Enough is Enough!

I have been sick now since November 27th. I went home from work with fever and chills on Nov. 27, a Tuesday, and called in sick on Wed. On Thursday I called in sick again, and also called the dr since I suspected I had the flu. The doctor instead diagnosed pneumonia which a chest xray confirmed. I started in on antibiotics and by Sunday, was starting to feel better in that the fever and chills were gone, although sheer exhaustion remained. I was blessed with a snow day on Dec. 3rd which gave me another day of rest, and then on Tuesday I went back to work. It was a half-day for teacher workshops, and the principal excused me from the workshops. On Wed. I had to take a sick day because at the time of the xray, they saw something suspicious and wanted a CT scan on Dec. 5th. That afternoon I got call from the dr that my lungs were okay (tho' still pneumonia present) but now they saw something weird with my vena cava and on Friday I had to have a more detailed CT scan. Healthwise, I was still feeling lousy and exhausted. I had the 2nd scan on Friday, and they decided everything was fine. Friday night I started coughing. I hadn't been coughing up to this point. By Sunday morning my coughing had kept me up for 2 nights, so I called the dr who prescribed a heavy duty cough suppressant. Monday I went back to work. I have classes from 7:30-12:30 without a break, and then the kids go to their Unified Arts classes and I have prep time and meetings. My principal has been very supportive, and has allowed me to leave early if I need to. Monday was fine, except for the coughing. Tues. was a repeat of Monday. Wed. I called the dr again -- the coughing was getting worse, and I started running a low grade fever. When I went for my appt, I still had a low grade fever and the dr was treated to first hand observation of my coughing performance. He prescribed new cough medications, and gave me a new antibiotic script but asked me not to fill it til Sat, if I wasn't feeling better, or if my fever spiked over 100°. He said there was no reason I couldn't continue working, but to take it easy as much as possible. The new cough prescriptions seemed to help Wed.night, and I had a good night's sleep for the first time in almost a week. Thursday we got sent home from school early due to a fast moving snow storm. Thursday night I decided to start the antibiotics because I felt worse than ever, and although my fever hadn't spiked over 100°, it was 99.9°. I know that's not a terribly high fever, but my normal temp when I'm well is 97.4°. So I took the first pill at bedtime. When I woke up Friday, I felt human for the first time in several weeks. The coughing persists - and it's really yucky and exhausting. But it's Sat. morning, and although I have zero energy, and I'm still coughing, I feel better. And my temp is down to between 97.9-98.4°. I'm glad I trusted my body over my doctor's advice at this point.

But I am SICK of being SICK. It's 10 days before Christmas. I have done no shopping, no decorating, no cards, no baking. I don't have my tree purchased yet. I go to work, come home by 3, nap til 6, have dinner, and go to bed again. This is NUTS! I haven't been to church once in Advent yet, and due to tomorrow's huge predicted storm, probably won't make it tomorrow. I want to go to my team's holiday party tonight, but know the only that will happen is if I stay home and rest all day. We have 5 more days of school til our break and my sons will be home next weekend for the holidays. Do I sound slightly panicked? I'm taking that as a positive sign that I'm feeling well enough again to care!