Friday, September 21, 2007

Sheepie Cold Watch '07

It has been suggested by several commenters that, if I expect a full and genuine showering of internet sympathy as I suffer through the horror that is My Annual Fall Cold, I should break my self-imposed ban on Friday blogging. This will allow everyone to work pitying me into their busy schedules and decrease the likelihood that anyone will forget about my Cold. (as if you could...) I'm on it. If it gets me a few "awwww's" or "poor little thing's" then I'm all for the rule-breaking. Here are the highlights as of this writing:

*Fall Cold '07 remained in full force this morning, complete with the drippy nose, sinus pressure and frenzied sneezing.

*Also influencing behavioral patterns today was the lack of sleep I managed to experience last night. This added to the loveliness of my overall presentation this morning as I arrived at school.

*As the day progressed, the Fall Cold moved to points south. It abandoned its stronghold in my head and moved into my throat and chest. Nose blowing was still observed, though. The good thing about the chest cold is that, while you don't feel quite as hideous as you do with the sinus stuff going on, you sound worse. By noon, my voice was all husky and broke sort of pathetically when I tried to hit a high note. This happened often because I was whining about my Fall Cold all day and this requires a certain amount of keening. Raspy voice was the cause of a great deal of sympathy for the Sheep. Everyone had to be nice to me. Even the mean people. It was awesome.

*By day's end the school nurse became involved in the proceedings. All who expressed concern about my possible Pertussis exposure can rest easy. There was more discussion around this problem and its possible connection to my coughing than I'd expected, but it seems that my exposure to the Dreaded Whooping Cough was little, if any.

*They're still making me get a booster shot, though. Like most people my age, the last time I had a vaccination against Pertussis was at the tender age of 7. Now they have one for grown-ups to account for the decline in protection after a Sheep lives on the planet for a million or so years. Fear not, though. The issue is more that I work with lots of kids, not that Pertussis is a real threat to adults, even those who have a history of pneumonia and are being made to go get booster shots that will probably hurt.

*Dr. Judy was giddy at the thought of getting to do another procedure on me. I tend to avoid all but the most basic of medical care and whenever she has an opportunity to poke me with something sharp, she leaps in with a syringe in both hands.

*Hysterical Mind has not fully processed the fact that we will be getting a shot, going to the dentist and taking the truck in for an inspection all on the same day. Rational Mind, after slipping horribly the other day with regard to mentioning the possible threat of exposure to bad germs, is sensibly keeping quiet at this point.

*I am taking lots and lots of NyQuil and snuggling under the Berber fleece blankie that I picked up at the craft show a couple of weeks ago. All in all, this is not such a bad way to spend The Annual Fall Cold. I even picked up some nice chocolate/chocolate chip muffins on the way home as a little treat.

*But they are sugar-free and this is not what a sick person should be eating. In fact, I suspect it might make me even sicker to not have the sugary goodness coursing through my system.

*There's no booster shot for that. Not yet anyway...

*I have knit nothing. Not one stitch. Tracking the progress of The Annual Fall Cold is rather time consuming, you know.

*Let the sympathy and general cooing over my condition begin.

SA

15 comments:

Donna Lee said...

Oh, poor baby. I am sure I heard the sneezing all the way down here in Southern New Jersey. It must be terrible for you, no assistant to see to your every convenience. Thank goodness for the blanket and chocolate muffins. They are almost as soothing as nyquil. I am not allowed to take nyquil anymore because of the decongestant. I am jealous of your cold medicine.

Seriously, I hope you feel better. Colds, any time of the year, are the pits. You know, we can put a man on the moon (and a rover on Mars) but can't cure the uncommon cold....

Anonymous said...

Let's see.

Awwwww.

Poor little thing.

Chocolate, but no sugar? Who prescribed that? Get her some real chocolate chip muffins, stat!

Is there anything else I can do for you right now? Cuz if not I have a Happy Hour to attend to...

Anonymous said...

Oh, poor, poor sheep. It's too bad your teaching assistant wasn't around to help you with your sneezing and stuff. You poor thing. I agree that you need real chocolate, not fake no-sugar chocolate. You've had a rough, rough day and definitely deserve to rest under your new blankie. I hope you feel better tomorrow!

Jacqui said...

i've had that pertussis shot (in a tetanus combo) and it hurts quite a bit in days 2 and 3... e.g., like a b**ch.

poor Sheepie... hang in there, chica!

sheep#100 said...

Let us rasp together and make the whole blogosphere feel sorry for us and send us chocolate goodness in the mail.

And let us infect those who are not appropriately sympathetic.

Anonymous said...

I envy you the nyquil. I'm having something that is either a bad cold or allergies. My husband keeps mentioning sympathetically that there seems to be a lot of people complaining of allergies lately. This would, of course, mean I'm not infectious. At any rate, sleep I can have, but no nyquil. I'm diabetic and the sugar content is quite out of my diet. Cough syrup for diabetics is not the same, not at all.

Anonymous said...

You got me at 'frenzied sneezing.'

Poor, poor baby. It's such a good thing that it's Saturday and you can comfort yourself by ignoring any lesson planning and/or paper correcting, watching cartoons and drinking hot cocoa.

:::sending vast amounts of sympathy from northern Michigan:::

(am I the only one who always tries to pronounce the 'word verification' word? Yes? Never mind.)

holly said...

Now if you really want some SUGARY chocolate, check this out http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7166863. Looks heavenly, huh? warmed up in the micro?
Sorry you're still feeling yucko. Rest up, drink lots and watch movies all day snuggled up in your blankie (at least you won't be suffering from the freakin' heat wave we've seem to hit again...ugh, maybe it's just my age LOL!

Anonymous said...

Awwww, you poor little thing; it's bad enough you have to suffer with the Fall Cold '07, but to be forced to suffer through sugarfree chocolate, chocolate chip muffins?! It's an outrage!

At least you have 2 days off to rest and snuggle with the kitties.

Mel said...

Awwwwww, you poor, poor thing.

How was that?

Future SIL said...

Awww....poor sheepie. Would you like some homemade chicken soup? or another cure for the "fall" cold....don't go to work until winter.

A little hint for those who get shots in the muscle...if you rub the spot every 15 mintues or so your arm will not be sore. Even if you get the flu shot this works. It moves the vaccination around so it doesn't sit in one spot which is why you get a sore muscle.

Anonymous said...

Sugar-free?? Those will kill you. I suggest you quickly double your Mountain Dew intake. That should balance off any problems. Of course you won't sleep for a week but that's not important.
Karen with the sore throat
http://nothingbutknit.blog-city.com/

Unknown said...

Oh jeez, they're making you work in this condition?!? I think as soon as you sniffle you should be sent home with a team of kindly grandmothers to make tea and bake sugar-full things.

Anonymous said...

Hope you are feeling MUCH better, really soon Sheep, so sorry to hear you are not well. Keep warm and rest!!! Huggs....

Mia said...

Sheepie.. even at your sickest, you're still pretty darn funny :)

And I can hardly believe that YOU of all people don't have a teensy, tiny little stash (in case "the End" come ssooner than we think *grin*) of some deliciously bad sugary stuff!!

Oh, and did you tell daddy sheep he wasn't allowed to read your post today? ::laughing::