Two Weeks of Illness and What it Has Taught Me

I am a snivelling, coughing, achy mess and have been for the past 13 days straight. Today I sat on my office floor and coughed until I thought I was going to be sick with tears running down my face as I heaved fruitlessly trying to stop the coughing.

If that sounds dramatic it's because after nearly two weeks and TWO walk-in doctor appointments with almost no change in my symptoms... I feel dramatic.

I have always been a firm believer in not going to the doctor for every little cold. These things have to run their course so I will rest, drink lots of water and tea and eat lots of soup. Oh, and at night I will take Advil cold and sinus- I am not above getting as much sleep as possible.

After my fever climbed to a whopping 102.5 the second day of my cold, I didn't hesitate to go to the walk-in the very next day. Only to be told... to come back if I don't "feel better" in three days. This translated to me not going back until I couldn't hear out of one ear. Which resulted in an ear infection and drops that aren't actually treating the rest of my awful symptoms. Which has resulted in my going BACK to the doctor for a THIRD time (but this time to my family physician who is amazing) tomorrow morning.

All this to say that I have a renewed appreciation of individuals with:
a) Hearing loss. After effectively blocking most sound from my right ear and some in my left, my already damaged hearing was completely shot. Trying to focus at work was painful- I barely heard what others were saying and was constantly saying "pardon me?". I tried to order a coffee that day and misheard the barista twice before I was able to confirm what I had ordered and what I wanted. I had no idea how loudly or softly I was speaking and felt very much adrift. Hearing loss is an invisible difficulty and we forget just how much we take hearing for granted.

b) Living with chronic illness: Now this is definitely only a peak into such a life. But even my (very) brief two weeks of constant aches, pains and illness where I continued to go to work, be social, go to a birthday party, do chores and spend time with my husband- gave me a whole sense of renewed humility to how those with chronic illness or pain must live. Every little thing exhausts me, but I never get enough sleep due to coughing or congestion. I am thankful that, except for this, I am a healthy person and I thank the Goddess for it more so each day.

So. That has been my life recently. Yoga on the backburner, accepting that simply drinking tea and resting isn't always the solution to sickness.