ugh.

I am sick.

I started feeling icky on Monday or Tuesday, but I thought I was experiencing seasonal allergies. I normally get allergies in the fall in the form of a scratchy throat, sneezing, and eventually the loss of my voice for a couple days. So when I started to get a sore throat Monday night I wasn't concerned. Tuesday brought some nasal congestion and Wednesday a dry, hacking cough. On Thursday my throat was wicked sore after work - just the sensation of air passing over it was painful. By Friday this has subsided a bit and my cough had become productive, so I figured I was on the upswing.

I was wrong. By the time I got to work my breathing was pressured and slightly painful, my pulse was in the 120's, and around 3:30 or 4 I spiked a fever of 101.7 (I'm sure I was a sight hooking myself up to the IVAC on the donor floor, but once I suspected a fever I knew I needed to confirm it and go home).

For the past week it's been in the high 80's in Marquette, which means our apartment is in the high 1000's. Still, when Joe got home he found me on the couch wrapped in a couple of blankets, still in my scrubs. The end table was covered in all of my sick-time necessities: sudafed, tylenol, a thermometer, cough medicine, kleenex, and propel, and my baby blanket was wrapped around my head to keep the light out because it hurt my eyes.

I don't deal with being sick very well.

I had to call into work this morning. I probably should have called in last night, but I always assume I'll have a miraculous recovery. I hate calling in sick. So much so that I had quite a few (most likely drug induced) dreams about it. Turns out I actually called in twice this morning because I couldn't decide if I'd dreamed that I called in or if I actually had.

I slept a lot today and have been feeling better in patches (right now is one of them). I woke up drenched in sweat around 4am, so I'm assuming that's when my fever finally broke. It's been under 100 ever since. I can't kick the headache or the cough and my body still feels like it's been hit by a truck, but I think I'm getting better. Based on the progression of my illness I'm guessing it's viral, but if I get another fever or am not feeling drastically better tomorrow I'll probably go to the doctor. For now it's fluids and rest though.

As I mentioned, I'm a huge baby when I'm sick. I'm whiny and pissy and not fun to be around. Joe has been doing a wonderful job taking care of me, which he attributes to the fact that (these are his words, not mine) the only time he gets to take care of me is when I'm sick because I'm always taking care of him when I'm not sick. It's very sweet of him to say that...but I know I'm a huge pain in the ass right now...so he gets some big time kudos. :)