head cold
in which the author has the worst. headache. ever.
So even after taking a day off last week to fend off what felt like an impending cold, when C came down with a nasty bit of something over the weekend, I caught it yesterday. Last night I had the worst headache I’ve ever had, worse even than the one several years ago that sent me home from work in a taxi.
It was kinda freaking C out, and after my last sinus infection, I had promised C that if he though I should go to the doctor, then I would. So I called the Group Health nurse, and the nurse told me to go to the emergency room. (!)
The last time I went — after spraining my ankle on Christmas Eve — they were in the middle of construction and it was a crazy little warren of old-style sterile spaces. Now they have a brand spanking-new ER lobby. I was sort of surprised by the slippery concrete aisle — I saw at least one little kid lose footing. There were tons of kids there, plus a confused old woman, who C helped to get up when the doctor was ready to see her, and a guy with a gunshot wound that had been patched up at another hospital. That was a situation I never quite figured out.
Then it started pouring, pineapple-express style, and the lights went out. It was only for a few seconds, but it was genuinely freaky.
This whole time, my headache finally responded to the Excedrin, and I realized that it was probably just stuffed up sinuses. I told C I was ready to leave, and he was surprisingly relaxed about it, as long as I was sure that I was doing better. We drove home in the pouring rain…and then had to track down Pica, who came in as wet as I’ve seen her. And I went to bed.
Waking in the morning with the cold fully entrenched, I called in sick and went back to bed. Now it’s early evening, and I’m thinking vaguely about food, sniffling, catching up on my email (after 4+ days!) and watching The Princess Bride. (”You’re sick, I’ll humor you.”)
I’m hoping to be better enough tomorrow to drag myself back to work, because I think I only have one sick day left, and it’s a short week, and I’m taking vacation next week. Definitely not riding my bike though, even if the weather co-operates.
