Running Hot and Cold….

Well, there I was, a little over a week and a half ago, planning an “I’m baaaack!” post, and a dozen or more things to follow along fairly quickly when, wham!!!!, I was completely knocked out by one of the “upper respiratory virus” things that has been circulating this winter.

I have a suspicion about where I got it. I’d been pretty much holed-up at home that week until the night the water went out (freezing weather led to a break in a main line one neighborhood over) and someone called me up and asked if we could carpool to a class that evening. Now, I’d been undecided about the class but, with no water and a ride-seeker, I thought, hey, just go. Ten minutes into the twenty-minute ride, she starts coughing up a storm and, when she finally catches her breath, says, “Whew! I was sick a week or so ago, and I really am better, but I just cannot shake this cough.” I didn’t sit near her in the class, but she coughed the whole way back too. Now, it is possible I caught the bug from someone else in that class or someone else in that building, but …. Water was back on by the time I got home, so I climbed as quickly as possible into a long, sudsy shower, but I still got hit. Hard!

I was in touch with my doctor by phone, who gave very explicit instructions:

• Drink plenty of fluids.
• Rest.
• Eat chicken soup.
• Sleep.
• Keep drinking fluids.
• Continue to rest.
• If you feel you absolutely have to get up, then go take a hot, steamy shower, eat some more chicken soup, and then go back to sleep.
• Do not expect to really get up for at least a week.
• Do not be surprised if you can’t actually stay up until two weeks have passed. It might even take three.
• Continue to stay hydrated.
• And to sleep!

Doctor made it clear that two to three weeks is average time to recover from this. And, guess what: even when I do feel better, I am not going out with others until I have the cough under control! I hope I am over the very-worst, but I am not yet feeling better, definitely coughing up a storm. I dragged myself over to studio to water the plants today, and left again right away. Can’t have the plants die just because I’m sick! But I have jewelry to make, workshops to announce, blog posts to write, shows to enter … and, for now, I’m just going to crawl back into bed.

So far, this has been a really loooong winter. I am so looking forward to spring! In the meantime, please know that I’ll be back as soon as I can….