Toast Tuesday: the flu

I have just lived through one of the scariest events ever. I have amazing friends who I can never express enough gratitude to. In my year of wanting to try new things, getting the flu and ending up in the hospital was absolutely NOT on my list.

I knew something wasn’t right Saturday morning. I’ve been dehydrated before, but this was different. I needed help. I called a friend who took me to the emergency room. My heart was racing so fast there was immediately a room full of doctors and nurses doing all sorts of stuff. I have snippets of that experience swirling in my head, but there was so much going on, I couldn’t absorb what was happening. I just know when there’s that many people in your room, things are bad. My doctors though were great. One guy kept making jokes, which helped me tremendously. One nurse had a gorgeous full sleeve tattoo that allowed me to follow birds through the mountains instead of paying attention to whatever the hell was being done to me right then. My friend was looking on the entire process with awe and delight, but was great hand to squeeze as needed.

After that excitement, they moved me to the ICU, which was another first. Friends tag-teamed to keep me company and distracted. It was not the way I wanted to have a sleepover, but great conversation was had. All the while, my actual weekend plans were going on without me.

If you have ever spent any time in the icu, you know rest is nowhere to be found. If you haven’t had the pleasure, there are bright lights everywhere, beeps of every variety and volume, and a constant swirl of activity everywhere. Finding a tiny piece of quiet in the ICU is damn near impossible. Maintaining any shred of modesty or dignity is absolutely impossible. The ICU is a fishbowl where every action is on display and under constant scrutiny. Never have been so thankful for a little curtain, all the while begging and praying for a bathroom with an actual door.

I started crafting this in my head so many time while I was in the hospital, but because of the iv in the bend of my arm, writing was near impossible. What I just experienced was clearly a wake up call from the universe that my health is a priority. I have time in my life for so many other things, I need to make time for my health.

As part of my flu recovery process, when I went for my regular deep tissue massage, the therapist did cupping on me. This was a real first I was delighted to experience. She worked on breaking up the clogged the lymph nodes that have plagued me for the last week and a half. While it was going on I could feel my ears and chest start to clear and drain. 

As usual, the universe sends messages and if we aren’t open to receiving that message, it makes itself heard in the most annoying ways. I’m looking forward to a quiet weekend of nothing. The calendar is clear and the fur babies are ready for the snuggle.