Sick :(

This thing has invaded my body. I have been fighting it for the last week & it finally has taken over & gotten the best of me.

What is it you ask?

Why this pretty, prickly colorful ball is the Rhinovirus. AKA: the common cold & it got me good.

Day 1 - Friday: Denial - It’s the end of the day & I feel wiped out. I can’t remember doing much of anything, the tired feeling indicates otherwise so I assume I must have done lots of things, had a productive day, & that is why I don’t have any energy. I stop by the store after work to get some OJ, extra Vitamin C & cough drops & end up going to bed early - I am NOT getting sick!

Day 2 - Saturday: Anger - I wake up & my throat is a bit raw from the nasal drip all night long. I struggle to get out of bed & find the energy to get going. My morning coffee & granola bar do not taste as expected. I am adamant that this will not slow me down so I get my day started & rush out the door. Lots of errands to run & a Christmas party in the evening! By the end of the day, my throat is now a bit scratchy. I repeat to myself “I REFUSE TO GET SICK!” & pop another Vitamin C tablet into my mouth. Dinner is not very appealing as it has no taste & I find myself getting irritated with the hubby & the furry children when they suggest I might be coming down with something. Off to the Christmas party I go...scratchy throat & all!

Day 3 - Sunday: Bargaining - I wake up with a completely congested nose & sound like a frog when I try to croak out my morning greetings to the furries. I stagger into the bathroom & just stand there. I figure a hot shower will make me feel better – I CAN beat this. I start to list my symptoms & look into the medicine cabinet to find I am out of Tylenol & cough medicine. DAMN! I need drugs! They will cure this & make me feel better! Later that day I stop at the pharmacy. I need some serious cold medicine to help defeat these symptoms. I leave with a bottle of NyQuil, Robitussin Cough & Cold, Sudafed, Tylenol, DayQuil & almost $30 poorer.

Day 4 - Monday: Depression - The next day, I wake with a dry, hacking cough. My nose is still congested so every time I cough, my head feels like it will explode. The NyQuil has fogged my brain. I add Tylenol to my morning breakfast along with the DayQuil which makes my morning juice taste bitter & my blessed coffee now resembles tar. Just then I feel a sneeze coming on & even before the big event, I know how much it is going to hurt. I brace for impact but it doesn't help. The sneeze comes & it is painful. My equilibrium is gone & quick movement is not wise. I walk slowly to the bathroom & let my hot shower last a good long time. At work, I am miserable. I can’t focus nor can I quit coughing. Everyone tells me to go home. At 1:30pm I finally give in.

Acceptance: I am sick. I have a cold. There, I’ve said it. I get home & take a long hot shower before going to bed – hours ahead of schedule. Organized on the bedside table, I plan out my night –Robitussin with Tylenol; the NyQuil ready when I inevitably wake up in the middle of the night; I don't skip the NyQuil as I have already decided at 2am that I will be staying home tomorrow; consume mega doses of Vitamin C, along with Tylenol & DayQuil with the morning juice & granola bar but I skip the coffee; then right back to bed. This will be my routine for the next couple of days. Then I will start to find my way out to the other side of this miserable experience.

Today is Wednesday & having been off of work for the last 2 days I am slowly starting to feel better but this non-productive cough is what's going to kill me. No amount of Robitussin or Hall's cough drops helps & I feel like I have done 200 sit-ups....hourly for the last 2 days!

Ugh - it sucks being sick....