Icky

The week before last, I had a sore throat. It went away after a few days, gradually, and was never too troublesome. I chalked it up to allergies and went on my merry way, going to work, going out over the weekend, etc...

This past Wednesday night, I slept poorly. And woke up with a sore throat. And two huge lumps in my throat where my normally well-behaved and petite glands are. I chalked it up, once again, to allergies.

I chalked it up incorrectly.

On Friday, after 24 hours of purgatory, I went to the doctor during my lunch break. The doctor looked at my throat and ears and told me that:

1) I had an ear infection

2) I clean my ears too much (?!?!?) and need to let the earwax accumulate. Eww....

3) I had a lovely case of Strep Throat and needed to go home.

She then said, "Don't go back to the office, because the Strep I've seen going around" - I imagine it wears a bowler hat and a red suit - "Is very contagious." She hypothesized that a mild case - successfully fended off by my usually lax immune system - had come raging back due to my lack of sleep.

My family reunion was this weekend. Guess who didn't get to go?

Apart from the throat/elephantitis of the glands that I had going on, I didn't feel that bad Friday morning, so I was surprised. About three hours after I left the doctor, though, I started to really feel like I had strep throat. I started coughing, and not in a demure ladylike way, but in an I'm an old man and I hack up a lung in the morning kind of way.

My parents kindly dropped off some cough medicine for me on their way to Louisiana for the family reunion.

I hunkered down in bed and briefly considered working, since I'd brought some work home with me. I very briefly considered it, because I couldn't imagine working as I started feeling worse and worse.

I spent all day Saturday in bed, and a good portion of the day Sunday, too, although I actually worked some on Sunday, because I felt SO much better. And I was no longer running a fever! Hooray!

And then, my immune system came down with a case of the Mondays. That, and I once again slept poorly, despite the ingestion of NyQuil and Benadryl that usually works like a champ.

Monday morning, I had a fever. Again. I called into the office and told them I (still) had a fever, but that I had work at home I could do, and rang off.

I spent all day Monday working at home. In bed. And now I'm going to see if I can get some sleep, because I have to go to work, tomorrow. Granted, I have gobs of work to show the guyzos when I get to the office, but I wasn't actually in the office so I always feel like I'll be under extra scrutiny.

I just wish my portable hard drive was bigger so it would look like I had more work stored on it...