And what I am going to do about it

I have a very low, to sometimes nearly nonexistent immune system. If someone near me sneezes, I’m sick.

I do take precautions, and I have been able to build up a system of health and protection that acts as an immune system. I wash my hands, all the time, I avoid contact with others, I stay hydrated, nutrients, orange juice, all that crap. I could work out more, I suppose, but, I do the best I can, and I am also quite good at powering through being ill. I am able to normally work long hours despite being sick, and I can stay productive well into a fever, until it approaches 101. I am able to cough, sneeze, and be gross, very privately, without spewing my germs everywhere. I am also very good at getting ahead of colds, knowing my body and what to look out for.

For several months, I have been fighting congestion. I quit smoking, and for those of you who have quit, you know what this next bit means. I haven’t been sick since I quit smoking cigarettes. Not proper sick. Apparently that first sick after you quit smoking is a bad one.

I have been plenty congested though, for a long while and I have been fighting a pretty decent bit of “sick” for a bit. My boss has gotten sick, and still, I stayed healthy. My coworkers got sick, but still, Abbi stayed strong, avoiding people, breathing into her shirt, washing her hands, and drinking 100 ounces of water a day.

Last weekend, I missed a few days of hydration.

The weather has changed, spring is fully here, pollen is everywhere and pressure changes have made my eyes feel as though they are being pushed from their sockets.

Yesterday, my head hurt. Today, my head is pounding, I have the lights off in my office as I type this, my left ear is throbbing, and I have already removed the bloody wax that always comes before a nasty ear infection, that comes with a nasty cold.

Once a year or so, sometimes every couple of years, I get hit with a doozy cold. I proper flu type event. A head pounding, unable to function, unbalanced, feverish, nightmare of sick.

I fear my time is soon. It has been a long time, a very long time, since I got proper sick. Sure, little sicks, little “stay home for a day and drink some soup” sicks, but not a big one. Not a “no one heard from Abbi in three days” sick.

No, it has been quite a while indeed, and my ear is refilling with fluid. My congestion slowed my weed smoking this morning, I took one gravity and realized I would only be able to handle concentrates, had two small dabs, and here I am at work, miserable.

So, what the hell am I going to do about it?

Well, to start, let’s see what I am possibly in for?

Chest pain, coughing, congestion, head pain, body aches, fever, dizziness, drowsiness, general yuckiness, are all likely. If I get lucky, not much stomach stuff, but normally, I don’t get too lucky, and at least get nausea.

So, I will need expectorant. I will need cough medicines. Herbal tea. Honey. Cough drops. Day/night Medicine. Probably liquid, because that stuff feels like it is actually working, faster. I will need a lot of soup. Tomato? Tortilla with lots of lime?  Iuno what else yet. Normally one flavor or another of soup takes my fancy. Sometimes a few.

Orange juice, water, maybe some other hydrating beverage. Apple juice or grape juice maybe. I’ll have to get these supplies, but I need to get groceries anyways, so this isn’t a big deal.

*Sneezes* Oh dear. This is happening fast. *blows nose*

So, I will maybe make my list now? Maybe I should just Amazon Prime Now everything? Yeah, I can have it waiting for me when I get home, or delivered shortly after I am in my PJs….

Mmmm…My PJs….

Focus Abbi!

So, I will order my supplies, have a spare change of PJs clean so I can go from one comfort to the next easily. Blankets, pillows…We have a pull out couch so I can make a nest of comfort there.

Entertainment. Maybe a new show? I can always stream old shows, it’s all just noise anyways.

Notebook, bullet journal, laptop.

Normally, I have 24 hours of productive brain thought before and after the bulk of the sick where I can’t do much, but I can think, and therefore, I can write, in short bursts. I am hoping to at least stay on top of blog posts.

I have my knitting. A scarf I want to finish, and my current washcloth I am working on. I want to make several more of these so I can sell them in bundles on Etsy. This is something else I can do, easily, while I am sick.

My grandma and I worked out the formula *cough cough* for these washcloths, and they make for good scrubbies for doing dishes or even *cough cough* for washing your body.

*cough cough* oh dear, this sick is coming down pretty quick. It’s not even noon yet, and I am worried I won’t last the day. Oh dear.

*drinks more water*

I will make a list of authors on Medium I want to read, make a list of blogs I want to try and get out, work on some brain storms for Flake City, as well as some other short stories, and prepare for this doozy of a cold.

I may have to get sick, but I don’t have to lose three days.

I will also have to rest, which means paying attention to my body, and, observing these lessons. Not only will I get sick, I can write about it, find lessons, and, write about those things.

Because I may be a canary in a sick coal mine, and I want to give everyone tips to deal with the next round of seasonal colds.

.

.

.

❤

Abbi

Feel free to follow me on all the social medias: @AbbiGrasso on Twitter, Instagram, Speekin’, LinkedIn, Pinterest, WordPress, Medium, YouTube, WeedTV, and any place else I have forgotten.