The Weekend of Soup
by Scott Hardie on December 2, 2006
This has been a miserable week.
Monday: I woke up dizzy with a high fever and couldn't stay standing up. There were no cold or flu symptoms, but it wouldn't go away, so I worked the day from home. I barely ate and spent the day shivering under a blanket. Having good friends stop by in the evening to watch some DVDs helped to cheer me up.
Tuesday: The fever was still there, but work needed my attention. I worked at the office until 9pm and then came home and worked until after midnight. I felt terribly cold and shivery, but when I looked at the thermostat it said my apartment was 77 degrees. I was so exhausted by the illness and crushed by mounting pressures on the job that when Denise called just after I went to bed, it brought me to the brink of screaming and sobbing. I was awake until 3am obsessing about Denise and the job.
Wednesday: A big presentation in the morning meant I had to get up at 5am and into the office at 7am for a 13-hour shift. The scheduled lunch service never showed, and my only window to leave for lunch was taken up helping a coworker, so my meal for the day was a candy bar from the vending machine. On the bright side, a conversation with my boss lifted one terrible burden I'd been carrying for more than a week. By evening, the gums on the right side of my mouth had swollen so much that I could only chew food on the left side, so a late dinner with Denise was eaten very slowly. Our relationship healed over the conversation, but my fever and shakes got worse.
Thursday: I woke up with a throbbing headache, swollen gums, and a nasty taste in my mouth. It was awkward to swallow and my mouth wouldn't stop salivating, and I mostly spoke through gritted teeth. Lunch was provided in a meeting at work, but while everyone else was done eating in five minutes, I quietly sat in the corner nibbling on my half-sandwich for an hour. By the time I arrived at my mother's house for our weekly dinner, I could barely eat the meal she had prepared. Denise and I argued late into the night over a stupid thermometer. Intense nightmares about work kept waking me up for the six hours I slept.
Friday: Finally the fever was down a little and I wasn't shivering, but now I was throwing up what little I could eat. I tried to take the day off of work entirely but still got roped into roughly three hours from home. When I finally made it to a doctor in the evening, the diagnosis was tonsillitis, my first time with it. I wouldn't need surgery, but the antibiotics would need a few days to take effect, meaning I could only eat liquids for the weekend. While my prescription filled, I stocked up on soup, applesauce, ice cream, mashed potatoes, pudding, and egg nog.
today: The fever is down further and for the first time in a week I feel completely lucid, but now tissue all over my mouth is beginning to swell up and I can barely swallow tomato soup. I really hope this medicine kicks in soon. Having a clear weekend means I'd normally commit myself to finishing the FIN post that I started a week ago, but foremost I need to rest and take things easy. I hope you have a better weekend than I expect to.
PS. Special thanks to Denise and my mom for going out of their way to help me this week.
Eight Replies to The Weekend of Soup
Scott Hardie | December 2, 2006
She has my sympathy then. I'll be glad to kiss this nuisance goodbye in a few days and never see it again.
Hmm, curious: When I look up tonsillitis on Wikipedia, not only does it sound inconsistent with my symptoms, but the article says amoxicillin should not be prescribed and that's what I'm on. I'm glad I trust my doctor a lot more than the Internet.
Kris Weberg | December 2, 2006
At least no one suggested that you have those Jones Sodas holiday meal flavors as a substitute for solid food.
Seriously, though, that sounds like a scary, unpleasant experience. I've never had tonsillitis, but I have had gum grafts and an infection following a wisdom tooth extraction, and the experience sounds vaguely similar in terms of feeling like crap and living on soup.
Denise Sawicki | December 3, 2006
Wow, that sucks. Too bad you had to work despite all that! Glad you had people to help you, at least.
Aaron Shurtleff | December 4, 2006
Yuck! Egg nog?! That's the problem right there!
But seriously, sorry to hear that your week was so horrible. I hope you are doing better, as it sounds like you must be by now. I don't think I've ever had problems with my tonsils, and it sounds like I don't ever want to!
Anna Gregoline | December 4, 2006
Oh no! Vibes to you, I hope you are feeling better soon, Scott!
Scott Hardie | December 7, 2006
Doing much better now. Thanks for the kindness, everybody.
Amy Austin | December 31, 2006
Oh, shit -- ditto on what Denise said! Sorry not to see it sooner, too... like you, I often catch up in blocks and feel behind on my comments.
Having had chronic tonsillitis throughout my life (my childhood pediatrician had suggested a tonsillectomy -- a suggestion that my mother ignored -- and I have frequently wished I could go back and change this!), I am quite sympathetic to your discomfort. In fact, I have been having throat and sinus problems for about 2-3 weeks now, irritatingly enough. No antibiotics (that's true what you read, btw), but man I wish I could rip those things out altogether!!!
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Jackie Mason | December 2, 2006
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