brink of death

I trust that there hasn't been a soul is sight who hasn't heard me whine about me being sick. But pretty much all of you who read my blog, whine about me never writing anything new. So, here you have it. You get to read about me being sick. Fair trade. Anyway, it all started around May 14, 2008. I mentioned to my co-worker that I could feel a cough coming on. Which is really weird for me because I don't usually just get a "cough". But as the week progressed, I could tell it wasn't going anywhere. That weekend we went camping to Capitol Reef (look for an upcoming post about that) and my cough continued to get worse. I don't think it was good being around all the campfire smoke, but oh well - this wasn't going to ruin my camping trip. I should mention that it didn't help that those who occupied my same vehicle for this trip (Tara, Sarah, and Mele) were all pretty ill as well. I think we just got each other more sick. So I arrived home on Sunday afternoon with full intentions of going to my friend's mission farewell and then making it back in time to go to my own Sacrament meeting. Did I make it to either? Did I even make it past my parents' family room couch? Nope. I basically crashed on the couch for about four hours. Extreme fatigue had set it. I'm pretty sure I went to bed around 10 PM that night. Which is about three hours earlier than usual. The next day I woke up feeling lousy and really tired, so I texted the lady I work with to see if she would be there to cover my desk. This was her response, "I will be here. But I will be covering Linda's desk." Translation: "You must go to work Tawny." Bummer. So I suffered through a Monday at the OB-GYN clinic with a partial voice. I opted out of going to Micro class that night. I went home and took a nap, and then went to bed around 9 PM. The next day I woke up with even less of a voice and also the beginnings of what I thought to be "pink eye". I called in sick to work. I left a message, and let me tell you, I don't know if I would even understand what I said. That next night, Wednesday, I had Micro class again and decided I better go. I got to class and started taking the quiz. The quiz was on the overhead and he uncovers the questions one at a time. We got to question 8 before I could feel the overwhelming need to cough. I coughed twice, but I felt no relief. I tried holding it in because I didn't want to be one of those kids in class that can't stop coughing or sniffling. But to my great disappointment, holding in the cough only made it worse. Tears started streaming down my face and I thought my insides would implode from a lack of oxygen. I hurried and circled "C" on questions 9 and 10, and ran out the door. I proceeded to cough uncontrollably for the next five minutes straight. This kid in the hall poked his head around and said, "Hey, are you okay?" I muttered in my half-voice, "Yeah, I think so." But really I thought I was going to die. When I finally mustered enough courage to face my classmates again, I ran in the door and grabbed my books and headed home. The next night, I had Micro lab. I was lucky enough to be ill on a day where we were swabbing ourselves for diseases. I volunteered myself for project so I could see what was causing all my grief. We swabbed my nasty throat because I was sure something was growing back there because it was about half its normal size. We also swabbed the inside of my nose. We let the dishes grow over night. At work on Friday, I still sounded pretty bad, so the nurse gave me a Rx for an antibiotic - which I am sure has saved my life. I returned that day to the lab to see what was going down. I checked my plate growing my throat culture, and my germs turned the red plate green. Nasty. I then checked my special MSA (mannitol salt agar) plate. The MSA plates specialize in growing Staph aureus, which is the strain of Staph that is pathogenic (disease causing). If it is positive for S. aureus, it turns the red plate yellow. I pulled out my plate and to my surprise, my nose culture was completely yellow! My classmates were pretty grossed out. I immediately headed to Target to get my Rx filled and to get Echinacea, Zinc, Chloroseptic throat spray, and Ricola throat drops. I was determined at that point to rid myself of this. By Saturday, my lungs were beginning to hurt from the coughing and I made the mistake of mentioning this to my mother, who immediately turned around and told me that I had bronchitis and walking pneumonia, and that I needed to see a Doctor. I assured her that this wasn't a big deal, and that I would heal on my own. But really in the back of my mind, having my mother doubt my condition, only made me more of a worried hypochondriac. Thanks Mom. But I kept positive and got a lot of sleep through the weekend, and I am happy to report that I am almost completely healed. My voice still can't get as high as it once did, and I can't sing yet the way I used to, but I feel a full recovery in the works. All in all I had the following symptoms in the last two weeks: deep chest cough, runny nose, sore throat, "pink eye", inner ear problems, sinus congestion, loss of voice, extreme fatigue, sleep-less nights, lung pains, etc. Normally I'm not a baby when I get sick (HA! That's not true...), but I am usually pretty resilient. When I get a cold, I am usually all better in three days (Thanks to Zicam and AirBorne). I know most of you are saying, "Tawny, please. We already know all of this. How can we forget when you keep reminding us?" My deepest apologies to you all. But, in a way, you asked for it.