The Flu/plague

I will try not to be too dramatic in this blog, but let me start by saying... I nearly died last week! I got the flu and when I say flu, I mean influenza, the horrible, awful thing that the "flu shot" is supposed to prevent. Well, I didn't get a flu shot, so shoot me!
First of all, from now on when someone casually mentions that they had the flu, I will cross examine them. If they, indeed, pass the test, I will allow them to state that they had the flu, but if they don't... well, I pity them.

Here is how my flu started: I had a 4 mile run on Saturday, after which I felt a bit congested, like maybe my allergies were here or a slight cold, nothing horrible. Sunday was a bit worse, but still manageable. On Monday I woke up feeling not great. I decided to stay home from work. It was Spring Break and Megan was home so I thought I'd stay home and kick it because I had a funeral that I was organizing on Thursday. I hung out at home, scrap booked a bit and felt ok. By that night I knew that this was more than a cold. Tuesday morning I woke up feeling like death. I knew I had to go to work to do some things for the funeral. I staggered in and did the things that were necessary, but left at noon feeling like a train had run over me. I slept the rest of the day and woke up at like 11:00 on Wednesday. I had off and on had chills and was freezing. I took Advil and just laid in bed. On Wednesday, I had a fever of almost 103. I literally stayed in bed all day. At one point I realized that I wasn't going to make it in for the funeral. I emailed my friend at work who had offered to help. I basically staggered to the office and composed an email that was one run on sentence of instruction to her. I was sweating and my head was spinning... it was all I could do to send the email. I made it back to bed and slept for another million hours (it seemed like). My fever broke in the night which meant that I woke up in a pool of sweat. Too weak to get up and change clothes, I just rolled over and went back to sleep. On Thursday morning at precisely 10:10, I awoke. I had this thought that I would wash the sheets. I knew that for a wash and dry cycle it would take me being up and out of bed for 2 hours. I did it, barely. I also managed a shower in that time frame. I made the bed and then flopped into it and slept the rest of that day away.

At one point, I looked at Bruce and said, "If I were on the Oregon Trail, I'd be dead." I wasn't kidding. This thought occurred to me. Here I am in my nice big bedroom with my cozy bed and ceiling fan and barely alive. I know that at the peak of my fever I had hallucinations, but this wasn't one, I had an epiphany, those poor women had to go about their daily existence, even when sick, no wonder so many perished along the way. I would have been laid out by the piano or dresser. Anyway, but I digress.

I survived the plague/flu. I will from here on out quiz anyone who claims to have had it. I will most likely get a flu shot from now on. I am currently on meds to overcome the bronchitis that the flu left me as a parting shot. The day I can run again will be nice, I think it's near. I didn't die, the covered wagon is intact. I thank the good Lord that He is in control.

Dudster

Making a break for Spring

It is Spring Break this week for my kids. We aren't doing anything out of the ordinary, which is a bit depressing. Trent is in Mexico on a Mission trip which is cool and Tyler is spending his break with a bunch of his friends in Idaho. So, that's fun for him, but poor Megan was lamenting the other day. You see, last year we went on a cruise and well I guess poor Meg thought there was a theme developing. I was explaining to her that she was pretty fortunate in the amount of traveling she's done at her young age. She asked the inevitable; "What did you guys used to do for your Spring Break when you were little?" I replied, "Chores." Ended her sniveling pretty quickly.

Reminded me of when Tyler was working 2 jobs and still training for XC and at one point he said, "I have worked 10 days in a row, what's the longest you ever worked without a day off?" I told him it was my first harvest job, we worked 38 days in a row until it rained and on the 39th day, we only had to work 8 hours instead of the usual 12. He said, "I asked the wrong parent didn't I?" Quick study.

The life of a farm kid is slightly less glamorous than Laura Ingalls would have you all think. I had plenty of fun though and I wouldn't change it for anything.

So, as we attempt to make a break for Spring around here, I can look out the window and see that it is pouring rain and the sun is shining, typical! The crocus have bloomed and the daffodils are out, the frogs have started croaking at night and a couple of track meets have been run, so Spring is indeed coming, we just must be patient. I'll soon have a "spring" in my step when I embark on the first run in shorts and short sleeves. Oh yes, it will come...

Dudster