Saturday, January 14, 2006
Just When I Thought I Was Safe...
Ahhhh.....It looks like I'm not any different than anyone else.
I have made it a mission on mine to avoid illness at all costs. I have hand sanitizer in my purse, in my car, in Hubby's truck, in the bathroom, on the sink in the kitchen...literally everywhere! I take vitamins by the handful, vitamin C at least 3000grams a day, vitamin E, calcium, zinc...all of it that is supposed to boost the immune system. I avoid crownds when I can. When I go to the grocery store I always grab a sanitizing wipe and wipe down the cart handle. At my daughters games I make sure to sit mostly by myself away from other people that just might be carrying a germ of some kind. I eat healthy, veggies every day and lots of citrus fruits. Even have my share of juice in the morning. So you'd think that nothing could penetrate this coat of armor I'm protecting myself with....Boy Was I Wrong!!!! I finally got it! Earlier today I noticed I wasn't breathing all that well but passed it off this morning to dry air in the house. By the time I finished with cheering practice my head was pretty stuffy. So far it hasn't been all that bad. Just full in my head and stuffy in my nose. I can handle this. I went to the local shopping hell store and grabbed some Zicam (someone told me they swear by it and haven't been sick yet this winter) . I thought I'd give it a whirl. So why am I so paranoid about getting sick?
fade to 1995~~
It was late January and I was reeling from a very stressful holiday season. I had a three year old daughter and I was still adjusting to motherhood. There was tension on both sides of the family and I was pretty run down. I woke up one morning feeling not so great and started with the Tylenol immediately. By late evening that particular day, I was flat on my back with the flu. I was vomiting and hacking up mucus, I ached in every inch of my body, and I had absolutely no energy. I left the care of my three year old to my capable husband and my mother. As I lay in bed miserable I remember thinking that it was just the flu and I'd be fine in a day or so. Well, it didn't happen that way. Each day passed and I grew more and more sick. Hubby had to go back to work and my mother continued to take care of my three year old. My symptoms got to the point where I didn't have a choice than to go to the hospital. My breathing was pretty bad, even to catch a simple breath, and I was worried about a lung infection. Off to the hospital I went. In the examining room all I could do was lay on the bed. I had no energy to even sit up. Hubby had taken the day off from work, AGAIN, and was by my side. The doctor came in to examine me and I couldn't even sit up. I just lay there kind of in a daze as to what was happening. The doc gave me a breathing machine and sent nurses in to start an IV, I was pretty dehydrated. It took them nearly an hour to find a vein to start my IV. After hundreds of pokes with a needle, they finally found a vein they could access. Like I said, I was pretty dehydrated. The admitted me into a semi prvate room and through the whole thing all I could do was cry. I was supposed to be home caring for my three year old and taking care of my house...I didn't have time to be sick. The next day they sent me home, with a basketful of meds and strict orders to rest in bed. At home, my house was a mess (nobody can clean exactly the way you like it) and the cupboards were empty. My daughter stayed right beside me, as much as I would let her, trying to comfort me. I started on the meds the doc ordered and was trying to be a good patient...that's when all Hell broke loose. I started having reactions to the meds almost immediately after I started taking them. I was vomitting and shaking uncontrolably. Hubby called outpatient and spoke with the doctor I had seen while there. He said that it was all symptoms of the flu and the tests had come back...it was indeed Influenza B. For the next four days I continued to vomit occasionally, go through cold shivers then sweats. One day I went into convulsions and both mom and hubby had to lay on top of my arms and legs to stop them from shaking. My fever stayed at 104 for pretty much the whole time. doctors didn't seem to be too concerned about it. My whole body ached and I hadn't had a shower in days. The bedding was disgusting and hubby was sleeping on the couch for the most part. I lay there thinking "Why won't someone just clean me up or something?" Well, God must have answered that prayer becasue hubby came in and I managed enough energy to ask him to give me a bath. (Up until then I barely spoke because I was so weak) He Picked me up and sat me on the step of the tub and undressed me slowly. He lifted me and sat me into the water which was very warm but my body, racked with fever, reacted in pain. The warm water felt like ice cubes. I handled it as best I could and Hubby took a cloth to me. Finally I was clean. After he carried me to the couch, wrapped in a blanket, so my mom could do the bedding. Even though it was middle of winter they opened the windows to let in fresh air. My little girl tried entertaining me, but you know how it is with three year olds, she really didn't understand what was going on. This whole scene repeated itself for about a week and then I finally started getting better. I slowly regained enough strength to at least get out of bed and my appetite was coming back. It took me a long time to get back to 100%. Mom was still having to do my housework four weeks later. I hated every minute of it. This was MY home and I was supposed to be taking care of everyone. Eventually I recovered completely and swore that I would never let myself get that sick again. At the end of it all I weighed only 82 pounds and bruised easily. It did something to my metabolism and I no longer burned up the calories like I did before. Now, eleven years later, I am NOT 82 pounds and I hope that I never get that way again.
~~ back to the present~~
So will I let THIS whatever it is get the best of me? No Way! I will take this Zicam stuff and get my rest and take it easy. I will NOT push myself and I will take time to heal. I learned a lot from that time being sick in 1995. I learned what my body can handle. Do I mind the extra pounds I packed on? Not One Bit! I may be round in a lot of places but at least I have something to fall back on and don't have to worry about that 82 pound mark again. So, here I am all stuffy. I am hoping it is just a basic cold (which very well could be since baby girl and mom have both been sick and I've been right with them). I will head to bed early and try to sleep in tomorrow.
Right now I'm off to take a warm bath, one that will steam up the mirrors and open my nasal passages. I have a wish for all of you out there that you DO NOT GET SICK! Like those of you who have had this already, I will survive it. Take care one and all and I'll be back when I'm feeling better. Kisses!
