I'd like warm up the ol' blog post writing, for 2015, with a little public service announcement of sorts:
Your body MIGHT be trying to tell you something, if you dream that you've involuntarily swallowed a swarm of knat-sized bees...all stinging repeatedly...and you experience the sensation of your throat swelling shut.
Escaping the haze of the bizarre
Alerted to my new inability and the possibility that I was growing cacti on my tongue, I slid out of bed to locate water. It felt like the answer would be to drink copious amounts of water, but I soon understood that small sips were best.
Lord knows I can be a hypochondriac (and He loves me anyway), but since I could sip water and breathe, I took my glass of water back to bed with me...you know, instead of wildly shaking Chad awake and dramatically mouthing for him to call 911. I was kind of proud of myself. I mean, I know it's not cool to have your throat almost swollen shut, but it's best if my hypochondriac tendency self thinks things through & sees reality.
Thinking things through looked like the propping of pillows, the getting situated sitting up, & the careful sipping of my beloved water. It looked like praying. And the practicing of swallowing, which still wasn't going the best, but it was going enough. I was uncomfortable, but it didn't seem emergent.
It had taken me forever to fall asleep, BEFORE the bees, so I was tired. Clutching my security blanket-like glass of water, I eventually drifted off to sleep, though not super sound. When Chad woke up that morning, he made some confused-sounding comment about me holding my "little glass of water." I can't remember if I drank all the water, before falling asleep or if I'm just talented and didn't spill ANY. Spilling water would've really added to the fun.
Waking up, like breaking up, was hard to do. I still had trouble swallowing, and I decided that I'd never had a sore throat this bad. Not in a dramatic way. Just in a wow-I've-never-dealt-with-sore-throats-before way. I've never had strep throat or tonsil issues. My sinuses are the ones usually under attack. I know sinuses. Yet, there I was...with no swallowing prowess & with my voice almost kind of muffled if I tried to lie on back.
Up out of bed. I couldn't find the tiny flashlight that usually resides in our closet. When I couldn't find it, I settled for Chad's camping headlamp. To help you with visuals, I didn't wear it. Sorry if that disappoints. Instead, I used it to shed some light on the back of my throat. I'm not a doctor, so I was doing my best to investigate and discern whether I needed to see one, on a Saturday morning.
Yeah, the back of my throat didn't look good. My tonsils looked like small grapes. The infamous hangy ball didn't look so hot, either. So, I called at 8a.m...which was sadly too early! **Sigh**...they weren't going to take calls until dreaded 8:30a.m. I pulled the covers back over myself, while still holding my cell. Then, I remembered I wanted to at least shower & be ready in case they had an 8:35 appointment available. So, I made myself presentable & called at 8:30. Boom...scored a 9:40 appointment!! Inside, I felt like I had won something, even though I was going to go pay for an appointment. If my throat could have done a happy dance, it would have.
It took less than a minute for the doctor to look at my throat, tell me it looked pretty irritated, & prescribe a steroid. He wanted to address the swelling in my throat, since...you know...it's not best for one's throat be in a swollen state. No antibiotic needed, because he suspected it started as a virus; he said it didn't look like strep. It very well could be virus. Before the throat swelling, I had some sinus pressure, a slightly scratchy throat & a few chills. Still...
I can't help but wonder if sniffing nearly every B&B scent for men, right before Valentine's Day, contributed to the problem. My sinuses felt assaulted shortly after that journey in gift buying. Love is sacrifice. ;) And, I did find a scent I liked for Chad. And Chad loved it. Except then I asked him NOT to wear the scent anywhere near me, because all scents made my throat burn. Poor guy.
Anyway, Saturday Morning Doc cleared me to be around people. Shortly after the first dose of the steroid, I was sitting at my son's basketball tournament...tired, but the swelling had started to ease. I know this, because I was capable of cheering on my boy & enjoying a chat with a friend. Yay, steroids (used appropriately, and with the permission of a physician)! Take that bees!
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