Sick habit

I was supposed to post this Monday but life happened - mainly I was wallowing in self pity.

I used to be a very sickly person. It was mainly due to allergies. As a child if my parents had the air running the next day would see me with a sore throat. Whenever the seasons changed I would get sick with a cold, sinus infection or even bronchitis. Airplane rides  always made me sick.

It would probably be accurate to say being sick was a habit for me. Friends knew to expect me with tissue in hand at all times. I was never sick for long - a few days in most cases - but I was always sick it seemed. Being sick was just a state of being for me.

One day I decided to change my situation and get somewhat healthier. I started taking vitamin C in 2013 and have slowly but surely gotten much better. Gone are the things of the weather making me sick. I don't have to haul tissue around as an accessory all the time anymore.

The only problem now is when I do get sick, it lasts for days or turns out to be something major. Such is the case now. I've been going to the doctor and getting tests done since October because of some results. Most of these visits have been pain free. At least that was the case until the visit on last Monday. Whatever procedure the doctor did has left me feeling terrible. And the follow up CAT scan wasn't much better.

Now I'm in pain and discomfort all day and there is now another issue that is going to require more testing at the least. I was fine until my appointment but now just two days before I leave in a cruise I not only hear disturbing news but have to deal with unexpected pain.

It's like my sick habit had returned with revenge.

The sick chronicles

All good things must come to an end. For me that means my health. Of course I’m sick again. What else is new? Just the other day I was boasting to some that I haven’t been sick since I started my new job. Knock on wood. Or perhaps it’s too late for that now? I should have paid attention to the signs. Wednesday my nose was runny but I didn’t think too much about it. Then at some point Wednesday night while drinking water my throat started feeling funny. Just before bed my head began to feel congested. I popped two Benadryl pills and hoped for better results in the morning. No such luck. I was full fledge sick on Thursday.

Liquor is quicker

It’s happening again. The dreaded yuckies are attacking me. But I refuse to let a cold bring me down. Not too long ago it seemed like I was sick for a year. Actually it was just November and half of December. I exaggerate sometimes. Normally I’m never sick for more than a few days each month – blame my week immune system - but something got a hold of me back then an wouldn’t let go, and I don’t mean the Holy Ghost.

It took a while for me to realize I wasn’t getting better after my first week. I tried Benadryl, Sudafed, Nightquil and two bottles of Robitussin. I drunk tea with honey by the pound and went through 10 boxes of tissues. The sickness still lingered. Finally I gave up and went to the doctor who diagnosed me with bronchitis. I got a prescription for Amoxicillin and thought everything would be cleared up by the time the bottle ran out. Wrong! I continued coughing like death was right around the corner. The constant runny nose and overall feeling of fatigue would not leave.

I went back to the doctor and he prescribed a Z-Pack which finally got the job done. Apparently, all of that could have been avoided if I had listened to old school remedies. Not the mustard plaster and garlic in the shoe my mother is always talking about (Voodoo). Or Father John – which tastes like death - my daddy champions. I’m breaking out alcohol, lemon juice and honey.

I heard so many variants of that remedy while sick. Some said use gin. Others prescribed whiskey. I’ve even heard vodka. I guess which alcohol is used doesn’t really matter. The point is it will knock you out and knock out whatever you have in the process. Getting drunk is the answer to sickness per the old folks. And you thought Grandma kept that Captain Morgan around just for rum cakes.

I have no fear of becoming a lush. There’s a bottle of vodka and tequila from about two years ago still in the bar. Maybe instead of reaching for that pack of Theraflu, I’ll try the bar. Liquor might just be quicker (just kidding).