I'm still here

Yes, OK....I'm still here.

I haven't forgotten about this blog...despite the fact that I haven't written in a week.

This week was just a little too crazy, that's all.

Remember this post from September 13?
The one where I talked about being sick and dizzy?
Yes well...I was dizzy for THREE WEEKS and on Monday I was diagnosed with bronchitis, which I probably had since sometime last week.

So...yeah.
I didn't feel much like blogging this week.
I was too preoccupied with coughing up a lung or two.

Anyway...

I have several things to blog about, including our continuing "adventure" (sarcasm duly noted) with Olivia's newly diagnosed allergies and the fact that I am now training for the Walt Disney World "Royal Family 5K" in February. (Yes, I am going to RUN in a 5K. Shocking, right?).

More on both of those topics in later posts.

For now, I have to get moving.
Olivia is cheering this morning.
And it's currently 50 degrees outside with a wind chill of 44 thanks to 22 mph wind gusts.
I will be sitting OUTSIDE in this weather, dreaming of moving to Florida.

The things I do for my kids.

You spin me right round, baby right round....

It all started yesterday.
I felt "off" for most of the day.
Sore throat. Runny nose.
A little dizzy too.

I chalked up the sore throat and runny nose to allergies - I've suffered with allergies since I was 4 years old, so for the most part I tend to ignore them.

The dizzy feeling? Well, I thought perhaps it was just nerves - I spent most of yesterday thinking about my applications for the Walt Disney World Moms Panel, so maybe it was just a little extra pixie dust making me all woozy.

And then I woke up at 3 a.m. with an incredible sore throat.
And by incredible, I mean so painful I wanted to cry.
When I got out of bed and stood up, the room spun.
"That's odd," I thought. Next time I wouldn't stand up so fast.

This morning when I woke up, the spinning was worse.
As I stood up to get out of bed my room spun and spun and then spun some more for good measure. It was as if I was trapped on the Mad Tea Party and couldn't make it stop.

Holy crap.
I thought I was going to pass out.

This spinning continued all morning.
I called the doctor and the receptionist said "I'll take a message and if the doctor thinks you're sick, she will call in a prescription." WHAT? Since when do doctors diagnose via phone messages?? I was not happy.

Lucky for me (and the doctor) she decided that she needed to SEE ME in person before making a diagnosis. And after seeing me (and witnessing a dizzy spell in her office), the doc determined that I have Labyrinthitis. Basically the labyrinth in my inner ear is inflamed and therefore I'm dizzy. And can't focus my eyes. And it feels like the room is on spin cycle.

It is most unpleasant.

The rest of my symptoms? The doctor blamed them all on allergies - which is possible, but I've never felt this crappy from allergies before. And I have a fever (99.9 which doesn't seem that high, except my normal temp is 97.2).

So...for the rest of tonight I'll be immobile on the couch.
The less I move, the less dizzy I feel.
The husband and kids are on their own tonight.

Stomach pain and not-so-brilliant doctors

It started Tuesday morning...I had this weird pain in my belly button. "That's odd," I thought and tried to ignore it. Throughout the day the pain would come and go and I just figured it would go away.

My mom said she had pain in the same area last winter and it eventually went away, so I didn't think much of it. I went to bed Tuesday night and it seemed to hurt less.When I woke up this morning I thought "Oh good! The pain is gone."

And then I stood up.
The pain was still there, but it had moved a bit...slightly to the left of my belly button.

Now, when one Googles "belly button pain" you see words like "ulcer," "appendicitis," and "urinary tract infection." None of these are good.

I went to work like a good little worker bee and tried to ignore the dull achy pain in my abdomen. That worked until about 9:30 a.m. And so I called my doctor. Who, of course, doesn't work on Wednesdays. The front desk clerk took my information and said she'd call the doctor and call me back.

I made sure to say "call my cell phone, do NOT call me at home because I'm not home." An hour and a half later (good thing it wasn't a medical emergency) I call the doctor's office again. I tell front desk girl who I am and why I'm calling and she says "Uh huh. And who are you again?" I repeat my name and she proceeds to tell me that she DID call me AT HOME and left a message because I GAVE HER THE WRONG CELL NUMBER. No, you moron...you called the wrong number.

After a bit of back and forth she says she'll call the doctor with my answers to her questions and get back with me. Shockingly, this time my cell number works and she says the doctor thinks I have a stomach virus. "I'm not 'sick'," I say. "Oh it's a virus that doesn't cause vomiting or anything. Just pain. Eat bland food for two days and call us if you aren't better."

WTH?
A stomach virus that ONLY causes pain?
Where did you get your medical degree?
That is a "it's my day off, just tell the patient something to make them go away" kind of diagnosis.

So, it's now 10:50 p.m. and I'm still in pain. And I'm hungry. Which leads me to believe it isn't really a virus. Yes, I did come home from work and sleep for THREE HOURS this afternoon, but I think I was just tired. My own "medical" opinion is that this pain is somehow related to the stress I'm under at The Job.

Which means my job is making me sick.
And I'm not OK with that.

If I'm still in pain tomorrow morning I am calling the doctor and getting an appointment.
Maybe I'll get a doctor's note to quit The Job because it's detrimental to my health and well-being.

When a "sick day" isn't really a sick day

Today I took a sick day from The Job.

I wasn't sick.

In fact, I woke up feeling great because I knew I didn't have to go to The Office.
I felt wonderful.
I wasn't stressed.
The migraine I've been dealing with all week was gone.

I was, in a word, HAPPY.

And yet, I still e-mailed The Boss and said "I'm taking a sick day. Have a great weekend."

Do I feel guilty about taking a sick day when there wasn't anything wrong with me?
Nope.
Not even a little bit.

After all, I AM sick of my office and all the nonsense that has been happening there for months.
That counts, right?
My job makes me sick. :)

So how did I spend my non-sick sick day?

Well...
I took Olivia to her golf lesson and watched her practice her chipping skills.
I ran some errands with my sister.
And, I spent three hours at the pool with my family.
We had a great time swimming, hanging out, eating ice cream.

It was the perfect non-sick sick day.