Normal Sick

I'm sick. Normal sick. I haven't been normal sick for at least 2 years. A few sniffles here and there and the feeling that I've been on the edge of being sick don't count. Now I'm full out fluish / coldish for the first time in a very long time. It's kind of strange to be some kind of sick that isn't related to cancer or the drugs one takes in an effort to survive it.

I've been so afraid of getting sick that I've taken very special care to avoid germs. Whenever I've felt like I might catch something, I've taken very good care of myself with the hope of preventing a cold or flu from taking hold. Up until now, I've been successful, which I think is pretty amazing considering how low my blood counts were at various times.

I felt fine on Monday except that for the past several weeks I've felt like I've been on the verge of catching a cold. Every now and then I would think "this is it" only to have cold symptoms retreat again. But Monday night I got a headache. I rarely get headaches. And then I could feel my head starting to feel stuffy.

On Tuesday morning there was no mistaking the cold that had set in. I did a little work from home in the morning and then, chilled to the bone, I crawled into bed to warm up. Two hours later, I was still chilled. And clammy. ICK! I finally got out of bed, shivering, and dragged the big duvet from Luke's room into ours and I crawled under the double-thick mound of blankets. And it STILL took me another hour to feel some warmth. I probably had a fever though I didn't take my temperature. I think that means I probably had a flu, right? Doesn't a fever signify a flu?

On Tuesday night, after a hot bath, I curled up under blankets in the family room and watched tv. And then I was plagued with particularly nasty off and on hot flashes. One minute I'm barely visible under the blankets, the next I'm throwing them off and pulling off my sweater. And the next, I'm burrowing under everything again. So annoying! When I went to bed last night I slept the whole night through under both of those big duvets ... wearing flannel! Flannel? I can hardly even touch flannel anymore!

Today I don't feel feverish. That's good. My head feels much stuffier, though. I definitely have a head cold now. Much sneezing and nose blowing and the coughing has begun. My throat and ears hurt this morning but they're not so bad tonight. Just a plain, old, run-of-the-mill cold. How unusual!

I had a nice, long chat with Berny last night and with Hannah tonight.

Don't feel especially sorry for me. Normal sick is so much easier to take than cancer. If I don't look in the mirror and stay put in a chair, I feel normal for a change. Normal sick, that is.