Be Careful What You Wish For...

I tried to go to work yesterday for the first time since I got sick. I was miserable and, therefore, cranky. Everything Boss did in the morning made me mad and I wanted to tell him to stick it. He didn't even ask me how I was feeling. Extremely crappy, thank you. I'm here solely because of my work ethic not because I care the least bit about this job!

By about 10:00, on top of the sore throat, ear ache, fever, cough and sheer exhaustion, I was starting to feel dizzy and nauseous. I broke down and called my doctor for an appointment. They could get me in at 1:00. Yeah, I thought, I don't have to work this afternoon.

I told Boss, but all I got was the third-degree about my physician. Who's your doctor? Anne Trussell Isn't she in Little Rock? Yes, but I've been seeing her since before she left the group practice in Conway Where's her office? By Baptist Hospital. Really? Whereabouts? Now, I'm thinking Dude, is this a test or something?? It's in the Med Towers...Med Towers One. I felt like following up with... Do you want to know what floor?? but I didn't. I held my tongue. So your appointment is at 1:00 o'clock. I suppose you won't be in the rest of the day. Good one, Mr. Sensitivity, always thinking of yourself. Poor baby might have to handle the entire schedule of patients by himself. It doesn't matter that the physical therapists in the Little Rock clinic see half again as many patients as he does ALL BY THEMSELVES and work circles around him, but he can't handle his schedule without help.

Excuse me, I went out on a tangent there for just a second. So anyway, I saw my doctor, who I want to interject here that I absolutely love and trust. Sandy, the nurse that has been with my doctor longer than the 12 years I've been her patient, took my vitals, double checked my demographic info and confirmed my meds, all while we gossiped about lay-offs at Baptist Hospital. When she finished, she instructed me to remove my blouse and bra and put on the gown on the table and she was out the door.

I barely had time to sit down and arrange the gown around me when I heard a knock on the door, then it opened and there she stood, all 5 feet 11 inches of her, wearing tight jeans, a little too small white cotton knit top with different colored and shaped appliques, sparkly beads and sequins all over it, bare feet shoved into pink and turquoise wedgies and her toenails painted the brightest pink I've ever seen. After we finished our conversation about the cute top she was wearing (from Chico's, our favorite clothing store) and that it, sadly, no longer covered her ever-growing butt, and my bra (which was laying on the chair with my blouse) which she said looked just like one of her's (her's is from Victoria Secret...no I DO NOT shop there..., mine is from Kohl's), we finally got around to the reason for my visit. She was quiet during the entire exam, asking only pertinent doctor-like questions while giving me a very thorough once over, then stood up straight, put her hand on my shoulder and declared, Well, my dear, I think you're gonna live!

I made the Uggghhh sound and said, I guess that means I'm actually well enough to go back to work?

Not yet. Let me go get you some medicine, an antibiotic. And, she was gone in a flash.

She came back with a huge sample box of individually wrapped tablets (expectorant and decongestant) and a little gift pack from one of her drug reps...a coupon for ZMax (so I would have to pay no more than $20 for the $85 one dose antibiotic) and a free digital thermometer. Her instructions were straight forward. Do not, she said, take this all in one dose as the pharmicist will instruct you to do! I did that and it tore up my stomach. I didn't know whether to throw-up or shit. I want you to take this a little at a time, like in three or four doses, within twelve hours. I talked to the rep and the medicine will remain stable for twelve hours after it's mixed, so use that time, okay? Take a little bit of the medicine, eat a little, wait a little while, take a little more, eat a little more and do that until it's gone. Just make sure you take it all within a 12 hour period. I agreed to follow her instructions.

And, even though I had followed her instructions precisely, by the time I went to bed last night I was miserable. I had a stomach ache, I was nauseous and my bowels were rumbling. I won't go into graphic detail. Suffice it to say, I did not vomit, but I did spend a considerable amount of time in the bathroom before I was able to finally get to sleep.

So, here I am this morning. My throat and my ears still hurt. I took my temperature with my new digital thermometer (thank you, ZMax) and it was only 99.6. I have a doctor's note excusing me from work until Monday, but if I really feel a lot better, I will go in some time later this week...you know, that old work ethic thing.

I'm disappointed that I didn't even feel well enough yesterday afternoon to write my Simple Woman's Daybook. I really enjoy doing that, but I was completely whooped.

So, since I didn't do my Daybook, I still would like to leave you with my picture thought for the day. Let me preface it by saying that I miss my grandkids terribly. Somedays I wish Tom and I had made different choices, although some of those choices feel like they weren't choices at all, but rather survival moves. In any case, we live far apart from either of our sons and their families and unless something drastic happens to change that, that is how things will remain. What keeps us connected is phone calls and photos. As I laid sick in bed Saturday afternoon, my cell phone rang and when I answered it I heard, Hi Grandma, this is Thomas! He called to tell me that he just finished his final wrestling tournament and he took second place in his division.



Congratulations Tommy!!