Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Sick and on the mend

It's amazing what a little bug can do. I mean, a little virus. At least that's what they think I have. An infection that has caused swelling in just a small part of my body (my inner ear) has caused things to happen in me that have left me nothing short of miserable! I began feeling slightly dizzy on Saturday afternoon, but by the time I opened my eyes on Sunday morning, the whole room was spinning around, and if I kept my eyes open for more than one second I felt very, very nauseous! Aggh! But I think today I'm finally beginning to get over it. Not completely, but I'm getting there. I can at least look at my computer screen without it beginning to spin around! And if I'd only known earlier that a little pill that people take for traveling sickness would have helped out tremendously, I'd have saved myself at least a little bit of agony. Well, at least I know for the future!

You understand and appreciate the value of time and people when you're down and out for a few days. Things you normally take for granted are gone and there's nothing you can do about it! "Don't know what you got till it's gone." I don't know how many times I've learned that lesson in life. But I've also come to a place in which I've learned to be more content in these situations. In the past, I would not only have been longing to feel better, but longing to be able to go and "do" all the things I love doing on a daily basis. And if I would feel even slightly better, I would forsake getting all the rest I needed to get better and I'd go and try to do some of the things I wanted to do. Which only prolonged the illness.

This time, I pretty much just stayed on the couch and slept most of the day and all night! I didn't touch my computer for two days... which is a miracle for me! Well, a record anyway. Today I'm able to get caught up on a few things, but yet I'm sensing that I need to still rest and drink plenty of fluids and all that good stuff. My kids are off school today, but fortunately they're at ages in which they can pretty much play by themselves and they don't "need" me so much while my wife is at work. I'll think I'll go get them some lunch and then it's off again to la la land for a while this afternoon!

10 comments:

  1. Hi Joel,

    I'm glad to hear that you're feeling better and have gotten some much needed rest. I hope you have another relaxing day, while recovering strength.

    Blessings,
    Sheryl

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  2. Hi Joel;

    Well there goes any hope of making millions off the fake health and wealth “gospel”.

    I’m guessing Gravol is the pill you are speaking of…

    Sorry to hear of your illness…when you are feeling down and out like that it sure helps set priorities. Take care…

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  3. Hope you get well soon. I remember the spinning room thing from my drinking days :) I have been taking a little time off from blogging as well, not illness related.

    I have been reading some. My wife gave me a book to read and wanted to know what I thought about it. It's been interesting, but I don't know exactly where he is heading. But then, I am only on Chapter 3. The book is "Your God Is Too Safe" by Mark Buchanan.


    Have you read it?

    Gary

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  4. Hi Joel,

    Hope you get well soon. It's very interesting that the same virus is going all over the world it seems. My wife had the same symptoms during the week-end and we went to see the doctor yesterday and doctor immediately said it is a 'virus'. I was puzzled! How did she know just by listening to the symptoms! (I am very skeptical about these MDs for they treat only symptoms, not the root cause). I was about to ask, how do you know? Then she went on saying that my wife was the 4th patient coming to their office with the exact same problem.
    Well, a little virus is good enough to make life miserable!
    It reminds me of the passage from Galatians: A little yeast is enough to spread through the whole batch of dough (Gal 5:9). Talking about mixing law with grace.

    Hope you will be back soon and blogging...

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  5. Thanks everyone for your prayers and well-wishes. About an hour ago I had just got done saying to myself, "I'm not quite sure how I'm feeling today," when the guy who is filling in for me at work called to ask how I was feeling. :) I know I'm better, but not quite up to par. However I've been up for 3 hours now and I'm functioning fairly well and I'm thinking I'll be heading back to work this afternoon. The man filling in for me is great... He's retired and he's always been able to fill in for me at the last second. I go to work at 1pm, and he even said that I could wait till noon today to see how I'm feeling before letting him know if I need him to fill in again. So, the pressure is off.

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  6. LS, the pill I have is Meclizine. This stuff pretty much knocked me out yesterday! I first took one on Monday evening, and while it prevented nausea, it didn't really seem to make me sleepy, as the pharmacist said it would. But then I took one at 12:30pm yesterday and within 10 minutes I was pretty much out! I really didn't want to do much of anything the rest of the day, and I couldn't tell if that was due to my illness or the meds!

    Gary, yep... just imagine having no alcohol but still having everything spinning around. It was exactly the same sensation! I haven't read the book you mentioned. The title sounds intriguing. Let me know if it goes in a positive direction and I'll put it on my never-ending list of books to read.

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  7. Sheryl, Thanks so much for stopping by with your encouraging words. I hope all is well with you. I'm continuing to pray for you.

    Jul, That is definitely the most succinct get well card I've ever received. :)

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  8. Bino, So true, so true... Great illustration about this 'virus' being like a little leaven that messes up the whole batch.

    Yep, I was also not quite sure about how the doctor came to his conclusion so quickly. He actually didn't use the word virus. I did. He said I probably have some sort of inner ear infection blah blah blah and he explained how it could cause swelling that messes up the equilibrium and all that. I asked him, "you mean like a virus?" and he said, yeah, it could be. (!)

    Having had viruses before, and having had kids with way too many viruses before, I thought I'd leave it at that and see how things go. I know that viruses can't be treated in the same way that bacteria are treated. Viruses pretty much have to run their course. And they say that antibiotics (used to destroy bacteria) are over-prescribed, so I'm usually ok if nothing is prescribed. But if the thing lasts for a long time, it's back to the doc.

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  9. Hi again Joel. You are so truly welcome. I'm glad that you are gaining some strength back. It's amazing how something can come along and take us out of commission quickly, isn't it? I remember some experiences like that in my life, whew! All is well here and I greatly, greatly appreciate all your prayers.

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