The verdict: strep

WOW...I had a whirlwind of a weekend. Friday, I barely made it through work, and came home with the shakes and a fever. I had HAD it! The night before I was feeling almost 100%. I even went out with the girls and had dinner and tried to enjoy myself. Friday morning, I woke up 5 days in reverse.

After a few hours of trying to calm down, I just couldn't shake it, so Lyle took me to the ER down the street. My lack of good insurance kept us out of the "easier option" and so I waited three hours for them to only give me a high dose of motrin and tylenol, test for strep (which was negative), and tell me that they would call me if anything grew in the throat culture within 48 hours. I actually did feel a lot better, so I thought I was just overreacting.

Saturday comes and I feel below average still. I am trying to have a good attitude because I know it won't heal overnight, but my throat feels awful and nothing will fix it. Meanwhile, Lyle is being a lifesaver getting me food, taking care of himself, taking care of me, and especially being loving.

Sunday comes and Lyle heads to church to give his talk (I couldn't even talk at this point), and I am literally choking down pills to keep my inflammation to a minimum. When he gets home from church I can't even swallow water. Everything I do burns and there's no relief. So what do we do? Nothing else to do but head back to the ER. ANOTHER three hours and I finally find relief! A shot of penicillin in the tush, a shot of steroids in the arm, and some pretty big pain killers was what finally gave me that relief. You can imagine my reaction when the doc put his little light in my mouth and said I had a bad case of strep and that there was "no need to even test for it". AGH! If only they had figured that out on Friday, then I wouldn't have had to go through all the agony. If only they had MONITORED my throat culture and given me a call within 48 hours like they said they would (which by the way they never did).

Sunday night I was able to sleep and when I woke up Monday morning I felt a little better. I did need a little help with pain so I filled a prescription the doc also gave me, but after I took it I felt significantly better. The prescription did make me feel a little uneasy in my stomach, but at least I was able to eat! Tuesday was the day that I didn't need any pain killers! Tuesday I finally got up and tried to turn my apartment back into living quarters and not a hospital. I also tried to disinfect everything so that we are germ free! Today, Wednesday, is my healing day. I feel pretty good and I will be going back to work tomorrow. Now this may seem like a death sentence, but I figure I can give two good days and rest two full days and get back in the game. I am rededicated to staying germ free and saying "NO!" to yellow snotty nosed kids (no matter how cute they are).

Well that was the full report. Lyle has been managing life on his own, but it has been difficult. I wish he didn't have to have this kind of pressure on him while he's in school. I am so lucky to have him.

Here's to health in 2009!