Some (most?) days just don’t turn out the way you expect. All week I’ve anticipated today. My chance to regain some strength. A perfectly restful, stay-at-home-all-day type of Saturday. After two weekends away, and long weekdays at work, I needed it.
Especially this weekend. I’ve been battling a cold – or so I thought – for over a week. I felt crummy every single day, coughed my lungs out every single night, but still, I continued to trudge off to work. (OK, so I came home early a couple of days, but I still got up in the dark, got dressed, and left home at 7:15 each morning.) Why? I’m not sure. I mean, I know the world won’t stop if I don’t sit at my desk to answer phones. Administrative assistants are not exactly emergency room doctors.
When co-workers – especially the ones who infected me – come to work sick, it irritates me to no end. And yet, when it came down to calling in sick because I had a cold, well, I felt like a wimp if I did that. It’s only a cold. So I limped along.
Last night, however, I coughed harder and longer than I ever have before. I knew I had to change my plans and spend my Saturday morning in the clinic with all the other sick people. And I found out I have bronchitis. A bad case, the doctor said. He chided me for letting it go so long. (But . . . don’t colds last 7-10 days? And in Europe, the doctors laughed at Americans who take antibiotics so often they become immune to them.)
When I opened the door to leave for the clinic, this is the sight that greeted me.
Today did not prove to be the restful day I hoped. My husband sawed tree limbs all day. And I coughed. And took my antibiotics. But don’t tell the European doctors.
Taryn, I am sorry to hear that you have bronchitis. And in Poland you would get antibiotics for that! Beacuse it is serious and bacterial so antibiotics should help unlike when infection is viral, which is the case in the beginning of a cold. I usually don’t go to a doctor in first several days when I am sick but when I’m still feeling bad, especially heavy breathing, I do go. Unfortunately, usually I have to get antibiotocs. Sometimes, a doctor tries to just give me some other medication and I have to convince him or her that I know this kind of invections in me and I do need antibiotics beacuse otherwise it wil not go away. But if I had bronchitis, he would for sure knew to give it to me.
I know how frustrating getting sick can be. I got a cold 2 weeks ago when I was most busy wth geeting a conference for teachers ready. Still not completely over with it but no need for antibiotics. 🙂
Get well soon, Dorota
Ps. Enoying reading your blog.