~and it seems even worse~
A nasty virus caught up with me on the first day back at school this past Tuesday. I was teaching reading just about the 11:00 hour when all of a sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks. Chills came about my whole body and a feeling of extreme exhaustion set in. Within the hour, I was already on the way home. By the time I got to our driveway in Newkirk, I just turned the key off and sat behind the wheel. I closed my eyes, waking up an hour later still sitting there in the front seat of my car safely buckled in.
Luckily no one saw me and called 911 to have someone check on my welfare.
Now that would have been embarrassing.
The better part of the next 24 hours were spent sleeping, waking only to go to the bathroom, trying to swallow pills for fever relief, checking to see if I was really still alive, or to worry about who would take care of the kids at school. I was well provided for by Mike who appeared at my bedside each hour or so to see if I was still doing ok. I was so thankful when it was finally over and even though I was tired, I managed to make it back to school by Thursday morning.
You never think about not feeling well until one day you wake up and you don't.
I can remember many times of being sick when I was a kid growing up. Those were the days of measles, mumps, chicken pox, and whooping cough in addition to flu and stomach ailments. I'm sure that with 7 kids to take care of, my folks had to make do the best they could when one by one we all fell ill to whatever was going around at the time. I recall croup tents and chests lathered in Vapor Rub or bottles of turpin hydrate from Grier's in Haven when horrible coughs kept us awake all night long. Extra money for a medical budget went by the names of "Slim" and "None" in our family. Going to the doctor happened when it was the only option left after relentless tries by our mom to get us nursed back to health. We were a farming family with meager resources but somehow or another all of us survived our childhoods. I thought about my mom as I was sick abed last week. If she would have still been alive, I am positive that she would have called Mike to tell him that I should come stay with her for a few days until I felt better.
Mom was just like that.
It feels good to be among the living once again as I hope this was the only bout with sickness that I will have to endure for awhile. Being sick as a 4-year old didn't seem too fun and when you add 60 more years to that number, one thing is a certainty.
It seems even worse.
Luckily no one saw me and called 911 to have someone check on my welfare.
Now that would have been embarrassing.
The better part of the next 24 hours were spent sleeping, waking only to go to the bathroom, trying to swallow pills for fever relief, checking to see if I was really still alive, or to worry about who would take care of the kids at school. I was well provided for by Mike who appeared at my bedside each hour or so to see if I was still doing ok. I was so thankful when it was finally over and even though I was tired, I managed to make it back to school by Thursday morning.
You never think about not feeling well until one day you wake up and you don't.
I can remember many times of being sick when I was a kid growing up. Those were the days of measles, mumps, chicken pox, and whooping cough in addition to flu and stomach ailments. I'm sure that with 7 kids to take care of, my folks had to make do the best they could when one by one we all fell ill to whatever was going around at the time. I recall croup tents and chests lathered in Vapor Rub or bottles of turpin hydrate from Grier's in Haven when horrible coughs kept us awake all night long. Extra money for a medical budget went by the names of "Slim" and "None" in our family. Going to the doctor happened when it was the only option left after relentless tries by our mom to get us nursed back to health. We were a farming family with meager resources but somehow or another all of us survived our childhoods. I thought about my mom as I was sick abed last week. If she would have still been alive, I am positive that she would have called Mike to tell him that I should come stay with her for a few days until I felt better.
Mom was just like that.
It feels good to be among the living once again as I hope this was the only bout with sickness that I will have to endure for awhile. Being sick as a 4-year old didn't seem too fun and when you add 60 more years to that number, one thing is a certainty.
It seems even worse.
The older woman who I am today is just like the little girl I once was.
Neither of us liked being sick.
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