It’s not covid-19, but since 1 March, I’ve been laid low. I know
it’s not the coronavirus because I have only one of the three symptoms—but,
man, that one has been a corker. Not the worst cough in my life, inasmuch as I
haven’t torn any interstitial rib muscles, but my abs are going to be sore for
a while. It’s also not the flu—no aches, no fever; just the bloody cough. And
eventually some extra snot.
I went to work on Monday because it was the first day after
attending RSA Conference. I left early and did something I’ve not done in
years: I fell asleep in the afternoon. Missed the team meeting because I didn’t
come to for a couple of hours. I worked from home Tuesday and went back in on
Wednesday because there were some meetings where I wanted to see people’s faces
while we were discussing issues. But again, around 1430, I deflated like a
day-old balloon, and went home. Worked from home Thursday and basically was
just sick on Friday.
Saturday I hardly moved, even though the cough was abating. It
took me several hours to do two loads of laundry. Making my bed with fresh
sheets was so exhausting, when I was 80% done, I crawled in and stayed there for
a couple of hours.
I had to force myself to drink sparkling water; it was hard to gag
down anything. Over the course of seven days, I dropped about ten pounds. I’m
most concerned about dehydration, so I’m pushing the water, even if it’s just a
few sips at a time. Yesterday I had a few spoonfuls of Greek yoghurt across a
couple of hours.
I’ve experienced some degree of hallucinatory effects—twice while
dozing I’ve dreamt of two cats who crossed the Rainbow Bridge long ago. I was so
happy to see them, I woke up crying. (Also, interestingly, it turns out that
you can have a coughing fit so sustained that it causes tears to seep out the
sides of your eyes. I did not know that.) Occasionally, I’ve been a little
dizzy, possibly from the food/water issue. And I shall be very happy when the intermittent
buzzing sound in my head dissipates.
Starting yesterday, I’ve begun to feel almost humanoid. I’m
working from home at least today and probably tomorrow. If I have to lie down
between meetings, I can do that. My employer does not subscribe to the
work-yourself-to-death labor practice. They also expect staff to use the brains
for which they were hired when it comes to knowing when to call it a day. I’m
grateful for that. I’ve worked for companies that expected you to work every
minute that you weren’t actually under anaesthesia for thoracic surgery.
I’m also grateful that this is just a cold, as miserable as it’s
been. That I do not need to be paying a visit to an ER. That my PCP issued a
prescription for cough syrup with codeine (which is the only thing that’s ever
abated the coughs I get) just on me describing my symptoms online and asking
what my options were. That I didn’t have to take Metro into her DC office to
have her confirm my assessment. (I am not grateful to Cigna for not paying for
it or to CVS in Reston Town Center for not bothering to fill it or tell me
about that until I was in their store and coughing on their counter. I am
grateful that it still only cost about $15 and that I can afford that.)
I have a lot of work to do this week, and I’m grateful for that,
too. That I have something worthwhile to accomplish. I have to figure out what’s
absolutely necessary and basically postpone or jettison what’s not so I can get
it done. I realize that hundreds of thousands of people don’t have that luxury
in this health crisis that our government is completely mismanaging because it
is of no interest to the Kleptocrat. I’m lucky, and I know it.
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