the thin line between optimism and delusion…

So, remember how I had a very college weekend?  Day drinking and close calls?

Well, I got my act together when the week started.  I ran three miles on Monday,  and actually got some stuff done at work on Monday and Tuesday.  Wednesday morning I woke up with a swollen gland in my throat, which worried me.  My mom has had a terrible cold in the last month and I KNEW I was going to get it.  Since I have a plane flight to steamboat Friday morning I was concerned.  I came home from work yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon and got in bed.  I had a low grade fever but nothing too serious.  I was going to go to the doctor, but apparently there has been a bad flu outbreak here this week and I didn’t want to get exposed to anything else. 

I didn’t have a fever when I went to sleep last night, after watching the eclipse by myself since I didn’t want to make anyone else sick if I was in fact sick.  Which I was pretty sure I wasn’t.  Because, after all, I’m a hypochondriac.  I probably took my temperature fifty times yesterday just to make sure I didn’t have a fever.  If you have a fever you have proof you really are sick and aren’t making it up.  But regardless of how many times I checked it, I did not have a real fever. 

I woke up in the middle of the night with a terrible sore throat.  Damn that swollen gland I thought.  I took some Advil and tried to go back to sleep. 

At 6:30 am, I realized this wasn’t working for me.  I was in so much pain, I wanted to go to the hospital immediately.  Both of my parents were out of town for the night and I was at their house looking after the dogs.  Travers and Elizabeth left for a long weekend in Mexico this morning.  I didn’t think I could wait till the doctors office opened at 9.  I couldn’t swallow the saliva in my mouth my throat was so swollen.  I was in tears.  Which just made it worse. 

After some pathetic phone calls to my mom – she got in touch with one of her friend’s son – a guy I grew up with who is an ENT about five years older than me.  Only problem he was in the Evans office for the day 30 minutes away.  I got in the car and was one of the first people at the office.  I had never been to this office before, and the nice girl who checked me in – after I filled out the paper work – she said – now just look at this little camera and I’m going to take your picture for your file.  that was enough to send me over the edge. 

As I was sitting in the waiting room, every minute was an eternity.  Finally I had to tell myself to get it together and stop crying in front of a room full of strangers.  But I really didn’t have to wait that long considering. 

As I followed the nurse back to the room I passed my doctor friend.  He said – You don’t feel good, I can see it by just looking at you.  I almost started crying again. 

The first nurse asked me if it hurt on my tonsils or on the back of my throat, I told her it just hurt.  She wanted to know what side.  I said it hurt.  She took my temperature.  101.2.  Well, you definitely have a fever she said. 

Then Doctor Friend came in.  He looked at my glands, and told me that I either had tonsillitis in both tonsils or a really bad case of strep.  Then he looked in my throat.  Nope, not tonsillitis.  Must be strep. 

I hope you don’t have to go back to work today he said.  I said, no, I don’t, but I have a flight out to Steamboat to go skiing in the morning.  He laughed.  You can go, but I promise you won’t have fun. 

I’m going to give you some steroids, I know this is no fun, but we can give you a shot today, or you can start on the pills, you take six the first day…..

SHOT!  Please give me the shot!  I can’t swallow my own spit.  I want the shot.  I want the shot right now.  I don’t mind needles. 

Oh, okay.  Shot it is then. 

Then he swabbed my tonsil to do the strep test.  The nurse explained to me that it works very similar to a pregnancy test.  Just a few minutes, and we will look at the lines and see if it is positive or negative. 

The nurse gave me the shot, and they left me for a few minutes to wait on the strep test.  I had to go look at the little test while they were gone.  Hmmm.  One line.  This means negative right?  Like on a pregnancy test?  You have the control line to tell you the test is working and then if it is positive you have the other line.  (Isn’t that what I learned from the movie Juno?)  Well, if I don’t have strep….

When they came back, Doctor Friend looked at the test and said – well, if I’m reading this right, then you don’t have strep.  Which means, you do have Mono.

Wait, what?  Mono?  I have mono?  How old am I? 18?  I haven’t been tired.  I’m not rundown.  I can’t even think of anyone I might have kissed four to six weeks ago that could have given it to me. 

More importantly – I’M NOT ACTUALLY IN COLLEGE!  YOU GET MONO IN COLLEGE!  GAH. 

I haven’t even HEARD of anyone getting mono in like five years. 

So, Doctor Friend wrote me some prescriptions for a bunch of stuff and sent me to the lab across the street to get some blood drawn. 

Then I stopped by target to get my prescriptions filled.  I was sort of hoping that I could find something at target to blow some money on to make me feel better about not getting to go skiing and not feeling well.  But I didn’t find anything and I left target having spent less than ten dollars, which I’m fairly sure is against the law. 

So you know how you are suppose to not be hungry when you have mono? Well, I was starving.  But swallowing things was still a problem.  I stopped at the chik fil a in front of target and got a milk shake.  Which felt good.  But all the milk shake did was make me wish I had french fries and a chicken sandwich. 

Luckily I still have one more chik fil a between where I was and my house.  So I stopped there and got the fries and sandwich I wanted.  I couldn’t really eat it, but I tried. 

Right.  So I’m sick.  Indefinitely. 

Rawr.  Today has been a very long day.   And I think Briscoe has been playing in the rain all afternoon.  Great.   I bet she is real clean.