A Week of Being Sick

I haven't had a very "healthy" week, I guess you could say. I've been dealing with a very serious cold; the worst I've experienced in quite awhile - probably in at least a couple of years. I am just now starting to get over it. The coughing is beginning to subside, my nose isn't running nearly as often, and I am finally beginning to speak right. It's one of the reasons why I was only able to crank out four blogs in the month of November. I had planned to write one or two more towards the end of the month, especially around Thanksgiving. But that is when this cold struck and I haven't been the same since. Only today have I finally had the motivation to jump on the computer and write a blog. Yeah, I suppose I could've braved the sickness to write even a short blog. But when you just ain't feeling right, I figured what's the point? Anyways, here's a bit of a recap as to what I've dealt with during the past week.

It all began on Thankgiving day, in fact. I had spent the night at my mom and dad's the previous night and had just woke up. I started to get out of bed but then I was feeling very dizzy. As I walked about the house, I was even having a difficult time walking in a straight line. Gradually throughout the day, the dizziness improved, but it still continued to be a problem when I bent down. There were a few instances where I had to gather myself before I fell down. I was actually pretty bummed to feel this way because my niece and nephew were over for Thanksgiving and they are always a ton of fun to be around whenever they are over. At least I was able to get over my dizziness somewhat later in the day and spend time with them. Still, I was very disappointed to have this happen to me on Thanksgiving.

Later that day and into the evening, I started to develop a cough. I was experiencing this tickle in my throat that kept me coughing every now and again. It wasn't a steady cough, but just enough of one to know that something might not be right. It probably didn't help that I was just starting my latest stretch of midnights, either. Before the end of my first midnight shift was over, my throat was also beginning to feel rather raw and sore. This was only the beginning. The next few days got much worse. And it didn't help that Sunday and Monday mornings I had to work 12-hour shifts. My throat got very sore - this was probably the worst part about the cold. It affected my voice enough so that I nearly lost it a few different times. My nose started to run, my cough was getting worse, and I just wasn't feeling all that great. It ended up turning into a typical head cold. I ended up buying a bunch of medicines for my cold, which all seemed to help. And now today, I can confidently say that I am finally starting to turn the corner with this cold.

I can honestly say I've never had a cold start the way that this one did. To be so dizzy to start off and then to develop a cough before even getting a sore throat is pretty unusual, at least I think so. That just goes to show you that not all cold or flu strains are the same. Usually the first symptom of the common cold is the sore throat - but not in this instance. Another thing that was so unusual about this cold is how it affected my throat to the point that my voice was very hoarse for a good three or four days. I know I've had many colds where I've sounded stuffed up, but never to the point where I was losing my voice. Needless to say, it's been kind of a long road but I am very pleased to say that my condition is improving with each passing day. The lingering effects of this cold may continue for another week or so, but I am confident to say that the worst of this cold is behind me. Hopefully I don't experience another cold like this again for a very long time.