A Touch Of The Flu

It must have been a touch of the flu; that's the only thing I can come up with. Or perhaps a fast and furious cold, some other virus that creates its misery and leaves quickly. That is the only way I can explain the way I felt this weekend.

On Friday night I came home from the Cat 'n Fiddle. I felt fine. I went to bed, and still felt reasonably good when I got up Saturday morning. As the day wore on, I noticed a disconnectedness inside my head, a touch of dizziness now and then, a sense of out of body motion. I went on with my day, doing laundry, preparing food. I wasn't terribly hungry but as Saturday wore on, I wanted to eat, and eat I did. Then, late Saturday evening, I had my bathroom event.

On Sunday morning, or rather at about noon Sunday, when I finally woke up, I felt terrible. Every part of my body was in pain, either aching muscles or stabbing pain in my tailbone or pins and needle tingling in my feet or pulled muscle pain in my arms. I could barely move. I didn't want to get out of bed. Then my friend Tonny texted to say he was coming over to watch the football game with me, a visit for which I am very grateful. His company was enough to get me out of bed, moving about. That, and the three Tylenol I took with my coffee.

When Tonny and I were watching the football game, I transferred to the couch, relieving the pressure on my tailbone for a while. The pain in the rest of my body slowly dissipated, whether through the effects of the Tylenol or the distraction of beer and football. Regardless, I started to feel better. I continued to eat, continued to be hungry. Katherine came by, bringing noodles with her and making a sandwich for me. After Tonny and Katherine left, I stayed on the couch, not moving, actually thinking about sleeping there.

Finally, at about 3:00 AM, I made my way to bed, having dozed my way through the episode of the Ken Burns documentary on the Roosevelts which I was watching. I transferred to my wheelchair, went to the bathroom, successfully, and went off to bed.

This morning at 10:22 AM the Home Care Aide arrived, ready to put me in the shower and stretch me. Last night I had said to Katherine I would likely skip the shower. This morning I felt well, deciding to take advantage of the opportunity to get cleaned up. I even shaved this morning, something I haven't done a few weeks. After the shower, I got dressed and the HCA stretched me. I was about then that I realized I was feeling good, even strong.

I felt bad on Saturday evening. I felt terrible yesterday. I feel better today. It's got to be something like the flu, right?