Hug

It seems like for most of our first year of marriage, one of us has been sick. And by one of us, I mean me. We were just talking this morning about how we both knew marriage would have its challenges, but we had no idea that we'd be hit head-on by such challenges immediately. Like, the day we got back from our honeymoon.

In 2011...
A total of 5 months of one of us being sick
Having two mortgages
Selling a house
A burglary
Death of a loved one

But those challenges have brought such sweet, tender moments with them.

This week has been no different. Like I mentioned before, Mr. Right came down with the stomach flu while at the ranch, so for the past four nights, we've stayed on opposite sides of the house. If it were anything besides that stomach bug, I wouldn't worry about catching it, but this one has completely wiped him out for five days now. So, we've tried to limit the germ spreading, I've disinfected the house, washed every article of clothing that we took to the ranch, and washed my hands until they're almost chapped.

It's only been a few days, but I miss him. Maybe it's because we're sappy newlyweds, or maybe it's because I have an inherent need to be hugged by my husband... but last night when I got home from work, I couldn't take it anymore. I dropped my bag and walked straight toward my germy man and gave him a huge hug.

That moment may have been one of my very favorites of the past year.

Tonight he comes off quarantine, and I am ecstatic.

Good news, bad news

The good news: WE SOLD THE HOUSE!

Mr. Right and I are so pleased to report that the house sale finally went through on Friday! Hooray! We went out and celebrated in grand style Friday night at the world-famous Joe T. Garcia's.

The bad news: I'm sick. Again.

I've been healthy since early May, but had my first relapse over the weekend. I spent much of Saturday in bed, and hope that resting all day today, along with an upped dose of antibiotics (I already take a daily antibiotic, but have now upped it to full-treatment mode) will help keep this bout short and sweet. We had our pictures made yesterday by our dear friends at McGowan Images, and hopefully with the help of photoshop you'll never know that I was feeling kind of lousy and feverish. I can't wait to see the pictures - even though it was 95 degrees outside, we dressed up in scarves and tall boots (well, I wore a scarf and tall boots... Mr. Right didn't) and took pictures on our vintage bicycles and cuddling on Mr. Right's great-great-grandmother's homemade quilt. I'll share the pics this week as soon as we get a sneak preview.

In the meantime, I'm lying in bed, catching up on Beth Moore sermons (almost finished with her Paul series) and sewing yo-yo's. Tonight Mr. Right is hosting a testosterone-filled "man night" at our place, so I'll be relocating to my parents' couch... rumor has it there may be a home-cooked meal there when I arrive.

In sickness and in health...

I knew when I married Mr. Right that our vows included "in sickness and in health." Mr. Right got to live his end of the bargain right off, when his brand-new wife was sick for four months straight. Even when I almost puked on him on our first date as a married couple, he stayed calm and cool and was a perfect picture of the supportive husband.

This week it has been my turn.

I love getting the chance to dote on my man, to take care of him when he's feeling puny. But Sunday was a real test of my ability to be a good wife when he told me, all of a sudden, "I feel like I may throw up, can you get me a trash can?"

Not sure I was quite as calm and cool as he was in that same situation. Here's how I reacted:

I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off, grabbing the first trash can I saw (and dumping all of its contents on our bedroom floor), then deciding I should add a trash bag liner just-in-case, then deciding that trash can wasn't big enough so I ran across the house to grab another trash can, then added a trash bag liner. Then I had to pick up all the trash I had dumped on the floor. Then I paced around and fretted over what I would do when I heard him puke, since I have a notoriously weak stomach and even though I've worked at a hospital for EIGHT YEARS I can't handle blood or vomit (those who can't nurse... advertise). I kept telling myself that a good wife wouldn't let something like this get to her. That real love involves staying in the room while your husband gets sick. But I secretly prayed that the good Lord would save me from this one instance so that I could be both a good wife and a non-nauseous one.

And all the while, of course, worrying about my poor sick husband who obviously felt horrible.

Thankfully, the trash can was unnecessary. Hallelujah! (for his sake, of course)

Praying that my Mr. Right's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad sinus infection is on the mend soon. In the meantime I'm doing my best to keep him hydrated, doped up, and loved.

Say it ain't so

I think I had the Swine Flu. Err, I mean the H1N1 virus. After all, one must be politically correct and not accidentally offend the pig population.

It's ironic since I'm the girl who had the pet pig in junior high. Daisy the Vietnamese Potbelly Pig was the cutest little thing ever and made for great entertainment in our otherwise normal suburban upbringing. Okay, so there wasn't a lot of normal in my upbringing, my parents also bought us a Chinese Goose named Casey... it was like the United Nations of farm animals at my house growing up. If only we had had a gold fish from North Korea, our collection would have been complete. 

