Such a Sicko

MS catches a cold

This particular post may offend some of my male readers and for that, I apologize.  Specifically, males who turn into whiny crybabies when they get sick.  You know, a little cough and they become completely incapacitated.

I know this is wrong- to lump males into this stereotype- especially since I personally abhor stereotypes.  Not EVERY male is a crybaby when he gets a cold.

Not EVERY woman is witchy when she gets PMS.

Not EVERY politician is a crook, well, let’s just leave it at that.

So, I would never, ever lump a whole group of people into one insulting stereotypical myth; unless, of course, it’s for my benefit as a slight bit of humor in a blog.

Cause here’s the thing, I finally, finally get it.  I’ve been living with a nasty head cold for over a week and have become one of the babiest of babies about it.

It started the Friday before Christmas with just a bit of a scratchy throat.  I took great precautions to keep the illness at bay and by that, I mean I didn’t do any screaming when I went to the hockey game on the 23rd.

Really.

When the jumbotron said to get loud I just clapped and stomped my feet.  And miraculously, without my full support, the Bruins won anyway-they’re that good!

I felt kind of cruddy on Sunday but did my best to ignore feeling a little blah in favor of Christmas Eve preparations and activities.

Christmas morning I still felt icky but Christmas itself took my mind off of it.

Tuesday morning though, the germy gloves came off and I have been a total uncomfortable, miserable mess since then.  The brutal coughing fits, the super sore throat, the stuffy AND runny nose, and the illness fatigue on top of the MS fatigue on top of the over the counter meds fatigue have done me in.  I’ve accomplished nothing except whining and can now totally relate to my male brethren.

And it all begs the question- is this normal or does multiple sclerosis play a part?  I don’t remember ever being overwhelmed by a common cold before.

When I was working fulltime I never took a sick day and would just work through feeling lousy as my coworkers always said I was indispensable and they couldn’t function without me.  I wasn’t and they could but believing so allowed them to do less work.

So how did I function amidst the symptoms doing me in now?  I must have but it seems impossible.

Plus, I don’t ever remember a cold lasting this long.

Back when I was a kid and didn’t feel like going to school a little ache might keep me home but only for the day, or maybe two if gym was on one day and a math test on the other.

Back then it was cool to stay home from school as channel 56 had Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley reruns on in the morning.  Laughing at them was enough to wipe me out to look miserable for when my mom came home from work on her lunch break and microwaved me some soup.  Sometimes, if I had managed to look sickly enough, she even brought me ice cream.

Ah… those were the sick days.

But now there’s nothing good on TV and it’s days later and I still feel miserable.  So much so that I went to the internet to find out if I might have something more than just the common cold.  But no, every website basically said I needed to get over myself, rest, suck it up, and find different reruns to watch.

Trust me, I checked everything- swine flu?  Nope.

Bird flu? Nope.

Variant flu? Ebola? Whooping cough?  No, no, no.

I’m this miserable over something most women in the world don’t even notice.  I felt so ashamed of myself that I even called the on-call nurses for my MS medication- could this be some type of a flare mixed in with all this germiness?

It’s possible, she told me, and worth paying attention to, but likely I just needed more rest and to drink lots of fluids.  Oh, I’m drinking fluids.  I’ve had so much water that my water app can’t even calculate the ounces anymore.  At this rate I’ll probably turn into a fish before I feel better.

While I was on the web trying to find a reason for being a such wimp I happened upon a random website site that was detailing facts about the movie Forest Gump.  Turns out Tom Hanks had the flu when he was filming the running scene!!

I can’t even run on a good day never mind one when I feel this crummy.  And he had an actual flu!!

Of course, I’m not getting paid thousands to get out of bed like he did.  But it turns out he wasn’t even paid to act in the movie- his contract just gave him a portion of the proceeds which turned out pretty well but it’s not like he knew that at the time.

So there, Tom Hanks made me feel even more like a baby and made me re-think the stereotype of males being wimps when it comes to a cold.  I’ve now become even wimpier and offer my most humble apologies.

Hey, all you guys out there, when you’re done accepting my apology can you please bring me tea and some more cough drops?  I prefer the wild cherry flavor…

Wishing you all a germ-free, pain-free, healthy, happy, giggly New Year!

10 thoughts on “Such a Sicko”

    • Ah thank you My Odd Sock- that’s very kind of you. She’s pretty bad ass so I love the compliment. But I’m starting to feel better. I should be, I have more cold meds in me than all the CVS locations in the state of MA. But the reality is, banging away on my keyboard is how I deal with my frustration- hence my high credit line at Best Buy. Happy New Year my friend!

      Reply
  1. I totally sympathize as MY HUSBAND HAS THAT COLD and I haven’t slept for 5 damned days. He carries on like he is dying and I, with MS and numbness from the cold and a miserable holiday to boot, wait on him because I can’t stand the whining. I am now showing signs of said cold and he is getting better and his answer to me is – you’re stronger and you are good at not feeling good!!! What helped was a dose of Amoxil 500 mg tid and a concoction from my youth of 1 cup HOT water or tea + 2 tablespoons of honey and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. It works. Just keep drinking it and NO you do not have to suck it up and YES MS makes it worse but at least you don’t have a man with a cold in your house!! Be better soon Yvonne and it is the nasty that is going around. 10 to 14 days of misery I am afraid. So drink drink drink and if you can’t stand the drink honey and lemon juice mixed in a bowl with a splash of whiskey helps the cough and soothes the throat.

    Reply
    • So the male in your house whined about being sick and then GAVE you his cold??? So unfair!! Feel better quickly and I will try you home presecription as well. Wishing you a healthy New Year my friend so you have to get better quickly!!

      Reply
  2. I’m glad you apologized about the unfair male stereotype. Otherwise I would have had to launch into my rant about stereotypical hockey and Rolling Stones fans. 🙂

    For the record, I’ve played a lead role in a musical (with singing and dancing) while having the flu and I’ve gone skiing with mono. It ain’t the gender, girl; it’s the individual.

    Also, it’s the age. Those examples were when I was young. These days, every ailment lingers longer than an unwanted in-law. I’ve been dealing with a series of maladies since November. If there’s one thing I’ve learned while living with MS, it’s the fact that life goes on. We can either get on with it or give in. The latter isn’t an option.

    Reply
    • Stereotypical Rolling Stones fans????? Whaddya mean?? So true my friend. I get on with it by making fun of it in a blog before I do- haha!

      Reply
  3. Hi Yvonne, Just chiming in that it’s not just men who whine and cry when they don’t feel well, but partners are remarkably demanding when they are sick. I know from personal experience with my partner, Janice. So, girl go for it!! I, thankfully, have not been subject to this Cape Cod crud because I do stay in and don’t go where sick germs fill the air. I’m nervous in Stop n Shop and will skip an aisle that has a cough or sneeze emmenating(sp?) from it. When there are two dis-abled people under the same roof, caution becomes a way of life. I was quite impressed with the fortitude you had to go to an ice hockey game, and prep and participate in this Holiday Season. Brava for choosing life over caution! Happy New Year. I have homemade chicken soup for you, if you want it? Your North Truro neighbor, Janis

    Reply
    • Thank you so much Janis-you are so sweet and I appreciate that. If I knew your partner was disabled I forgot- sorry about that. I hope you both are doing well and can whine to each other! And, hopefully, you aren’t both down at the same time? I was very blessed that the crudiest part of the crud wait until the 26th to attack. I choose to attribute it to a Christmas miracle! My very best to you and Janice.

      Reply

Leave a Comment