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I Promise Not To Spit On You (Warning: Exploding Spleen) I haven't written in a while; I've been sick. It started as what I thought was an ear infection. I couldn't hear very well, which of course led to some hilarious misinterpretations of conversations. I fell on some woman on the bus. I lost my balance at the chiropractors and accidentally beat up the toilet brush and garbage can in her washroom (I got some really funny looks coming out of there, let me tell you).It then progressed to a sinus infection. I've had a lot of these and I know what works for me so I didn't even bother going to the doctor because they would just put me on antibiotics which would make me sicker and wouldn't get rid of the infection. Some smart doctor during one of my various previous infections (after the third round of antibiotics hadn't worked and I was fighting bronchitis too) had prescribed inhaled corticosteriods (to match the ones for my lungs). This usually works and gradually the sinus infection improved. Throughout all of the above I had this ridiculously sore throat that woke me up at night because it hurt so much and I was tiredtiredtired: more tired than I'd ever been in my life. I also felt bad: you know the feeling you get when you first get a cold, and you just feel bad?, take that feeling and magnify it by 20. I would get up, go to work, go home, eat and go to bed. Then get up and do it all again the next morning. The exhaustion was always matched by the sore throat and by the "bad" feeling. It made me feel so rotten I would just randomly start crying. I also had a funny feeling on my left side, under my ribs, which I ignored. Earlier this week I started having a suspicion. I ran it past Africa, just listing my symptoms and not my suspicions, and she came to the same conclusion. Tuesday morning I went to work and my boss ordered me to ignore my work and go to the doctor. The doctor examined me and agreed. It was most likely Epstein-Barr virus, more commonly known as mononucleosis. I went for blood tests to confirm but because of the holidays I most likely won't get the results until the 29th at the earliest, the 2nd on the outside. I'm pretty sure though, even without the test results. I fall asleep with very little warning (which can be really embarrassing actually). I can sleep for 14 hours straight and be fine for a couple of hours but then I'll need to nap again. If I don't sleep when I'm feeling tired and bad I will burst into tears at the slightest provocation. I can't sleep on my stomach or put pressure on the left side of my ribs in the front; sometimes it's just uncomfortable but sometimes it hurts. Bear laughs at me when I tell him my spleen hurts; I have to admit it does sound funny. It also sucks because I was supposed to go back to hockey on January 11th and now I can't play until beginning to mid-February for fear that I might rupture my spleen. No contact sports for me (never mind that most of the contact is between me and the ice, and not me and the other players). Boo. I want a t-shirt that says "Warning: Exploding Spleen!" I think it's hysterical. I know this wasn't an incredibly interesting entry but I wanted you to know why I haven't been writing and why I've been acting so strange lately. I'm being careful, I don't want to give it to anyone. I'm not kissing anyone but Bear since if he were going to get it, he would probably have it already (which means he'll be sick in 1-5 weeks). I accept hugs of the gentle persuasion, not tight around my ribs please. And lastly, most importantly, I promise not to spit on anyone (no llama sounds for me!) 2003-12-27 || 5:10 p.m. |
