Tuesday, May 19, 2009

sick

I have been very sick.
I woke up Sunday morning feeling fairly normal, nothing exciting. Work called as I was getting ready for church asking if I could work that night. I thought about it for a second and then said "sure." If I worked that night, I could have Tuesday night off which would mean four days off in a row, and I'd get paid more for working the weekend night than the weekday night. So I went to church and was mentally trying to figure out how I could take a nap AND get to the gym before selling my soul to the hospital for twelve+ hours. In the middle of the service I got SO COLD. Goosebumps, shivering uncontrollably. "Yea yea, we know it's cold there..." You may say. BUT-- it was a gorgeous day, probably in the 70s. I was dressed appropriately (I was at church, afterall..) in jeans and a light sweater. But I was FREEZING. This continued through the end of the service, I also noticed a slight headache coming on. As I walked home (the whopping block and a half), I must have looked like a loon-- I could NOT control the shaking and my TEETH were chattering very audibly. At this point I realized I must have a fever and tried to scurry home as much as my awkward flip flops would allow. I got home and bundled up-- t-shirt, long sleeved t-shirt, hooded sweatshirt (with hood up and cinched tight no less), earmuffs, fleece jacket, warm up pants, soccer socks, and slippers. I laid in bed for two hours, but had taken my fantastic stimulants that work all too well so I was unable to sleep. I got up at the time I told myself I was going to the gym (before work) and tried to convince myself that I was fine. I took ibuprofen and prayed that it would work some miracles. No miracle happened. After much persuasion, I called in. I felt REALLY bad since they'd called me that morning asking if I could come in because they were short. I hate flaking out, and I hate the bad-mouthing that happens toward someone whenever they do call in. I felt awful making them short again because I know the frantic-ness that happens afterward. Ugh. But physically I felt worse. I was SO cold, but sweating profusely. I soaked three different hoodies, it's ridiculous. My head was throbbing, no in one spot but my entire cranium was just pulsating, threatening to explode any second. The ibuprofen was doing jack. My temp was 104.3, so I took the next dose (4 tablets this time, I was not joking around), and went to sleep. Febrile dreams are the worst. I dreamt about being way too hot-- I was in some country on the equator thinking "man, they're not kidding when they say it's hot here." Then I would dream about being too cold-- not surprisingly the location of that dream was good ole Chicago- got locked out in the winter without a coat. I woke up at 10 something the next morning even more exhausted than when I went to sleep. I still felt gross. Everything in my body HURT. Every joint, every muscle, anything. If I stood up I looked like an 80 year old woman hunched over and limping. I couldn't straighten my arms (still can't) because my biceps HURT. That is concerning to me. Down a whopping 0.3 degrees I hung out all day at 104. WTF. Not long after waking up I called in again, as I was supposed to work that night, too-- this time I didn't feel so bad. My good friend Amanda brought me some Tylenol PM. I asked for it hoping I would sleep better, and Tylenol is a much better fever stopper than ibuprofen, anyways. So I took that around 7 last night, then woke up when my dad called around 9:30, then somehow wound up in bed because I woke up rested this morning at 8:30. The first thing I noticed was the stench. Two days of non stop sweating really added up and I had the stink to prove it. I've felt better today, but not awesome. Still really dizzy, headache is off and on, still can't straighten my left arm and my back still hurts a lot. My fever is down to a chilly 101, so I am encouraged. Much longer at 104, I'd be forced to do something about it, and I hate doctors. I called into work for tonight, too (when I called in Sunday they said they would put me back on for Tuesday, bless them). I'm not scheduled until Saturday, so as long as I continue on this upswing I should be back in action by then.
I am mortified at how suddenly this came on! In hindsight, I did have a slight headache on Saturday night. I also noticed my joints hurting more than usual on Saturday, to the point where I thought Hmm, maybe I have rheumatoid arthritis. (Disclaimer: I am a hypochondriac). So I guess there was some buildup, but man to be fine in the morning and then 104.3 by early evening seems AWFULLY dramatic! Yowzer.

My last venture to the gym was Saturday night. Well, I guess it was Sunday morning. Being on the night shift schedule, I went at 12:30am and it was wonderful. I saw maybe fifteen other people and none of them were in my way. Perfect. There were, however, irritating people outside that insisted on banging on the windows as they walked by. Since then I've taken up residence on the couch. I hate being stagnant, but imagine severe injury would result if I set foot on a treadmill right now. Boo.

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