Sick and Tired

'Tis the season to be sick...falalalalalalaaaahaaah chooooo! That has been the story of my past week. I am sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. Last Saturday, we took the kids out to celebrate N's birthday and I mistakenly shared a straw with K, who was sniffly. By Sunday, both of the kids and I were nursing colds. I kept them home from school on Monday and battled a horrendous headache all day. Both seemed to have lots of energy, so I sent them to school on Tuesday. I took another sick day to try and get over the ick. On Wednesday, I went back to work, even though I still felt ill. I taught my classes and played catch up. Returning to work after having subs is always an interesting endeavor. I had to get my lesson plans rearranged and begin working on next week's plans. The headmaster of our school is a stickler for collecting everyone's weekly plans in a timely manner, so I already felt behind.




Then on Thursday morning, I woke up and was horrified when I looked in the mirror. My eyes were bloodshot and watery. My face was pasty white and boy did I look haggard. I did my best to mask these lovely signs of sickness, but must've failed miserably. The looks I got said it all. It was to be a long day and I didn't think I could miss it. My school was holding a fundraiser called "Run for the Arts" and so I was outside all day helping out. Later that evening, the English department was hosting Curriculum Night and I needed to prep for that and keep working on my lesson plans. Everyone kept asking me if I was okay. Being outside seemed to irritate my eyes more as they became extremely red and glassy. I was already tired and foggy, so my reaction time was suffering too. My coworkers suggested I just call it a day and not to worry about Curriculum Night. Then my boss basically TOLD me to go home. She was concerned and insisted I go to urgent care.`I felt bad for leaving, but agreed that I was no good to anyone sick.



On my boss' advice, I saw a doctor that afternoon. My bad, I didn't have a regular doctor yet (not since switching insurance at this job) or my medical card. This complicated the process of getting into urgent care, but they kindly accepted me anyway. In addition to having a cold, the doctor said I had pink eye (conjuctivitis) and thought I could have a sinus infection. Afterwards, I went to the pharmacy to get my prescriptions filled, only to deal with more insurance problems. When I called for my information, I had to sit on hold two different times for over 20 minutes each (using up my cell phone minutes). The first person couldn't find me in their system. Apparently, they have an older one and a newer one. I was in the former...go figure how that all works. Anyhow, I was so wiped out that I just filled the Sudafed portion and went home.




After getting the kids off to school this morning, I went back over to the pharmacy and filled the rest of the prescription. Now I am taking antibiotics and enjoying the fun of eyedrops. There is nothing quite like opening your own eye wide and waiting for the drip to drop onto your eyeball. The anticipation is terrible. I feel like Rachel on that episode of Friends, when Monica had to hold her down to get them in. I have a wierd thing about eyedrops I guess. I still look death warmed over, but hopefully will start getting better as the meds kick in.