Another Start

I keep saying that I am starting over. Every time I say this, something happens that somehow prevents me from continuing (or I let something stop me).

I still have not become healthy. Most recently, I suffered a HORRIBLE case of strep throat.

Here’s the story….

I had had a sinus type headache and then started to have some drainage. My throat started feeling sore, but in that kind of way it does when your sinuses are draining (the ‘not out your nose’ way), so I didn’t think a lot of it.  Hubby had been reading, so he was up REALLY late….reading. I had been sleeping, but very fitfully. I woke up close to 4 AM and my throat felt really strange. It turns out that my soft palate and my uvula were swollen. In fact, my uvula was so swollen it was like it was just lying on the back of my tongue making it feel like I had a giant phlegm wad in the way. I planned to call the doctor as soon as they opened, which was not for another four hours.

A little later that morning, my youngest came into our room (while I was getting our oldest to the bus) and she seemed warm. Really warm. Turns out she had a 102 F fever. Great. A little while later when she woke up, she said it hurt to swallow… Now, our house is a bit on the dry side (we use a corn burning stove for heat…extra dry), but since she had a fever, a phone call to the pediatrician snagged her an appointment at 11:30 AM. My appointment was for 1:30 PM.

Hubby met us at the pediatrician’s office. Thank Goodness! Little one ended up with strep throat. During her appointment, I crashed. Hard. Hubby drove us to my appointment. Same thing: strep throat. Great. Hubby drove us home, leaving our Jeep at the pediatrician’s office. Fortunately, he was able to have someone from work drive him there so he could get it back to his work at least. One vehicle would stay there until Sunday. This was Friday.

Finally, on Saturday evening, shortly after that ‘I’ve been on antibiotics for 24 hours’ mark I started to feel suddenly better. Yay! Little one hardly even seemed sick after that initial fever and sore throat when she first woke up. Thankfully she didn’t really have any suffering from it.

I was feeling better up until Sunday afternoon, then I started feeling worse again. In the middle of the night on Monday (actually EARLY Tuesday morning), my throat was feeling like I was swallowing broken, jagged glass or something (not that I have any real idea of what that would feel like, I’m just assuming here…). I took a look at my throat and I had ulcers all over my throat, uvula, back of my tongue, and my palate. I didn’t know at the time what it was, and it FREAKED ME OUT!

As soon as the doctor’s office opened, I called and got in right away. Ray drove me which was a good thing, because I wouldn’t have been able to manage it. Another strep screen showed that I still had raging strep. I got another Rx. Something that the doctor told me was something I never had considered. With a horrible sore throat, she said to take liquid children’s motrin (or which ever you use). It soothes the throat when you take it which is helpful for taking other meds or eating. She was so right, it really saved my sanity (and probably my family’s).

So, finally by Thursday, I was feeling human again. Mostly. That was January 14. It has been full of ups and downs since then. My oldest on Jan 24th went to a friend’s for a sleepover, but called citing that she didn’t feel well and wanted to come home. When she got home, she had a 104.5 F fever! It turns out she had the flu. For the first few days she had a fairly high fever. The next few, it oscillated between 103 and 99 which seemed very odd to me since she wasn’t taking a fever reducer at that time. Her ears hurt a lot, but it was only sinus pressure. She’s doing much better now, but fatigues easily. She missed an entire week of school so far.

A couple of days ago, I came down with one of those gastrointestinal viruses. Yay. My stomach felt like I had been doing crunches for hours. And the fatigue from it! I’m still feeling that two days later.

So…. This coming Sunday, February 1st, I plan to start over. My plan? There’s not much to it. I plan to start very gently and very slowly. I’m still recovering, but I think it will benefit me in the long run and hopefully make my recovery be a little longer lasting.

1. 5 minutes on the recumbent exercise bike every day.
2. Something else. Depending on how I feel on that particular day, my beginning pilates dvd (portions of), my fatfree workout (its a Bar Method Body dvd), or Turbulence Training (beginning 10 minute workout). I plan to take the exercises easy and not to push myself until I am feeling well.
3. Water. I need to drink a lot more of it.

That is all the changes that I plan to make for the first two weeks of February.  I have put them into my planner so that I won’t forget about them.

So that’s the long sordid “reason” for my slackerness.

I want to be healthy. I want to not have such joint soreness. I want to be able to move better and easier. I want my current clothes to fit better (and, if I’m honest, I REALLY want to have to buy a whole new, smaller wardrobe.). Most importantly, I just want to be healthy.

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