Well well well, what a fun and exciting week! It’s been a week or so since I
have written anything and here are the excuses in chronological order:
Went to Fayetteville Friday, Georgia Saturday, got back Sunday and was
tired, Monday still tired and by the time I get home from work on Tuesday, I
have the flu!
Nothing to see here but an
over flowing garbage can full of soup cans, Nyquil bottles, orange juice
containers and disgusting tissues. It’s been great; I finally see what all the
fuss is about with this flu thing I keep hearing about on the news. I am no longer a stranger
to this wonderful virus that has knocked me on my ass and left me on the couch
to be as worthless as this decorative pillow that sits beside me.
I called into work Wed, Thurs and Friday and now it’s Sunday and I am still
not recovered! Wednesday morning was a blast; I had been up all night because of
how bad I was in pain with a sore throat.
I just knew it was strep throat and I knew I
needed to get to the doctor right away, get some antibiotics and nip thing in
the bud.
Anyway, I got up out of bed and just started crying my eyes out, apparently
being sick and sleep deprived makes me emotional. I get myself together and try
and figure out where a hard working uninsured American should seek medical
attention (yes unfortunately I cannot afford health insurance at this time).
Nevertheless I start googling health departments and such; there is a list of
them with different stipulations, the one I did find that looked promising was
not accepting new patients. Since I felt like donkey dung at this point and I couldn’t
even fathom research with the headache I was experiencing, I jumped in the car
and did the easiest thing, Minute Clinic at CVS. I head out and haul ass so I
could get this thing over with before I croak. Oh but wait, let me get pulled
over by Nashville's Finest real quick. Awesome, blue lights appear in my rear
view mirror and now I get to pull over.
Since I had already been crying earlier
it did not take much for Unstable Mable to bursts into tears as soon as I am
settled on the side of the road. The cop comes up and asks me for my license
and registration. I am crying my eyes out as I look through a huge stack of
papers that I pull out of my glove compartment. He asks what is wrong, I tell
him I am very sick and I was trying to get to the doctor as quick as possible.
He tells me that he needs me to get there safe and I was driving way too fast.
He told me to just give him my insurance card since it was gonna take most of
the morning to get through this stack and find my registration. He came back
and told me he was not going to give me a ticket and told me to slow down.
Woohoo!!! I finally got out of a ticket!! One point for the sick lady.
I am at the Clinic the second they open, we discussed it being around $100 (give or
take a 20) so I break out my credit card and cross my fingers. I tested negative
for strep which meant I had the flu, which meant no antibiotics, I just get to
treat the symptoms. So I basically gave the lady all my money to tell me to
rest, drink plenty of fluids and take Nyquil. Gee thanks, I think my Mom told
me all that for free the night before, but it’s better knowing I guess. I did
have a fever so I was able to get a doctor’s note for work. I went into Kroger
and tried to figure out how to push myself in the cart; it really sucks with no
Mommy in sight when you are sick. I drag myself up to the counter somehow and
then made it home.
Since I have been home I have become one with the
Army Wives and my couch. I feel like I live on post and lights out is
at 0800 hours and I say things like "Roger that."
Thank goodness there are tons and tons of
episodes to keep me entertained.
I think I have
logged about 60 hours or so. I have learned a lot about combat, FRG meetings,
falling out and PTSD. I am making sure my hours in front of the TV are
educational and emotionally inviting.
One current problem that I am not a big fan of is my ears. They have been
getting plugged up with fluid and have been getting worse. Apparently plugged
up ears and home remedies go hand and hand. For a day or so it was just the
sound of the ocean flowing through my brain so mom recommended a few drops of
mineral oil in my ear. With no mineral oil or ear dropper insight, I promptly
warmed up some Wesson oil in the microwave and poured it my ear. Since oil and
water really don't mix all that well, all I got was an oily pillow and an oil treatment
for my hair. Then I tried putting a towel over my head as a canopy and putting
my face directly in a fresh pot of steam from the water I was boiling on the
stove. All that did was act as a nose hair removal system, so I just threw some
eggs in the pot and called it a day.
My ear was getting more and more clogged and beginning to hurt. I am now
getting desperate, so my next attempt is lying down on the ground with a wash
cloth and a hair dryer to my ear trying to dry the fluid out. When blowing hot
air into my brain didn't work, Brandy suggested pouring alcohol in it so I
asked if Vodka would work. She said no that I need to get some RUBBING alcohol.
Well since the TV sounded like a robot in my ear, I
threw on my shoes at around 11 last night and I was either going to the store
or the ER. All I knew was that I was in pain and I felt like my ear drum was
going to explode. I got in the car and got on the phone with Brandy, she got on
WebMD and she talked me through what to get. I ran in Kroger grabbed some alcohol
off the shelf along with some numbing ear drops and ran into the Kroger bathroom
and stuck my head over the sink. I flip open the cap and poured this crap in my
ear sat there for about 20 seconds and then put the drops in. I did get some
relief thank goodness but it was not over. I decided I needed to leave the
bathroom and possibly pay for all the stuff I just used. Brandy came across
some information as to why this happened, apparently Nyquil or any other decongestant
drug that makes you sleepy will thicken the fluids that may be in your ears or
nose or wherever. So there you go, some education for everyone. After being in
a Nyquil induced coma all week it did make sense, thanks Nyquil for almost
blowing my eardrums to smithereens. I am now laying here still fighting the
fluids but resting likes a good girl. Ok the wives are waiting on me; it’s time
to see who is a match for Claudia Joy’s kidney and where the 23 Airborne troops
landed after an emergency deployment.
Before I head back to the post, I would like to wish my very
good friend, Kathy Goodwin, a very happy Kathy Day! I hope you have the most
fun today and enjoy it with your ginormous family. Happy Birthday lady!!