Wife Swab

After getting Mariah and Isaiah off to school on Monday morning, I headed over to Walmart. Savannah wasn't feeling well, so I let her snooze with Granny. Just needed to pick up a few items for the house prior to the arrival of the movers Tuesday morning.

As I walked the aisles of Walmart sipping my dark cherry mocha, I was suddenly struck by how bad I was starting to feel. My throat was sore. But lightheaded and dizzy? Chalked it up to skipping breakfast. But by the time I got home and sat down on the couch, I could not get back up. My mom, bless her heart, found some meds. for me to take and cared for Savannah, who was already feeling better. I was useless. By the next morning, I feared death was near. With the movers closing in with a houseful of our possessions and my need to be at 100%, I mused, "I haven't felt this bad since I had strep throat in the 5th grade..."

I found the courage to look in the mirror and say "aah". And then I said "eww". It was bad. Not surprisingly, the doctor said the same thing later that day. Not a huge shock that the swab culture came back positive for strep. And apparently, I was very contagious--at least for the following 2-3 days. So in addition to my antibiotics and pain meds., I snagged some face masks.

Despite the SARS ribbing (courtesy of J), the masks are pretty beneficial. People will leave you alone. No small talk in the waiting room. No chitchat standing in line. And they will keep their kids away from you,too. Which is rather nice. Another thing, you can convince yourself you are a medical doctor. I feel like I could perform gall bladder surgery on anybody walking by. And no ginormous student loans to pay back.

I am finally beginning to feel human again. So, if come at you with a plastic scalpel, just relax. Trust me.

I'm a doctor.