Sick as a Dog
I’ve only seen our family dog get really sick, just once. I was a few years ago at Christmas and a plate of custom decorated gingerbread girls, decked out with smarties, were intended for the girls next door. However, the cookies went missing and Casper could not stop throwing up. It was so tragic that we rushed him off to the vet for an injection of saline to keep him hydrated.
I’m not sick like that, it’s in my throat. Extremely painful, hard to breathe, swelling at the back of my nose and coughing up coloured crap. The kind of sick that keeps you up all night, and yet you can nap all day?
Our plan all along was to watch a movie and go to bed when we were tired. However, my choking and gasping was upsetting Steve more and more through out the night. By 11:20pm on New Year’s Eve, my darling husband bundled me up and tossed me in the car. We were hunting for a late night pharmacy – he’d called ahead to check their hours but the closest one had closed up early all the same. Finally, we found a Shoppers at quarter to twelve. I write this so I will remember in future the recommendations on the kind pharmacist on duty that night:
- Cepacol lozenges every two hours during the day to numb the pain
- Advil: Cold & Sinus Plus (silver package). You take 2 every eight hours or 1 every four
- Chloraseptic (phenol solution) to gargle or spray every two hours during the night
Midnight passed as we exited the highway to head for home. Many houses had their lights on, but just as many were dark – asleep or out for the night. We watched neighbours dancing on their lawns with sparklers and heard fireworks in the distance, and we chuckled at the guests who opted to leave their parties at 12:05 – no point continuing on once the ball has dropped!
Now I just need to gather enough energy to make it through work this week … le sigh!
