A Dragon in Sheep’s Clothing

Sad to say, I am sick. My friend and I may have caught the same thing this weekend, but there’s no way to be sure who gave it to whom, or if we simply picked it up in the same place (we went shopping and out to eat).

She started feeling chills and congestion Saturday night, and it started on me late Sunday night. I left work at 3:45 today after slogging through as much as I could, partly because I begrudge using up sick time and partly because I didn’t feel up to driving home after I had lunch. Nothing stomach related, just fever chills and aches, headache,  a scratchy and swollen throat. I sorta felt dizzy for about a half hour. If I could have closed my door and curled up under my desk for an hour, I would have. But I didn’t have a pillow. So I went home about an hour before the Tylenol wore off, after I started getting hot instead of cold.

Anyway, I called my friend this afternoon because I accidentally left my work badge at her house, and she said that she is fighting pneumonia. She can’t get an x-ray cuz she’s pregnant, but she’s pretty sure that’s what’s going on. She’s losing her voice rapidly. I drove out to pick up my badge after I left work, and by mutual consent, she simply taped it on her front door for me to retrieve and be on my way. Neither of us wanted to be around the other. hehe

I have breathed deeply and thankfully my lungs seem fine. I have a bit of chest congestion and my famous cough kicked in late last night, so my throat is scratchy and swollen. My ribs ache though, not from coughing, just in a fever sort of way like everything else.

So, to the title of this post: I just took my temp, and it’s 101.2! No wonder I had chills today. Usually when I feel a bit sick my temp is in the 99 range. Other than that 24-hour stomach flu last year, it’s been ages since I had a real fever.

I picked up Hall’s and Nyquil at lunch, so maybe I can get a good night’s sleep. I’m off to heat some chicken noodle soup. I hope I can go to work tomorrow. Sand, but true. Not because I feel any of that corporate driven stuff, but like I said earlier, I begrudge the time off. If I use up my sick time, I’ll have to take leave under personal time, which I have been calculating into my total vacation hours, to be taken in a trip up North. We shall see.

Edit: I just decided that I really don’t care if I use up sick or personal time. Taking a week of is important — to see my family, and for my mental health — so I’ll take unpaid days if I need to. So there. And I don’t think it’s the fever talking.