On a normal regular day, I try to be appreciative of the 'little' things most of us may take for granted. A few years ago I quit using headphones when I walked so I could appreciate my ability to hear (birds chirping, leaves rustling, water gurgling). I tried to look around more to appreciate my ability to see (the Riverwalk is full of wildlife and gorgeous nature). When I would pass someone on the Riverwalk in a wheelchair, I became very conscious of my ability to walk. All those simple things so many of us do on a daily basis and don't think twice about. The last two weeks have been yet another wake-up call of 'little' things to appreciate.
I've just started feeling human again after my first bout with pneumonia. I had worked a particularly busy 3-night stent and was completely worn out. My joints hurt, my muscles ached, I was mentally and physically exhausted and had two days to recover before another 3-in-a-row schedule. I figured my body was just getting used to nights, used to moving patients without the help of the lift team. Maybe I needed new shoes. I know I needed new shoes.
What do you call a nurse with a bad back? Unemployed. So, Lon and I ventured to the mall (ugghh) and I tried on some shoes I had heard rave reviews about (online and from coworkers). They felt great. More than I normally spend on shoes, but my back is worth it, right? (Yes, it is.) So, I find out my size and promptly order some from Zappos.com (free shipping, usually overnight delivery, great return policy, and I liked the 'exclusive Zappos' color I could get...oh yeah, and no taxes!). Now let's see, where were we? I worked Thurs, Fri, Sat nights...tried to recoup Sunday, to the mall on Monday, ordered shoes (which arrived just in time on Tuesday for me to go back to work). Still not feeling too hot, thinking I might be coming down with the flu I started taking the Dayquil/Nyquil regimen on Monday. Tuesday night at work got a few little dizzy spells (very short, very weird) and about 0300 took my temp. 100.0. Great. Had a staff meeting at 0700, too. So I took some more Dayquil and toughed out the last few hours. Now I'm still on orientation, so I have an RN working with me. (We like to tell our patients they are getting two for the price of one.) He recommended calling in for Wed night if I wasn't feeling better. Well, I certainly wasn't. For the next two days I could hardly stop coughing long enough to get a decent nap, didn't have the energy to do much, had a daily fever, fatigued very quickly just walking up/down the hall, felt like crap. Never had the flu hit me so hard. So Friday I go to the doctor...crackles in my right lung, you say. Pneumonia?!?! What the.... Great. Get started on a Z-pak and follow up next week.
By the way, during all of this Lon rocked! He wouldn't let me do anything in the kitchen (to keep from spreading my germs and because I was tiring so easily). He fixed me anything my stomach could tolerate (mostly crackers, broth and hot tea). I was so nauseous most of the time that nothing sounded good. He downloaded fun movies for us to watch (got to see all six Star Wars in sequence over the weekend), tried to keep me as comfortable as I could get...all in all, he was my super awesome husband. :)
Finally on Wednesday of this week, I started to have an appetite again. I was beginning to feel human once more. I still have a nice productive cough, but I want that junk out of there! Other than that I feel I'm at about 90%. Yay! I can finally go back to work (had to miss almost two full weeks!) Gotta love feeling like crap AND not getting paid. Nice. No more fevers, no more aches. Oh and the new shoes worked great last Tuesday night...I get to try them out again on Sunday. Whew...pneumonia is no laughing matter and I will appreciate the ability to breathe deeply so much once I get it back. I hope you NEVER have to deal with having pneumonia...it totally sucks.
