Illness changes people. Or, perhaps, change is too strong a word. Maybe it would be more appropriate to say instead that being sick brings out our idiosyncrasies, influencing those traits which commonly lie buried deep inside, reserved only for "special" occasions, to rear their inscrutable heads.
Personally, I found out this week during a nasty bout of what I now fondly refer to as the you-may-have-this-but-you-definitely-have-this-but, -wait-you-also-have-this-and-just-kidding-about-that-other-thing-we-thought-you-had sickness that apparently, I turn into a sobbing ball of tears when I'm sick. Now, while I realize crying is not exactly an atypical method of coping when sick, for someone who is traditionally known in her group of friends for rarely shedding a tear, it was kind of a big deal for me.
Just to prove my point, last night, I found out that a conversation during the week between two friends went something like this (and just a warning, I was driving and listening, so I may be a few words off):
Friend 1: How is Nicole doing?
Friend 2: She's pretty sick.
Friend 1: Really?
Friend 2: Yeah, she's called me crying multiple times a day for the past couple of days.
Friend 1: Wow, she was crying? She must be really sick.
Okay, perhaps that was not the most intriguing story and yes, my dialogue writing skills could be honed, but I think the point can be adequately extracted. I'm just not a cryer. However, as illustrated (poorly) in the conversation above, this week was a bit different. This week involved spending the greater part enduring the most horrible pain I've ever experienced, battling an extremely high fever, spending time in the hospital and dealing with other related ailments. In the end, all the pain was due to a severe combination of tonsillitis and strep throat, which caused my fever to spike to over 104 degrees, landing me in the hospital. In addition, the week also threw me some non-health related curve balls that exacerbated its overall crapiness, including, but not limited to, having my e-mail account compromised while lying (sans computer) in a hospital bed, resulting in a weird message being sent to 527 of my closet e-mail contacts. Also, being the lucky recipient of a speeding ticket while on my way to what could have been the slicing and dicing of one of my tonsils. But, I digress -- I think it's quite apparent it was not a good week.
Now, I'm not claiming that what I went through was anything vastly unique or anywhere near the same level as other illnesses, but, I have been fortunate in this lifetime to have only dealt with a few minor ailments, the worst (of which I remember) having been a few bouts with stomach viruses. With the exception of having my impacted wisdom teeth extracted during my early 20s (a minor procedure), I have never been near an operation or been admitted into the hospital. So, relating solely to my own experiences, the past week was pretty horrible.
So, what got me through it and enabled me to sit here today forming coherent, non-Codeine-laced thoughts (attempting the pain-med-free route today)? Of course, the antibiotics played a large part, but, honestly, I would have to say my friends deserve a larger share of the accolades. And, I say that because the outcome of the medicine was expected, even required, but the actions of my friends were completely voluntary.
From a short text inquiring on my malady to the dedication of one friend who gave up large portions of her days to deliver medicine, food and entertainment, I appreciate all they did for me the past week. Although, it's not with total surprise that I'm relaying this information -- I knew before this week the value of their friendships. But, perhaps it was more a reassurance in that their actions showed that not only do they enjoy spending time with me when I'm at my best, but they also care about me when I'm at my worst, and for that, I am truly grateful. And, while I don't wish illness upon any of them, I do hope I can repay the favor at some point. My gratitude and love goes out to each of you.
In other related news, it seems that some component of my sickness has caused an inexplicable escalation of my sense of smell. Hmmm...
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