Sniffle, sniffle...Achoo!
12.03.2008
Yep, it's the flu. Or pneumonia. I think it feels more like pneumonia, since I didn't really have a fever or the chills or anything like that. It was more sore throat (oh the pain!), dry nasal passages, and chest full of crap accompanied by a deep hacking cough. Ugh, not a whole lot of fun for me over our little Thanksgiving holiday. Monday, I was hoping to feel well enough to go back to work, but unfortunately that didn't happen. And Chris was going to be out of town from Monday afternoon until Wednesday for a trade show in Richmond. Horrible to be that sick, horrible to be alone. So, I did what anyone would do and called my sister to take care of me! It was about 2 hours after Chris left, and I realized that I was too sick to start the pellet stove, too sick to make myself even scrambled eggs for dinner, and definitely too sick to be alone. Sweetheart that Rachel is, she came right away! She walked right in, started a fire, cooked me dinner, made me tea, washed the dishes, and did her laundry and worked on homework until I was ready for bed. Then she waited until I was all cozy in bed before she headed back to College Park. What a lifesaver she was! The next morning, I felt well enough to head to work for a couple hours, but was home again at noon and looking forward to Rachel coming over again that evening. I think this time around, I understand that resting is crucial to recovery. In October I got sick with almost the exact same thing, except it started as an ear infection. I only took 2 half days off of work - a week apart - and I think that's why it lasted 3 weeks. What a miserable month! The first time around, I think I had the walking pneumonia, which was more like this, found on the Mayo Clinic website:
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Mycoplasma. This tiny organism causes signs and symptoms similar to those of other bacterial and viral infections, although symptoms appear more gradually and are often mild and flu-like. You may not be sick enough to stay in bed or to seek medical care and may never even know you've had pneumonia. That's why this type of pneumonia is often called walking pneumonia.
Mycoplasma pneumonia spreads easily in situations where people congregate and is common among schoolchildren and young adults. Mycoplasma pneumonia responds well to treatment with the appropriate antibiotics, although you may continue to have a dry, nagging cough and continue to feel weak during your convalescence.
My friend (and acupuncturist) Cara gave me this wonderful cold remedy. I think it is the reason why I got better so quickly this time. I don't do medications, because they prevent your body from doing what it needs to do to release the toxins. And most medications are taxing on your liver. And my poor liver is already taxed from all the stuff I took in the past two years for the endo. This cold remedy is easy on the liver and is great for knocking the cold right outta ya!
Cara's cold remedy
2 cups homemade chicken broth (I used turkey)
equal parts ginger, garlic and scallions
Gently heat and simmer everything together for a few minutes. Run a bath as hot as you can stand it, drink your broth drink in the tub (eat all the garlic, ginger and scallions), then when you're done wrap up in a warm towel or robe and hop immediately under the covers.
I put the broth mixture into a quart jar and did exactly as directed. Hopping into bed after felt so good! I was so ready to just drop off to sleep, and I did :). I did the same thing the next day, and the next. I even brought the broth mixture to work with me yesterday and today, just adding some turkey meat for substance.
Tonight though, I used 6 cups of the broth to make butternut squash soup, and froze the rest in quart-size containers for future use. For dinner we had soup with a large dollop of raw sour cream and a side of pork sausage I got from one of our local MD farmers. It was yummy! Our other farmer (in PA) makes good sausage, but has a tendency to add rapadura to it for some reason. I'm not really into the sweeter sausage, so it's nice to find a nice, local, organically and humanely raised source of pork who also likes savory sausage! We had used the loose sausage from the same farmer in our Thanksgiving stuffing, so I knew it was good stuff. Yummmmm... And I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
Well, off to bed for me before I get all tired out :). Sweet dreams!
Posted bySarah at 8:59 PM
Labels: health
