I had my Friday all mapped out yesterday. Send kids to school and the twins to playschool, drop by the bank at 9.30 a.m., meet with some guys from Hong Kong at 10.30 a.m., get insurance quotes settled, meet with some people from Ipoh at 3 pm.
But what I didn’t count on was catching some kind of viral infection that left me with a low-grade fever and aches and pains all over my body, similar to what one experiences just before catching a cold.
After sending the bigger kids to school yesterday, the pain progressively got worse, to the point where I could hardly get up, much less drive, and had to ask someone else to drive the twins to playschool. And as soon as I got back home, I curled up on the couch and called the office to say that I wouldn’t be able to make it to work.
That’s where I stayed the rest of the day — the couch. I tossed and turned fitfully, mercifully falling asleep sometime towards noon a few minutes into the most boring movie on DVD.
This morning, I thought I felt much better, so I got ready to go grocery-shopping. I even asked the kids to draw up the shopping list. Then the pain came again. Like burning fire in my joints and the back of my hips. A thousand butterflies wreaking havoc inside my abdomen. A giddy lightheaded sort of headache. And once again, I spent the day on the very same couch, to spare me the trouble (and the pain) of going up and down the stairs.
Funny thing these viruses. They’re organisms that are so minute — some 100 to 1000 times smaller than bacteria — yet they pack such a punch, they can render one’s entire system in complete chaos. Think AIDS. Smallpox. The common cold – the one thing that doctors have yet to find a cure, despite all the advances in the medical world. Then this mysterious, unexplained viral thing that strikes me every once in a while — low-grade fever (sometimes none) and pain all over my body as though as I’ve been hit by a truck.
Viral infections. They’re God’s way of reminding us how frail the human body is. You can be the President of the most powerful country in the world, four-time Olympic gold medalist, or the most popular recording artiste of all time. But the moment a virus infection strikes, it knocks you out and reminds you that you are just like any other mortal on this planet.
Tags: sick
March 29th, 2009 at 00:30
True enough, mahirap kalaban ang sakit. Get well soon, Mimi.
March 29th, 2009 at 00:49
you got the virus too, hey… my daughter has it now.
hope you get well soon.
March 29th, 2009 at 09:48
Hope you are feeling better now. Take care.
March 30th, 2009 at 06:20
ako din just got back from the flu. it’s so hard to get sick! i can’t stand just lying down!
anyway, hope you’re feeling better now mimi! :)
March 30th, 2009 at 07:17
I have so many sleepless nights already, i don’t know why my resistance to sickness is just strong, what i can’t resist is my drooping eyelids… I really think I need to hibernate…
March 30th, 2009 at 14:16
Have you gone to your doctor already? Slight fever occuring now and then, I believe, is something the doctor has to check out. Rest well and I hope you get well soon.
March 30th, 2009 at 18:16
Oh, I hope you’re feeling better now.
March 30th, 2009 at 20:14
Hope you are feeling better already. But if you are not and still having joint pains, you may want to visit your doctor. Dengue and chikunkunya are quite prevalent these days.
April 1st, 2009 at 09:15
thanks so much for the concern, folks :) i’m much better now…unfortunately, i seem to have transmitted the virus to my eldest and he was home sick yesterday. he’s back in school today though. there’s a bug going around KL, it seems. so many people are going through the same thing!
April 1st, 2009 at 19:24
I posted a comment but can’t find it. Am I in moderation?
April 2nd, 2009 at 08:52
health is wealth, better buy nutritious food, than medicine ika nga.
April 2nd, 2009 at 09:21
blogusvox: you’re right. for some reason, your comments were classified by wordpress as spam. good thing i found them. i did see a doctor and she told me my symptoms were consistent with a viral infection and just told me to take painkillers, take lots of fluids and rest a lot.
francescainfrance: yes, health is one thing that people should not take for granted.