of days before Turkey, and finally decided enough was enough.  I could tolerate it enough for a while, but it’s starting to head south, and the last time I let it, I ended up with bronchitis.  I know something is wrong when I can hear myself breathing in my headphones and they’re not attached to a stethoscope.  (on a totally random note, I don’t think I’ve ever written that word…it’s kinda funny looking!)  I have an appointment to see a PA this afternoon and feel incredibly grownup…usually I have to go to urgent care because I don’t know where else to go (and I’ve always had insurance, it’s just my patheticness).  I’m determined to find a primary care doctor now, though.  I’ll see if I like the office I’m visiting today.

So, to complete this randomness, what are you looking forward to most this month?

With Much Reading Comes Many Quotes

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So, this weekend was an interesting one.  I’ve been sick since Thursday (just a cold, I think), so I ended up not working or doing much else.  Worked out alright, though, because I did the Read-a-thon, and ended up reading the entire, long weekend.  It’s a little weird to be back in the real world!  If you’re curious what all I read, you can read my post about it here.  I read 6 1/2 books in 3 days!  In all the reading I’ve done lately, here are some gem quotes I pulled out:

“I don’t know if I was happy that day–those tense and edgy feelings were getting stronger and stronger–but I do know that I’ve never been happy sense.” – Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden, p. 54

“Bah…Turkey’s for the birds.  Only uncool people go to Turkey.” – The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, p. 126

“Unless we come to grips with the fact that we’re of precisely the same stock as Dodd and Stalin and Mao, we’ll never get over thinking that we deserve better.” – If God is Good by Randy Alcorn, p. 76

“If I’d had anything fun to do, I don’t think I would ever have read as much as I did.” - The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, p. 175

“Who but us [survivors] has the audacity to admit we are no match for a world in need of redemption?  We choose how much we will carry away with us from the fire.  Everyone else pretends they can’t even see the ashes.” – Josef in White Picket Fences by Susan Meissner

“…it doesn’t take away your fears, it only lies to you about them, makes you temporary believe you don’t have them.  And I know it’s a lie, but what a powerful one!  Maybe I’m not who I always thought myself to be, maybe I’m the sort of person who will do anything to hear what I want to believe.” - The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, p. 367

“Recording what we’ve done, in words, on paper, it’s got to be our way of telling ourselves that we mean something, that we matter, that the things we’ve done here made a difference.” – Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden

“Worshipers came and went as they pleased, prayed according to how they felt most happy, and mingled freely with other GSD members.  It enjoyed moderate success, but what God actually thought of it no one ever really knew.” - Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde, p. 223

“The face of evil is frighteningly ordinary.” – Chuck Colson, quoted in If God is Good by Randy Alcorn, p. 134

“It seems if there were a formula to fix life, Jesus would have told us what it was.” - Searching for God Knows what by Don Miller, p. 10

“He hasn’t accepted his death.  He is already fighting hard to stay alive.  Which also means that kind Peeta Mellark, the boy who gave me the bread, is fighting hard to kill me.” - Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, p. 60

“I realized then that I didn’t understand anything.  I read all the books I could.” – The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, p. 32

“Greed often helps people think of reasons they might not discover on their own.” - The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, p. 115

“The regime had understood that one person leaving her house while asking herself, ‘Are my trousers long enough?  Is my veil in place?  Can my make-up be seen?  Are they going to whip me?’ no longer asks herself, ‘Where is my freedom of thought?  Where is my freedom of speech?  My life, is it livable?  What’s going on in the political prisons?’ ” – The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, p. 302

“Marriage, like spinach and opera, was something I had never thought I would like.” – Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde, p. 93

” ‘You know how to kill.’
‘Not people,’ I say.
‘How different can it be, really?’ says Gale grimly.
The awful thing is that if I can forget they’re people, it will be no different.” – Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, p. 40

I’m Feeling Better!

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I think the title says it all.  I almost feel like normal.  I can’t tell you the last time I sneezed or blew my nose (I went through an entire large box of Kleenex the past 5 days!), but it’s been a few hours.  My mind appears to be back as well, and mostly intact.

I don’t really have anything else to say, but I didn’t want to keep you all in suspense until morning.  Thanks for praying!

Wanna Write a Paper for Me?

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Here I sit at home. Yesterday I started getting sick with a runny nose and runny, well, let’s just say that I was runny on both ends (sorry, TMI I know). I really don’t think they’re related (the second symptom has since gone away). After sleeping 9 1/2 hours, I’m feeling a little better, but I skipped class (since I slept right through it) and won’t be going in to work. I’ll be spending the day working from home.

I was to go to the dentist to get some cavities taken care of, but I figured that wouldn’t be a good idea since I wouldn’t be able to breathe out of my nose. When I called they were pretty adamant that I not come in, even though it wasn’t 24-hour notice. I imagine they don’t want to get sick!

You know what’s funny about this? I have a 5-page paper due Friday. I didn’t start it until AFTER I got sick. There’s a reason why I don’t wait until the last minute to write papers. Procrastination didn’t work for me in college, and it doesn’t work for me now.

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I’m thankful to have a flexible job that allows me to take off when I need and work from home as needed, too.

I’m Better

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I’m feeling much better. After one more bout of sickness in the early morning hours and a morning of queasiness, I’m feeling better. I took a shower, changed my sheets, and changed into a fresh set of pj’s to enjoy the rest of my evening (can you tell I’m going out on the town?).

I might attempt to set a record for the number of Gilmore Girl episodes watched in a day…I’m at 9 right now. Or maybe I’ll give the girls a break and settle in for a night of pirating, casino-robbing, or CIA-evading (why do all my favorite trilogies deal with illegal activity?). Whatever I do, I’m not spending any more time sitting up at the computer, so…good night!