Saturday, August 8, 2009

Still Freaking Sick

This virus is a really nasty piece of work.

Ken and my step-dad both had it before me. They both say it was around two weeks before they felt well enough to get back to some semblance of their regular routines. Step-dad states he's still only 95% well. Ken is at 90%.

I've been sick for one week now. Chances are I'm only halfway done, based on the precedents.

I do feel a little better than I did. The low fever I was running for the first three days seems to be pretty much gone. But I still have very little energy, and my chest aches, boo hoo. At least my head is clear.

It was almost easier having the fever. I could zone out and stare at the TV all day, slipping in and out of naps. (I'm lucky that I still have cable for another two weeks.) When my brain started getting back to normal, the stir-crazy kicked in. I started thinking about work and everything that must be piling up there. So on Friday, I decided to go in for a couple of hours.

Ken was going to give me a ride. But he was still sleeping by the time I was ready to go. A combination of optimism and obstinacy prompted me to take my usual walk to work. It's only a few blocks. On a normal day I can get there in 15 minutes at a fast pace. I was feeling so cooped up. I really like my walks.

Halfway to work, I realized I'd made a big mistake. My heart was labouring and I felt the beginnings of faintness. I looked for a place to sit down, but I was on Yonge St. The sidewalk was dirty and I was wearing nice, beige trousers. I slowed to a shuffle and willed myself to keep going.

A cab pulled up and dropped off a passenger when I was three blocks from work. I should have hailed it and taken a ride the rest of the way, given the driver a really big tip. But I couldn't bring myself to give in. Surely I could make it.

I did make it, but I was completely drained. It took half an hour for me to fully catch my breath, and for the nasty squeezing sensations in my chest to settle down. Yes, I did do some work since I was there. I kept my office door closed and stayed well away from other humans, to prevent sharing my disease.

A few hours later I called Ken to come and pick me up. I was done. At home, once I was lying down, the aches came back, the fever came back... I had stupidly overdone it. So I cancelled all my plans for the weekend. Next week if I go in to work, I'll start with half days. And I won't be walking anywhere for a while.

13 comments:

Karen said...

That is exactly how I feel when my iron gets low and my blood levels are off.

Feel better soon.

Scarlet said...

I could almost feel your pain as you were walking along Yonge St.

I often push myself when I'm sick of being cooped up at home...only to be stuck at home longer after a relapse.

Hope you are back to good health again soon!!

Warped Mind of Ron said...

Take it easy girl! Some of these bugs are super nasty and if you push the envelope you just hang on to it longer. I recommend naps and abusing Ken by making him serve you hand and foot :)

LL Cool Joe said...

So has anyone joked about you having swine flu yet?

Poor Spark. You sound awful. Get well soon.

Nicole said...

Hope you get well soon!

G. B. Miller said...

I've done that on a couple of occasions, only because no one could cover my job if I was out.

Hope you get well soon.

And remember, you should take advantage of this and get spoiled rotten. :-]

anon said...

Aw, sick sucks. Get well soon, lots of C vitamins and fluids.
If I lived there I would make you my chicken soup. It heels pain : )

Anonymous said...

The flu STINKS. I HATE being sick. You feel like you're dying, you wish you would to put you out of your misery ... Oh, I don't envy you.

But DO try to take it easy. It can take as long as 30 days to completely recover from a bout of flu!

Feel better soon; we'll be praying for you.

Jenski said...

Oh no! That's stinks. I totally know how you feel - I had about 3 1/2 days of fevers and then another week and half of sleeping a LOT before I started feeling like myself again. I hope you're getting lots of rest in spite of cabin fever!!

Sparkling Red said...

Karen: Thanks. I hope you're doing OK these days too.

Scarlet: It's hard to sit still for so many days. I love walking; it's my daily escape. At least this is only temporary. There will still be lots of summer left to enjoy by the time I'm better, or so I'm telling myself.

Ron: Indeed, Ken has been an excellent nurse. If I didn't have him around to bring me my favourite foods and sympathize with my aches and pains, I'd be much less content.

Joe: I wondered that myself, but my symptoms don't match with swine flu. No one else has mentioned it, which surprises me. I guess that's because I've been hiding the curly tail I'm growing inside my clothes. *oink oink!*

Thanks Nicole!

G: It sucks having a job that no one else can do. I have an assistant who rolls up her sleeves and can take care of almost anything in my absence, with suitable coaching over the phone. It's just that after a few days I start to feel bad for her because she's working nonstop at least 9 hrs each day to try to do both our jobs.

powdergirl: Could you maybe send the chicken soup as an e-mail attachment? I'd really love some.

darcknyt: Just for you, I will commit to taking it easy this week. ;-) Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Jenski: Hey that sounds EXACTLY like this flu. Might even be the very same bug. I had 3.5 days of fever precisely. Another 1.5 weeks of extra sleep, you say? That's what Ken and my step-dad say they needed. I think we had the same thing! I'm glad that you're better.

Vanessa (DarcsFalcon) said...

I'm so sorry you're still feeling so bad! I know it can take like up to a month to recover from a flu bout, but it still sucks.

And now you know - take it easy young lady! No more pushing yourself so hard!

rachaelgking said...

Is there anything worse than being sick in the summer? So sorry, hon!

Emma Gorst said...

It's so hard to know whether you are actually better or not. And being sick is boring.. I can understand why you wanted to go back to work!