I Make Myself Sick

I haven't had the flu in probably 15 years, so it only makes sense that as soon as I move in with Mike, I come down with a wicked case of it.

I went to work Monday, feeling totally fine. Around 9:00 a nagging cough had settled into my chest, and by 10:30 I was hacking at my desk and complaining about how hot it was in the office. It is never hot in our office. Ever.

I guess my boss put two and two together because she dropped a not so subtle hint by loudly asking "Are you sick?" across the room. I politely replied that I wasn't sure and that this had just started, and she asked "Are you going to the doctor?" At that point, I packed it up and went home, hoping this was just a head cold and that a good night's rest would patch me up.

When I got home I was greeted with a 100.5 temperature. Uh-oh. I still felt ok, minus the cough. I got to bed early, only to wake up every hour that night. Temperature at 3 am? 102.1. Looks like I'm not going to work on Tuesday.

Let me set one thing straight: I have missed exactly one day of work over the past three years due to illness. It is very difficult for me to call in sick. But as my fever increased and I sweated/coughed through Tuesday, I knew it was the right decision. My dad insisted I go to the doctor ("You have the swine flu!") so I obliged. $25 later, she tells me I have the flu. Waste of time. Although I did get a sweet doctor's note, excusing me from work.

Tuesday night has been the worst part so far. I basically collapsed onto the bed and refused to move/eat. I also missed a good friend's birthday party that night, so when I don't eat or go out to a bar, you know I must be sick.

My highest fever so far came in the early morning hours of Wednesday at a whopping 102.7--so no work Wednesday either. I am crawling in my skin sitting around the house doing nothing, but I'm fairly certain none of my co-workers want me around coughing near their desks.

The real hero of this story is Mike. Poor, poor Mike. Just got his flu shot two days ago Mike. He is on a three day break from work, and has been graced with my awesome sick self for two of those days. I've quarantined myself to one section of the apartment in an effort to keep him from catching this. Also, I really don't look cute right now.

However, his desire to help overcame him and he's been steadily supplying me with Gatorade and cough drops for the past two days. This morning he came back from his trip to CVS with the usual supplies, plus this little treasure:




Greatest gift ever! I really needed the pick-me up.

Hopefully I'm over the worst of it and can get back to work tomorrow. We're also trying to get into the house for our first night tomorrow, so I really need to be back on my feet!

All in all, next year I'm making sure to get my flu shot!