The Week That Got Away

Well this was quite a week...
I don't think I've ever gone so quickly from 100% to 0. Last Saturday I was happily mowing the front yard and in a sudden burst of energy I decided to replace the mailbox post. I had been putting this on the back burner for way too long and it was in serious need. I mean, it's a bit embarrassing to have a mailbox on a bent post. Once the post rusts apart, is duct taped and strapped to the fence... and then the duct tape wears away so that the box and half of the post are hanging limply from the fence like the remnants of a scarecrow after a tornado, it's time to replace it. And I did a fantastic job, if I do say so myself. I wanted to do more to our front entrance, but I figured it could wait until I had more time. At least my mailbox was no longer a bobblehead.

The following day I felt a little sore. No big deal. I'm used to being sore following a busy day of yardwork. I shook it off and went on with my day. The soreness continued into Monday. Strange. Even the joints of my fingers hurt. But Marina had work and Chase had taekwondo and I needed to pick up a few things at the store.

Which was when I really started aching.

By the time I had picked everyone up and drove home I hurt. Holding the steering wheel hurt. Turning my head hurt. By evening I had a fever of 101 and a killer headache. A dose of Tylenol brought it down by the next morning, so I figured it was a 24 hour bug and I would be better soon.

Except I wasn't. By the afternoon the fever was back. This time it was closer to 102. The body aches were getting better, but the headache and stiff neck were worse. I took more medicine and spent the afternoon shivering as I took Chase to his film class and then later picked him up and drove Marina to work. (Are you noticing a pattern here for me?) Keep in mind that I was shivering on a hot and humid day inside a car that was parked in the sun all morning. And stop yelling at me, Vicki. I was still keeping hydrated.

Before I needed to leave to pick up Marina, my temperature jumped to 103. Yes, at this point I deserve the tongue lashing. But in my fevered mind I figured, "I'll just drive up to the drop off area, pick her up, get her dad (he's 5 miles from the library) and he'll drive home." Simple, yes? Unless your daughter is surprised by a staff meeting and told it will only be a half hour. By the time I gave up stalking the front entrance, parked, and headed in to find her, that meant I should only have needed to wait ten minutes. But add thirty more for a late start and a talkative meeting. Marina would tell me on Friday that half the staff were worried about me and thought I was going to faint. That just wasn't true. I was fine as long as I rested my head against the table every now and then. My husband, thoroughly worried, wanted to take the bus to the library, but since I thought she might be out any minute, I figured I would prefer to do my suffering privately. Needless to say, more than an hour after I started this final odyssey of my day, I ended up with my highest temperature yet--103.4--and a very worried family.

By Wednesday morning my temperature dropped again. I was feeling better, but my head still throbbed and by the afternoon my husband was driving me in to the doctor with a fever again. My doctor is awesome, by the way. And left-handed. She figured it might be from a tick so I'm being tested (no results yet) and she gave me antibiotics to start me off. I've since found it's a hard pill to keep down, but I'll spare you the details. I must have looked like death itself, because her nurse asked if I wanted to be wheeled down for the bloodwork. I told her I could make it. If not, my husband would carry me. I was kidding. But I figured the lab was on the way out anyway, and I wasn't alone.

Since then, I'm improving. But again I marvel at how fast health can slip away from us, even if we are in the greatest shape (I'm not). This had nothing to do with asthma. I take precautions because our area is notorious for Lyme disease-carrying deer ticks. But it is never the one you find that gets you.

And those of you shaking your heads about me driving people hither and thither with a fever, I did too. Because I know I would do it again. That's what I do. I love my family and I tend to put them first. And what's great is that I know they put me first as well. They took care of me. They cooked. My husband got groceries with Sierra's help. No one did the laundry, though. They're not perfect.