I hope you are all healthy and happy.
I caught a nasty virus that’s been going around my office, and I’ve been miserable for a week. I’m handling this one on my own. I believe in seeking medical attention when necessary, but I don’t think I need it this time. I tested for COVID, and I’m negative. So, no fear there.

It began Tuesday of last week with extreme fatigue. I awoke Wednesday morning feeling worse with an extreme headache and complete body ache. So, I called in sick to work and stayed home with my butt firmly planted in my recliner the entire day. I accomplished nothing but snuggling under a blanket and snoozing between coughing spells. The cough was new that day. Thursday, I wasn’t quite as achy, so I went to work where my cough worsened.
Because I don’t work on Fridays, I was sure I would be able to use the weekend to recover. Friday was spent much like Wednesday – sitting in my recliner snoozing and coughing. Saturday was more of the same with some added pressure from my hubby to call my doctor. Sunday, I felt a little better and drove myself to Dollar General to pick up some more medicine and supplies while my husband was working. The trip tuckered me out, so when he came home from work, I was napping. He resumed bugging to go to the doctor when I woke up.
Bless his heart. He doesn’t understand that my doctor’s office doesn’t work patients in. An appointment takes weeks to get. I’ll be better by the time I would be able to see her. She is very popular, and she’s always fully booked. That’s why I make my appointments six months in advance.
My doctor’s office is in a local clinic building. If someone needs to be seen immediately, they are instructed to visit the clinic side of the building, which I have done many times. They have gotten things right a few times, but I won’t be visiting them for this virus because they have gotten things wrong more than they’ve been right. They actually once sent me to the dentist, insisting I had an abscessed tooth when I had a sinus infection. The dentist was kind enough to call in antibiotics and medicine for me.
The trouble with the clinic is that I’ve been misdiagnosed several times and accused of only being there for a doctor’s note to skip work on one occasion. I had fainted that morning and thought it might be a good idea to seek medical attention, so I was quite irked when the nurse practitioner asked if I had too much to drink the night before and needed a hangover note. I am not a big drinker and hadn’t touched a drop in months prior to my visit. Besides that, how dare she?
There are good people at the clinic. I’ve had attentive nurses who have done everything they know to help me. One nurse practitioner thought my blood pressure was too high and told me she wanted to increase my medicine but thought she should talk to my doctor first. She had me wait while she did that. The doctor said not to increase it, so she came back and went over things I could do help lower the numbers. It turns out the reason it was high was due to the Tylenol I’d been taking to reduce my fever.
However, the reason I developed ketoacidosis is because of a drug that I was prescribed when I visited a different branch of the clinic while I was quite ill with pneumonia. I told the nurse practitioner I had pneumonia, and she wouldn’t listen. I knew I had it because my stepdaughter, a nurse, listened to my lungs the night before and diagnosed it. She insisted I seek medical attention.
I will never forget that nurse practitioner’s horrible attitude. She didn’t appreciate me telling her what I had and refused to accept it. She told me she was willing to test me for strep or COVID, but that’s it.
When I was wheeled into the ICU a few days later, a doctor confirmed what I told that nurse was true. Double pneumonia, which was then coupled with ketoacidosis. By that time, I’d added sepsis, too, and my kidneys were shutting down. I nearly died because the medical person who was supposed to help me had a chip on her shoulder.
No, in the case of this virus, I’ve seen what happened with those who’ve had it before me – especially the guy who gave it to me. I have medicine, tissues, toilet paper, and fluids. I also have cough drops. I bought some Emergen-C and began mixing it with apple juice. Adding hot herbal tea with honey and probiotic to my daily routine have helped, too.
Other things I’ve done to try help my situation are to make sure I sanitize everything. I’ve soaked the showerhead in vinegar, used Clorox Laundry Sanitizer on my towels and clothes, sprayed Lysol on everything, and I’ve been taking nice hot showers in antibacterial soap. As hot as I can stand them. I’ve also been eating apple sauce. I don’t know why, but I really crave it when I’m sick. I figure it can’t hurt anything.
As I write this post, just shy of four hours before it goes live, I’m sipping hot Theraflu and feeling much better. I woke up this morning sweating like a racehorse and feeling nearly like my normal self. My fatigue and achiness were completely gone. I still have a horrible cough, but that will fade with time. I’m on the mend. The thing I need now is a good night’s sleep, and I bet I’ll be right as rain in the morning. Well, maybe close to it. Perhaps I’ll be right as wind.
Ya’ll take of yourselves, and Happy Spring! And remember, you can read Sally’s Secret Legacy on Kindle Vella right here: https://amzn.to/42vVfTd. I post a new episode every three days, and the first three episodes are free!
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