Today begins day seven of my body having been invaded by some horrific virus. I felt the need to chronicle it so when it goes away and normalcy returns, I will not forget to be grateful.
My husband had it first and watching him, I knew it was bad. However, until my first hand experience with it, I had no idea. It began with a sore throat and slight cough along with extreme achiness, especially in those body parts that might normally hurt. On day two came the fever and chills which lasted for about three days. Then came an increased intensity in the cough along with severe sinus congestion. If that were not enough, I had three days of neuralgia on the right side of my head. Neuralgia is "nerve pain" and consists of sharp jolts of pain (almost like an electric shock) that follows a nerve. So about every 1-2 minutes, you experience a jolt which after a few days just about drives you insane.
This condition seems to run in my family as I remember my mother telling me about her father lying on the bed with a hot water bottle as he moaned and groaned. Two of my aunts, my mother and my sister have also had bouts of it.
Also experienced was an intense ringing of my ears which made it seem the room was full of bells. One day when I closed my eyes, I saw what appeared to be large fragments of broken glass showering down. The next day, when my eyes were closed I saw a rapid succession of different faces of people that I didn't know. They were constant and almost like one morphing into the next. How do these things happen??
Yesterday I went to the clinic and got antibiotics and an inhaler which so far do not seem to have provided much relief. Another disturbing side effect is that I have NO sense of smell at all. I can bury my nose in a jar of Vicks or attempt to smell coffee and there is nothing. I sincerely hope this returns soon because it's a vital component of life.
So there you have a rundown of my past week. I am beginning to wonder if I will ever be normal again. If and when I do reach that state, I will return to this post to remember to be grateful for health and well being as it truly is a great gift.
Thought for the day: Our first wealth is health. Ralph Waldo Emerson
