Tale of the Lost Week

Wow! When I get sick, I really get sick! Last week I posted about how poorly I was feeling while at work. Saturday night, things got worse. The nasal congestion I was feeling got steadily worse and I could barely breathe when I went to bed that night. Sunday, I began coughing, and that's when it all went to pieces. By midnight Sunday, I was coughing so hard, and so continuously that I began to vomit. What fun... NOT!

Monday morning I woke up feeling like there was a molten ball of lead in my lower chest. I could barely stand and felt as weak as a newborn kitten. I called in sick that morning, hoping I would be feeling better by Tuesday. It was not to be, Tuesday, I felt even worse. So, I called in sick again on Tuesday. I was so weak, that I could barely stand up, and was sleeping for hours on end, when I wasn't trying to cough up my lungs, that is. I was really hoping I could get back to work on Wednesday, as I was beginning to worry about losing my job. During the 6 month probation period, the company reserves the right to terminate any employee without warning or "cause" if they deem necessary. And this job, is one I want to hold onto at least until 2009.

Unfortunately, Wednesday morning I was still coughing up a storm, still had that burning weight in my chest and still feeling very weak. So, I called in sick for the 3rd day and told them I was going to the doctor to get a doctor's note, as I had exceeded the time allowed for sick days without one. I went to the doctor that morning, and within a few minutes, he told me I had the beginnings of a lung infection, which, if left untreated, would develop into pneumonia. Lovely! This would be the third year in a row that I've had to battle it. The doctor told me I was fortunate to have caught it as early as I had. Most times, I would wait the 14 days that a normal cold lasts before going to see a doctor, which, in the last two years, meant that I had full-blown "walking pneumonia" which despite the "walking" part of the name, left me in bed for a couple of weeks. I got a prescription for a very powerful antibiotic called "Biaxin" and the doctor told me to rest for the remainder of the week. As soon as I got home I called my manager, but was unable to reach him directly, so I left a voicemail describing the situation and asking him to call me if there were any problems. I deliberately asked if I had placed my job in jeopardy, but he never called me back. By Friday the burning weight feeling in my lungs had faded almost entirely. Gotta love antibiotics... except the nasty side-effects, which for me, mean some major gastro-intestinal issues of which I won't go into detail here.

During all this time, I had some panels from my previous job waiting to be completed, and I found out they were needed for today. I had 4 panels left to build and had received the final sets of drawings last week. So, I struggled to build these panels despite my weakness but by Friday, I still had two to build. They take about 5 hours each to build, so that meant I had about 10 hours of work ahead of me Friday morning. I finished the last one late last night, and went to bed. I woke up this morning, back to feeling like I was on Wednesday! I guess I overdid it.I delivered the panels this morning, and now can relax. I plan on getting as much sleep as I can today, tomorrow and Monday, which is Thanksgiving Day here in Canada. We're going to my parent's place in Oakville Monday evening for dinner, but I told my mom we would be leaving fairly early, so plan dinner early! LOL! My doctor's note only covers me to Friday, so I have to go back to work on Tuesday. I really hope I have a job to go back to, and that I am physically able to handle the demands of the job.

That's how my week has been! Fun, eh?

To all my Canadian friends, Happy Thanksgiving! And to my American friends, have a great weekend!