Ok kids, I’m still not feeling well. I’ve seen the doctor and I’ve been given a course of pills and inhalants for this friggin cold. The unfortunate side-effect that I wasn’t told about was my sudden change in mood. I’m a purring fluffy kitty and I can’t work myself into a lather over anything dark or depressing. I’m using every ounce of my cynicism to write this post because I don’t know when I’ll return to normal.

For now, I’m like Mr Burns all hopped up on his life extending treatments. If you see a glowing pinoyboy prancing around the woods claiming to bring peace and love… break its legs [link]

Friday morning (9/29) I awoke with a sore and tender mass under the left side of my jaw. My lymph system is a funny thing, it will trap microbial beasties but isn’t very efficient in ridding my body of them. I knew I shouldn’t have poked at my jaw but there was a perverse pleasurable feeling knowing that each jab to the nodule released more antigens into my system. Hoping that this wouldn’t escalate into a full blown cold, I agreed to continue with our plans to drive down to the country and go to the county fair.

Saturday morning, the swollen gland had drained and my lungs became congested. I had no fever, no stuffy nose or sinus, no aches, no couggh, nor chills. I felt fit and fine enough for a day at the county fair. We went through exhibits of livestock, prize-winning freakishly pretty and large produce, and the insidious midway of trans-fats. All-in-all it was a good day and we settled at Snuffy’s sister’s home for the night. The over-the-counter medicine I took earlier did a good job of suppressing cough and clearing congestion, but that only made the situation worse. The crud in my lungs were forced into nooks and crannies and my coughs were chemically stifled so that I could not force it out.

My blind optimism caused me to leave the apartment without any prescription inhaler or breathing treatment. As my lungs filled up, I tried age-old ways of coping with congestion; steam and camphor-based ointments. My heart was racing to keep blood oxygen up, causing me to breath harder, which made it more difficult to clear my lungs. I started to feel light headed, but I couldn’t tell if it was from the lack of oxygen or fatigue.

I was in bad shape and didn’t see myself making it thorough the night, so I asked Snuffy to take me home knowing that a nebulizer filled with saline and albuterol would keep body and soul together. We left in the middle of the night, and it was a tenuous two hour car ride back home, with an over the counter inhaler which would only buy me thirty minutes of breathing time should I completely seize up.

Back at home, I assembled the nebulizer, loaded it full of drugs, and I was finally able to take a breather.