So back to the swine flu. I got sick Tuesday, finally went to the doctor on Thursday, and the whole time was convinced that it was merely a sinus infection. Maybe bronchitis. I had a fever, but it wasn't high, and it hadn't been around long. I told him I was convinced it wasn't the flu, so we didn't even test for it. He gave me my decongestant drugs, along with some asthma medicine, and sent me on my merry way to heal at home. 

But now I'm almost convinced that it was indeed the flu. I had a fever that lingered for several days. My throat hurt, I developed a cough. I got severe body aches. Minor chills/sweats. Extreme fatigue. Repeated asthma attacks. It was just like last year's flu, only about half the intensity. Last year's flu lasted almost two weeks, this time I've been sick about six days. Last year I ran a high fever for 9 days, this year it never got over 99.5 and lasted about four days. Last year I could barely crawl off my couch to get a glass of water, this year I have been up and around a good bit, but tire easily. If this was indeed the swine flu, and I guess I'll never really know for sure, I can assure you that it was a heck of a lot better than the regular old seasonal flu that just about wiped me out. 

I realize we should all be vigilant and wash our hands, stay away from sick people, etc. But I can also assure you that this flu bug was more of an extreme annoyance than anything else. It wasn't worth shutting down a school over. It wasn't worth mass hysteria. It just required a few days of popping Advil and watching hours of mindless television while lying on my couch.

But I'm almost better. I have defeated the swine, and I will live to see another day. I think I should make a shirt that says, "I conquered the Swine Flu!"

But first, I must go lay back down on my couch and watch some more mindless TV. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be back to normal.

Not quite

Okay, I lied... no fabulous blogs from me today. You see, I just discovered this great new invention. It's called Movies on Demand on my cable. I can rent movies without ever having to leave my house! I don't have to worry about returning them (because we all know that I never can remember to return my movies), and there are hundreds to choose from! 

I was like a kid at Christmas... a sick, wheezy, tired and highly medicated kid who just so happened to get to watch any movie she wants on Christmas. Or something like that.

Breathing is ideal

Just a quick update... I'm sure there will be at least one blog coming today, and if I get bored enough, several. I'm home sick from work with some pretty hefty asthma issues. It's so annoying, I woke up with it three days ago and haven't been able to take a deep breath since. I have become good friends with my nebulizer, which looks suspiciously like a peace pipe. Every time I use it, I think of Alice in Wonderland. That albuterol also makes me high as a kite... another eery similarity.

I'm off to go see what the doctor says and hoping he can give me something (steroid) that will make me feel better (steroid) because I have big plans for tomorrow night (steroid).

Hospital Blog

For all those who have been praying for my sister's surgery, I want to say thank you. It's so neat to see people rally around someone you love, and I can tell you that she is so moved by the support she has gotten from her friends and her church family. I write this blog as I sit in her hospital room, chuckling at my sister's witty sense of humor, even with her head slightly cloudy from her pain medications. She is a real trooper, and I'll be so glad to have my favorite playmate back up and running very soon! 

In the meantime we're having a bit of a party in her room. And by party, I mean I'm sitting here doing homework while she catches up on her sleep. Tomorrow night she and I will be having a slumber party... there's even talk of painting her toe nails a new fabulous color. A girl may be sick in a hospital, but that's no excuse for not looking fantastic! If only I had planned ahead and bedazzled that drab hospital gown... sparkles would definitely add a spark to her stay!

Side-effects

I woke up this morning feeling worse, and since I’m super-paranoid about that terrible flu bug that has made its way around the hospital where I work, I high-tailed it over to my doctor’s office before work. Luckily, it was a doctor I know, and she loved the physician gala I threw last month, so she was happy to see me and very generous with her prescription-writing pen. She even gave me a coupon for a free inhaler. (Thanks doc!)

The nurse made me feel justified for feeling puny… I had a 99.9 temperature and she said my throat looked red. See… I knew I was sick! Luckily, the doctor said I’m not contagious, so I got cleared to go on to work (good thing, since I had two community board meetings today and I didn’t want to miss either… plus I had a cute new outfit to wear, and I’d hate to miss that opportunity!). After picking up four (count them—FOUR) prescriptions, I was ready to go. Although I still feel puny… probably because I’ve only taken one dose so far. I always seem to go to the doctor to find out how sick I am, but I hate to take medicine… I’ll probably forget to take it after 2-3 days… my A.D.D. setting in yet again.

I decided to read the fine print the pharmacy provided with my antibiotic (Amoxicillin). Here’s the side-effects it says I should worry about: nausea or vomiting, stomach/abdominal pain, yellowing eyes or skin, easy bruising or bleeding, and a persistent sore throat or fever. Now granted, all I started with was a fever and sore throat… so the medicine she prescribed could actually CAUSE a sore throat and fever, PLUS a bunch of other things I don’t even have yet! Where is the logic in that?

Apparently it could also shut down my kidneys or make me pregnant. Now THAT is some strong medicine!