First Sickness

We are in the midst of the 2007-2008 cold and flu season and I can officially say I picked up my first cold of the season. Usually I get sick from my mom, dad or my niece or nephew, but I can't honestly think of where I picked up this cold from, seeing that non of them have been sick recently. Another culprit could've been someone from work, but I wasn't at work for five days because of my long weekend. I did bring my mom to the local medical center on Monday and we did go to a public restaurant afterwards. Maybe I could've picked something up from those places. Whatever the case, I'm not complaining about it too much because it's only a minor cold. I have a slight runny nose, a scratchy throat, and am a bit stuffed up, but otherwise I'm in fairly decent shape. Hopefully this is only as worse as it gets!

I am not one to get sick very often. If I do, they only end up being minor colds or a slight flu. Last year I had the flu a couple of different times. During one of the flu spells, I went to work feeling somewhat down but felt able enough to make it through the shift. Well, when all was said and done, I really felt awful and I probably should've went home early. All I did that evening and night was lay on the couch and rest. I don't even think I ate. I missed work the next day in hopes of trying to rest up for a weekend of 12-hour shifts. That's something you definitely don't want to miss out on. Later on that day, I felt much better and by that Saturday, I felt well enough to go to work and work that 12-hour shift. Not that working 12's are the greatest thing in the world, but it really hurts your paycheck in the end!

Back when I was a senior in high school, I was on a science team that competed at a regional level in this science-based competition that included many different categories. Our teams, both junior high and high school had an amazing track record (more so with the junior high team) where we'd win the regional level and won the right to compete at the state level. We were heading downstate towards Lansing where the state competition was taking place on the campus of Michigan State University. As we got closer to our hotel just outside of Lansing, I wasn't feeling the best. I started getting more and more sick and by the time I reached the hotel, I was miserable. The illness came on suddenly and shortly upon entering the room, I had to make a dash to the bathroom and started throwing up. I felt much better after I vomitted but that feeling didn't last long. I was miserable the rest of the day and elected to sleep and rest while the rest of the teams were out having the time of their lives. Even in the evening when we were supposed to be studying for our respective categories, I just didn't have the concentration to do anything. I felt that horrible. I had a fever and my body ached terribly.

The next day wasn't much better; but it was competition day. I had to do what I could for my team and fellow teammates. Between competitions, I rested. I laid back as well as I could in a chair in the auditorium where our team headquarters were, but after awhile that just wasn't good enough anymore. I ventured out to find a soft spot in the lawn outside of the building. I had an amazing rest; slept for a good hour or so. In fact, I woke up with enough time to make it to the competition I needed to be at. Luckily so or I would've missed out on a fifth place medal at the state level! I feel bad for my teammates who had to put up with a sick person as their partner. And I'll admit, I still didn't have 100 percent concentration even at those competitions. But I did what I could and I was there for support if anything else.

It's the weird thing about illnesses like a cold or flu because sometimes you can never figure out where you picked them up. But this time of the year, anything is possible and it's so easy for germs to spread. I attribute the illness I experienced in Lansing to food poisoning; as there were a couple of different instances where I could've had something that made my stomach churn. As for the newest cold I have, it's hard to speculate exactly where I picked it up. Needless to say, it always helps to wash your hands as frequently as possible this time of year, especially when you're in any public place. It sure beats having to be miserable and put up with any kind of illness, whether it's major or minor.