Saturday, January 17, 2009

Chunky Lungs





I've had three different colds over the last two months.  The first one I had to wear a mask at work, my poor larynx was so sore from coughing that I sounded like a guy. 

That one started to clear up and on Christmas Eve, I started a new cold causing my nose to drain like a sieve with a really bad cough and this left me totally down for the count on Christmas day. 



 Just as I was getting better from that one, I got another cold that settled in my lungs.  I contracted two of these disgusting entities from my son.............he bragged at being the "Outbreak monkey".  All six of us here in Jeppsontown have been hacking up a lung for the past several days.  Grandpa commented that we all sounded like a bunch of turkeys with our coughing. Thanx Whit!

I don't get sick very often, or stay sick for that matter, but this stuff really started to get me worried.  Especially since I am a health care worker and deal with the elderly population which can seriously be affected by just a cold.  And because they really push us to get the flu vaccine, and I am a rebel in this department and will not get one, if I get so much as a sniffle I'm afraid they'll throw it back in my face that I should have been vaccinated.

(More on the matter of the flu vaccine later, an entirely new subject of which I am pretty opinionated.)  But because I was so worried about getting better I went and saw the doc............still another thing I RARELY do.  

She gave me a "Z-pack" and I can't believe how quickly it started to affect me.  Even right after I took it.  This morning I feel sooooooo much better.  I am still weak and my lungs are tender and easily provoked to cough, but my cough isn't as hefty and thick sounding and I feel less tired. 

This little recital is just to show how much I want to get better as I have such wonderful news.

I get to see my grand babies in just over a weeks time!  

Yes, they are coming to see me and I can hardly wait!!!!!!  Oh, and their mommy is coming too which makes me cry at the thought!

This brought about our little shopping excursion yesterday as we don't get to see grandkids much so our house is sadly deficient in the baby department.  So both of us sickies (Nate and I) went to the kids consignment shop yesterday and bought a Pack and Play (mini crib/play-pen), a Bumbo with tray, and then traveled out to the boonies to get a barely used high chair from a grammy who bought it for her visiting from out of town grandkids.  

Just going and buying this stuff makes me feel like I have babies again, it's so weird.  Oh, and I invested in a few toys too because this grammy is totally uncool in the toy department.  

Nate had to trudge back to the car he was so sick himself and feeling weak and achey that he sat most of the grocery shopping out.  I felt bad but he said he "wanted to be with me"!  Totally sweet!  I felt like death warmed over too but I had an agenda!  Then I went home and collapsed!

I called in sick for today to allow one more day of rest.  This puts me at nearly two weeks of not working the floor which doesn't make me one bit sad!  I can't believe how anxious and tired working on the floor makes me.  Since I'm now officially part time Cardiac Telemetry, part time Cardiac Rehab, I only have to work one day a week on the tele floor and it's absolutely WONDERFUL!

Oh, my tele-floor co-workers have called me a "traitor" by working with another department , but I don't care.  Well, I did at first.  Especially since I STILL WORK THERE!  But, it's just because they're left behind to deal with the CRAP! Floor work is really hard and stressful stuff and I'm glad I have something else to break it up.

I started the Pilates train rollin' as my down payment is in and they've sent me stuff in the mail telling me about the classes and such.  

You can't know how excited I am for this.  I finally feel like I'm going in the right direction. Nursing is a good field of work, but it's been pointing me in the direction of dealing with the sick, when I want to prevent sick and promote health!  Here I am on a cardiac unit and I work with over ten people who smoke cigarettes!  Even the nurse manager of our floor smokes. She's MY BOSS!!!!  I don't know how they have the guts to lean over their patients smelling of cigarettes to listen to their heart and lungs and tell them if they had only had a better lifestyle, they may not have cardiac and lung issues!  Yeah, makes no sense to me either!
                                                   

If I'm feeling some better, and Nate is up to it, we'll go look at flooring for the gym today!

~Totally Cool~  

1 comment:

Kateka said...

Ugh. Coughs are the worst. Even when you start to feel better, they persist for like weeks after, and if you get to cold, or hot, or dry-throated... on come the coughs. Well at least that is how it is for me. Hope it is not like that for you. Hope you get well soon.