Not Entirely Unexpected...

Here is a little transcript of the call made to my doctor's office from my classroom at 11:00 this very morning. Voice The First is mine. Voice The Second is that of My Favorite Medical Assistant:

Sheepish Annie: Hi, there...Sheepie here! I just wanted to check in on those chest x-rays I had done last Friday. You know...did they get my good side? Were my eyes closed? Do they make me look fat? I can schedule a re-shoot if need be. I simply won't have a fat x-ray in my file.

My Favorite Medical Assistant: Oh, hi there, Sheepie! Glad you called actually. Your report is right here but it got stuck at the bottom of the pile like it always does and the doctor hasn't read it yet. Why don't I just pop it right up here on the top and...oh. Um...by any chance did the doctor give you, oh, I don't know...maybe some sort of antibiotic?

SA: Why, yes! Yes she did. I just finished my five day course of Zithromax and it is still happily coursing through my system as we speak! Such a nice antibiotic!

MFMA: Well, that's good. And, just out of curiosity, how are you feeling right about now?

SA: Funny you should ask. I've got this weird thing going on where my right ear blocks up and it sounds like I'm yelling. Except I'm not. It just sounds like it because my voice is coming from inside me and it's louder in there. Then it pops and I can hear normally again. Isn't that funny?

MFMA: Yeah, fascinating. And your chest? How does your chest feel?

SA: (now sensing where this conversation is going and becoming wary) I'm coughing. But it's not so bad really. It is actually quite bearable. And if I hold my breath, I can make it stop. Nothing to worry about, if the truth be told. I'm doing great!!!!

MFMA: Really? That's what you're going with?

SA: Well...I'm a little tired. OK, maybe more than a "little tired." I'm a lot tired. And I'm coughing all the time. And my knees hurt. But I don't think that has anything to do with what we're talking about...

MFMA: Yeah. I thought so. The doctor hasn't read the report yet. But here's the thing...


And the conversation progressed in the manner that I knew it would when I first called last week begging for an antibiotic. I had held out some hope over the last few days. The worst of the symptoms had responded so well to the bad bug medicine. I wondered if I had, perhaps, jumped the gun on my little self-diagnosis. Maybe I was just overreacting...

But, like My Favorite Medical Assistant said, I should have trusted my first instincts. They were really pretty accurate. You only have to get it once and you will never again forget the symptoms. I knew. And now it is confirmed.

I have the Monkey Pox again. For those of you who do not have The Sheep's Guide To Diseases That She Has Renamed To Suit Her Desire For Funnier Illnesses, that would be pneumonia. Same as last year, right side and in the middle. I just managed to catch it a bit earlier this time. Which is good...but it still isn't what I wanted to hear. And yet, I knew.

So, I have let the good doctor know that I will probably be requesting a refill on the prescription cough medicine. I have lived without it for a few days because I was being stubborn and insisting that I didn't need it. But I do. I need to sleep. I am very tired. That, in and of itself, was the biggest clue. I'm not one of those spunky, perky types who is just bubbling over with the energy, but I can generally make it through a day of teaching without falling asleep at my desk.

I have accepted the situation for what it is, set aside the workout for today, taken my cough syrup and tried to see the bright side. I have to sit for a while. I can go to work and I can do pretty much all the stuff I need to do to keep Chez Sheep running. But there won't be any energy left over for much else. Since I caught Monkey Pox Part Deux early this time, I don't anticipate the lengthy recovery I had last year. But I'll be sitting for a while. It's really all you can do.

And if you have to sit, you might as well knit. One or two projects might actually get done over here at the Convalescent Home! This could really all be for the best.

Any project suggestions out there? You know, things you can knit while on prescription cough medication? I might be here on the couch for a while...

SA