So, I had a busy week planned post nights. Paediatric Immediate Life Support, Manual Handling, and then a couple of days of Agency work before celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend.
Unfortunately, on Sunday I didn’t feel very well – and by the time I got back after my nights… well, I felt like crap. I curled up on the sofa and slept – and I never do that after nights.
And when I awoke I felt worse. I assumed it would be a run of the mill cold – I’d had a sore throat and it felt like it was developing into a common or garden cold, and the day before yesterday I thought I’d hit the home stretch. See, I have a normal-flow-of-symptoms for a cold. Day one – sore throat. Day two – Cold. Day three – Cold and a cough. Day four – Cough. Day five – more or less better. Unfortunately, yesterday, as my temperature spiked as high as 38.6 degrees C (101.5F) and was sitting above 37 Deg C it became apparent that home stretch wasn’t where I was at.
Today I’m taking a more pro-active approach to tackling this cold – well, actually, it’s the sore throat that’s got me attacking it. I’ve been salt-water gargling every half hour – to hour. Last night I was fighting a fever which kept me awake most of the night – Kathryn very sweetly brought me a flannel and some cold water – which I slathered on my forehead. I kept limbs out from under the duvet. I didn’t cover my body with the duvet. I still couldn’t get cool.
Finally, this morning I took a tepid shower, downed paracetamol and ‘brufen and I feel the best I’ve felt for days. Not well, but not so atrocious that the only thing I want to do is lie in a puddle being a swamp-being (emitting a foul smelling fug ;) ). I’m annoyed that I can’t make more money this week – which was my plan – because even if my assault on the throat-soreness works perfectly and I’m feeling absolutely 100% tomorrow I won’t feel it’s a good idea to subject my body to work.
In other news, I’m not sure if I mentioned – but my Grandmother (on my dad’s side) died a couple of weeks ago. We weren’t close (quite the opposite) – I debated whether I should be at her funeral (simply to represent my dad) – eventually siding on ‘no, I’ll send a card’. And had been contemplating that I did need to get out and get a card sent to their address; only to find out that my Grandfather’s died now, too.
It’s weird to know that you’re the last in a line. I don’t know if I’m actually the youngest; my dad never got on with his sister particularly well; and I’ve little recollection of meeting them (ISTR we met one Christmas many years ago). I’m the last Elliott. Well, now I’m a Walton-Elliott, but my point still stands…
It’s odd, anyhow.
I’m very disconnected from these people. Notionally they’re my relatives – they’re my grandparents – but I’ve not seen them for years, and I’ve little or no knowledge of them since what I learnt from them as a kid. And let’s just say I wasn’t that keen on what I knew.
So it’s very odd for them to be gone. What isn’t good is that it appears my sister – who was closer to them – has taken it very badly, and is upsetting my mum :(
Ach. Families, eh.
