3 weekends and counting

Posted by Jim on May 12, 2007

This is my third weekend sick. The first had me getting on the plane feeling great and by the time I got off in Philadelphia I had a sore throat only on my left side. Then it turned into a sore throat, only on the left side, and an ear infection on the left side. And that weekend was spent on antibiotics, several over the counter things, and me in bed, on the couch and mostly inside, with a small fever. By Monday I had kicked it. Then I got to work and found out people around me at work had it.

That week went fine, then Thursday back to the Milwaukee airport, back on the Midwest Express flight and by the time I landed, I was worse again. Another weekend on medications, in bed, fever, etc… On Monday at 3 AM I was checking the cost to change my ticket to Tuesday and staying home in bed for the day. After being up all night I got showered, long hot one to clear things up, and off to work.

Monday I had a ton of mucus, a hacking cough, and felt horrible. And all around me people are saying they have the same thing; on the plane - including some of the regular commuters who share the flight with me each week coming and going back - and in the office. Monday i went to the gym for my regular time figuring I would walk around the track and die and then not have to worry about this bug thing. I told the trainer we can cancel, walk the track for an hour, or try the exercises till I pass out, puke out fall asleep. He said lets give it a try. I did all the exercises fine. The big news here is the fat guy at the gym when he is sick. What a change in less then a year.

Ever exercise on the mat was horrible.Last week I went to the steam room on Monday night. A long time in the steam room, out to the shower to cool down, walk around for a little bit, then back into the steam room. It did the trick. I was coughing, but less, and no mucus. Tuesday and Wednesday were still rough days with me dragging. Thursday started out with me being punched in the nose - only on my left side. Then my teeth on the left top started to hurt. And someone at work had the exact same symptoms. Weird. Before my flight I did a quick run into the steam room. I usually sit south of the airport till 5:30 or 5:45, this time I went into town and tried to work on kicking this bug a little bit. And I still got to the airport with plenty of time to spare.

The flight home saw things once again get worse on the flight. By the time I got home a little after midnight Friday morning it was a sinus infection like I don’t remember every seeing. Friday I get no sleep, Anna gets me into the doctors as soon as they open. He looks at me, says he is seeing a ton of this, it is very common that people in the same office would have the same freaky symptoms such as left sore throat then left ear then left sinus. And tells me they are seeing a lot of their business traveling patients coming in with this bug or something like it. I walk out with a new antibiotic in a twice a day horse pill, and a once a day two horse pills sinus decongestant. it did the trick. Friday night I was able to sit at dinner. The steam room cleared up the coughing, the pills the sinus problems. But I am sitting here surrounded by kids in one form or another of the same thing, most likely from hugging me such much each weekend. I think the fever this weekend is more from the pills then anything wrong.

That and the down comforter Anna has had on the bed for the past 4 weeks. The thing makes the bed into an oven for me. But I also started flushing out my nose and putting some lotion on it to ease the soreness. Thursday caught me off guard and I was using paper towels - big mistake. But one of those things you don’t realize until a few hours later when the damage is already done and I have my Dad’s red nose.

Short version of the story - friends we went to dinner with last night said the same thing Anna told me on the phone when I was in the airport on Thursday night - I should start taking Airborne every time I travel from now on just to play it safe. And of course when you are sick in the military you still get up and go to work then leave for sick call and go back to work. I have to be really sick to not go to work. And three weeks and counting I have not missed a day. The weekends, are a different story. There I have missed three so far.

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