Sick Day 2.0

I moaned and groaned through most of the night sleeping on and off but never for more than an hour at a time. What bothered me more than an upset stomach was terrible cramping in my gut. I found that rubbing my lower back seemed to take the edge off temporarily thus affording me an opportunity to fall asleep. Mindy was going to work and must’ve gotten up around 630am. I felt markedly better than I did the night before but still no where close to 100%.

I slept through most of Mindy’s ready, but got up around 720am so I could send a note to my boss once again letting him know that I’d be out again sick. This time I had enough energy to draft a quick out-of-office and then send a note to my peer asking him to back me up for the day. Tuesday, I am afraid, that aside from sending my boss an email, I didn’t leave word for my customers who they could go to in my absence.

The kids did an overnight with Jimaken so after Mindy left the house was quiet affording me the opportunity to get more sleep. I headed back to bed and slept soundly until 9am. The cramping was no longer debilitating but still present and uncomfortable. Nothing I tried helped. I drank a cup of coffee and sat at the computer for a while. Around 930am I headed out for a run despite feeling ill. However, compared to the day before, Wednesday’s run would almost certainly feel like a walk in the park.

It was sunny and somewhere in the low 50s when I headed out the door. It wasn’t a walk in the park but I faired far better completing a three mile run in about 30 minutes. When I finished my run I drug our empty trash can back to the side of the house then headed in to make something to eat. I had no appetite but since I’d eaten next to nothing since Monday’s dinner, I knew I needed to get some food in me for energy.

I made a small burrito with the remaining taco meat and ate it quickly. Even the small portion seemed like a lot. And then afterwards I became incredibly sleepy and went for another nap. This time I slept until shortly after 11am but woke with those same nagging cramps in my belly. I spent a little time online researching viruses. If I had to guess, I’d say I contacted the Norovirus. I remained queasy through the afternoon, napping on and off while watching daytime History Channel, which I learned isn’t much better than jerry Springer. 

Around 350pm I decided that it was time to get a shower and hoped it might help me start feeling better. I let hot water beat against my abdomen thinking that might help free up any trapped gas or what not. It didn’t help much at all. I imagined my intestines swollen from the virus as the root of the dull achy pain.

After a shower I plopped down at my PC and did some writing in my blog. Mindy got home around 430pm. What I wasn’t expecting was Lindsey and the boys to be coming with her. Lindsey apparently needed gas money as must’ve been waiting nearby. Thankfully, they weren’t there long. Being ill, I wasn’t in the mood.

We weren’t expecting Jimaken to bring the kids home until 7pm. In fact, he was dropping Bella at gymnastics then bringing Jacob home after. Mindy asked if I wanted dinner. Prior the thought of food hadn’t even entered my mind. Still had no appetite. But call it the power of suggestion, once she started making her own dinner (leftover pasta and marinara sauce) I realized that I was hungry too, and really for the first time since Monday. At the same time I noticed how much better I was feeling too. Still, I was very careful about my meal choice. Almost everything sounded too heavy. In the end, I asked for cream of chicken over rice. Mindy agreed to make it for me. I couldn’t wait.

I’m guessing that it was ready around 5pm. Mindy put about half my typical portion on the plate knowing I wouldn’t want a heaping mound. Man, was it good! Went down easy and felt good on my tummy. It must’ve activated my stomach juices because I only got hungrier. Wise to the potential prospect of overeating and then feeling bloated and sick, I
Opted to walk away from having more, instead allowing what I ate to settle.

Mindy dressed and headed out for a bike ride. While she rode her bike I did some reading from my 2nd new book, Deepak Chopra and Leonard Mlodinow’s War of Worldviews: Science Vs. Spirituality. Gripping from the outset. I read about 20 pages in a jiffy. She was gone for about 30 minutes. After her bike ride she walked down to Chrissy’s to be a witness for title transfer. The evening moved fast. Soon enough Jacob was home from the overnight with his dad. Said they had fun, saw a movie and went to the pet shop looking at puppies.

I was still really hungry so I went ahead and reheated the rest of the cream of chicken and rice concoction. It went down as easy as the first half. Yum-yum. At 8pm we tuned into American Idol. But Mindy didn’t get to see a whole lot. She left to pick Bella up from gymnastics at 820pm. She was gone for at least 20 minutes. She planned to sign Bella up for the State competition in May while there.

We watched the rest of Idol as a family until 10pm. Mindy scheduled Thursday off as a sick day for a doctor’s appointment. She wrote sub plans all the while watching the end of Idol. We all headed to bed just after 10pm. I was feeling a whole lot better but wasn’t too sleepy. We laid in bed for about 15 minutes before I got up again and headed downstairs to do some reading in my latest book. At least initially, I’m finding it hard to put down. I read another 10-15 pages before feeling sleepy enough. Good night moon!