Suburban Goddess

When I went to bed Thursday evening, life was great. I had my weekend lined up, things were looking good, and I was tired enough that I might even sleep.

When I woke up, it felt like I had a brick in my sinus cavity and my throat had swollen shut. Overnight. I chalked it up to allergies, although this was unlike any allergic reaction I’d ever had. As the day progressed, my joints and muscles started to ache, and I found myself freezing while everyone else complained about the heat. I spent most of the day with my head on my desk praying for a swift death… we were under an EXTREME deadline, so I chalked the extra symptoms up to stress.

I drove home in a haze, picking my Alex and heading to the house. I had the intention of driving through McDonald’s and grabbing her a movie as I retreated to a hot bath, but my health was deteriorating so swiftly that by the time I picked her up, I barely had the energy to lift her into the Jeep. When we reached the house, I had nothing left, climbing onto the sofa and shivering uncontrollably. As the hours rolled by, the nausea set in, and soon I was shivering in front of the toilet, barfing uncontrollably. With shaky legs, I stumbled to the kitchen to drink a glass of water, only to have it come back up.

By morning, the aches were so intense I knew there was something going on. I was so proud of Alex; I told her Mommy was sick, and she was so sweet, pulling my hair back, rubbing my back, and whispering quietly, “It’s okay, Mommy.”

But I wasn’t.

Somehow, I made it to the doctor’s office, the nurse giving me a peculiar look as I filled out the form while I was doubled over and tears rolling down my face. I sat in one of those horribly uncomfortable chairs, pulling my knees to my nose while my daughter busied herself by looking at pharmaceutical brochures. (Now you know the severity of my sickness.)

About an hour later, I had a diagnosis, and I was in shock. Strep throat with a fever of 102. That’s it.

I remember having strep as a kid, but I don’t remember it ever being that swift or that painful. My throat was so swollen that the doctor wanted to see me again in a day to make sure the antibiotic was working. Two hours later, the symptoms started to subside, and by that evening, I was starting to think that living was a viable alternative again.

Honestly, I hear people talk about getting older all the time. I know I’m getting older. But it’s when simple little childhood diseases have me praying for death that I begin to realize; this sucks. It’s freaking strep throat. I can’t imagine what cancer, or heart disease, or any TRULY painful thing feels like. I’m rolling around on the floor whining like a pathetic baby with a HEAD COLD.

Definitely an incentive to keep myself in shape.

This entry was posted on April 27, 2008 at 7:58 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.