"No good deed goes unpunished."
Nine days ago, I brought my elderly neighbor, who has no family nearby, to the hospital. She was having trouble breathing and was in distress [she has emphysema}. I was in the emergency room until 4 AM the next morning. The hospital admitted her, and I went home. The next afternoon, I visited her and was told she would be hospitalized for a few more days until they stabilized her breathing. (She's home and doing well now.)
Two days after taking my neighbor to the hospital, I came down with the flu. Yes, the one that choked up emergency rooms and scared the beejeebus out of everyone. The worst place to be during flu season is a hospital. I obviously picked up the virus there, since no one I've been in contact with over the past month has had the flu.
I've been blogging from a sick bed since last Wednesday, and I'm still weak and cotton-headed. The doctor told me this thing hangs on for 7 to 10 days.
Anyway, that's why blogging has been light. And why I haven't got anything new to post today. I'm tired and damn sick of being sick. I'd much rather be out and and about, doing my regular routine. But this malady has humbled me and the idea of my being a healthy and hardy individual.
Stay well. And keep washing your hands.
15 comments:
Please get well soon, Ms Shaw. I am so sorry this happened to you, but I think you did exactly the right thing in helping your neighbor. Emergency rooms, even in the best hospitals, tend to be dismal, depressing, enervating places, as I know all too well from considerable experience, so it's no wonder you were adversely affected.
May I suggest next time that you call 911, and get an ambulance to take the next "victim" you run across to the ER? It may not be fair, but patients who arrive by ambulance are usually attended to and admitted a lot sooner than those who walk in off the street.
It may not only have been exposure to germs and viruses that made you ill. I firmly believe nervous tension, anxiety, aggravation and exhaustion effectively open the door and roll out the red carpet for Disease to enter the body.
I hope you have competent, caring assistance at home to see you through this ordeal?
Meanwhile, please don't allow yourself to become too ambitious too soon. Relapses can be more horrible and discouraging than the initial illness.
Kindest regards,
~ Dr. FreeThinke ;-)
Hang in there, Shaw. You will get better!
Get well soon, Shaw. Don't worry about blogging. There's nothing happening anyway. Phil the Groundhog has been the biggest thing going on lately. Get lots of chicken soup. Millions of Jewish grandmothers can't be wrong.
Get well soon!
The flu virus is particularly virulent this year. Even among those with a flu shot, the efficacy is only 62%. I got my shot and haven't been sick. (But I
stayed away from hospitals!)
So sorry you are under the weather Shaw. Get well soon.
Hope you feel better soon.
You may want to stay inside the next couple of days as winter storm Nemo visits your area...
Be well, soon!
_____ To Ms Shaw Kenawe _____
_____ On the Sad Occasion _____
_____ Of Her Recent Illness _____
It grieves me that Thou must take to thy Bed
With any but a lover fair and true.
The Wine of Life poured next or ‘neath the Spread ––
Made rancid, bitter, toxic by the Flu ––
Thus spoilt is put to waste, while precious Time
Ebbs –– diminishes –– recedes from view ––
Drifting farther from the sought Sublime ––
Denying Thee Contentment, perhaps, due.
But then, ‘tis often said, “Into each life
Some rain must fall.” Alas! ‘Tis very true.
I know of none who have escaped the strife
That comes with illness. E’en the chosen few
Must bear their share of care; ‘Tis only fair.
To disagree methinks Thou wouldst not dare. ;-)
~ Free Thinke
I hope you make a quick, strong recovery, Shaw. I'm keeping a good thought for you to do just that.
It really is amazing how beaten down and humbled n otherwise healthy person can be made to feel by a nasty little bug that can't be seen with the naked eye.
Did you get it at the hospital? It's quite possible, but could've been anywhere, anytime, in the four days before the onset of symptoms. You're absolutely right about the importance of hand washing. Refraining from touching your face except with freshly washed hands is also a good idea.
Well thank you all for those kind and encouraging words. They brightened my dreary days.
And for the poem! Mr. Free Thinke.
Today is the first day that I've felt human.
This is a particularly nasty virus. Yesterday, when I thought I was beginning to feel stronger and was up and trying a bit of cooking, my body told me in very strong terms that was NOT a good idea.
Back to the couch and bed.
At least I've been able to catch up on my reading.
"The Pale Blue Eye," by Louis Bayard.
Bayard is a contemporary writer who is writing in a very convincing tone of a 19th century author. This is a mystery novel--a particularly nasty murder that takes place at West Point, and Bayard has placed Edgar Allen Poe in the novel. [I didn't know Poe briefly attended West Point.]
Thank you all again. I believe I'll feel much better tomorrow, just in time to greet Nemo.
Beh!
Get well soon!
One bright spot: you are not so sick that you can't enjoy reading.
Some years ago, when I had the flu, I was flattened for a month. And I was in my early 20's! I thank my lucky stars that I didn't have any cardiac damage -- a real possibility with influenza.
Thanks for your good wishes, AOW.
I'm thankful the worst of the flu is over, and that I'm feeling better.
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