The Cough

It had been Riley's only symptom for days. She'd been sleeping and eating just fine. No fever, no excessive fussing. She was otherwise herself just coughing. Maybe I raised a seriously tough cookie or maybe I'm getting wimpy in my old age. Either way her cough knocked me on my butt.

I started coughing on Tuesday, but I assumed it would be like it was for Riley. No big deal. I didn't sleep well that night and by the end of the day Wednesday I was wrecked. After some drowsy cough medicine and a good solid night of sleep I was no better.

In fact, I was worse. Mike got the kids up, dressed fed and out the door on his own. It's a rare event. Usually, I ask him to do it and stay in bed initially, but end up out of bed picking up the slack. Not today. Today, I laid in bed vaguely aware of what was happening drifting in and out of sleep. I didn't fully wake up until 9:30. Luckily for me Riley had been content to play quietly by herself and Mike hadn't needed to take any work calls. I felt awful. I took a hot shower with Riley got us dressed in some comfy clothes just in time for Mike to get on the phone and need us gone.

I took up residence on the couch and let Riley have her way with the living room. I used the wheelchair all day and managed to keep the kids fed and on their normal schedule. I assumed "taking it easy" would mean full recovery by Friday. I guess progress by inches is the most fitting description, but I feel that unit of measurement to be generous. I did manage to eat solid food by the afternoon. Previously, it had been milkshakes and cough medicine. I had pasta for lunch and then a burger for dinner.

The worst of it is the pain in my chest and back. There's stinging from the fluid in my lungs, but the soreness of the muscles and the continuous coughing is really bad. Mike's pretty annoyed by the coughing at this point too. I can't blame I was over it days ago. Oy. Anyway, when all else fails I set a goal and push. So, tomorrow morning it's out of bed, get the kids and myself ready and then we're off to a birthday lunch downtown. Don't worry I'll bring hand sanitizer and cough drops (and be feeling much better).