Group A Streptococcus

It's odd that something so teeny can make us feel so terrible. It's not just odd, it is downright scary. The photo above is mega-magnified Group A Streptococcus bacteria, the bacteria that cause strep throat. I thought I'd put a picture of those little $%!@!#*'s instead of one of me from this week because I have only really been able to attend to the business of getting through the day to day stuff, which didn't always include such luxuries as showering or {hahaha!} make-up. Yes, my misery was very visible. But now, thanks to the marvels of antibiotics {God save them!} I am on the mend.

Here are some tidbits from my three days of strep throat.

Tuesday morning Ben and Zach offered to stay home from school to watch the little boys for me so I could sleep. And I think they were only about 30% motivated by the fact that they'd get to stay home from school if they helped me, and 70% because they genuinely wanted to help me. It was a nice gesture, and warmed my heart, but they were sent off to school anyway.

I have only had strep throat twice in my life, both times since we've moved here! I hear Colorado was called "Land of the Red Throat" or something like that ("Land of the Barbed-Wire Throat?" "Land of the Can-I-Just-Remove-My Throat?") by the native peoples who lived here when settlers first started coming to the West because it is SO prevalent here. Why? I don't know. But I've lived it, so I think they were right. The good thing is that it took me 10 days of strep throat suffering last time before I figured I should go to the doctor--having never had it before, I just kept waiting for my bad sore throat to go away on its own, this time within 2 days I felt 95% sure that what I had was strep, so it only took me 3 days to see the doc.

Whenever I get sick like this I always think of my dad. He'd ALWAYS tease me when I was little because I always get really snuggly when I'm sick, a state in which I am the last person anybody wants to or should be snuggling with! Fortunately, Adam puts up with it and give me as much snuggle as I need, even sick. I think if my mom was here I would actually climb into her lap and snuggle in!

Tommy and Luke both have colds and nasty looking throats, but neither of them has strep throat. Hooray! Yes, we visited the kid doc yesterday too. On that note, did you know that kids under the age of 2 RARELY get strep? For some reason the bacteria leave little people alone. They can get it, but it's not at all common. Little interesting fact there.

It's interesting how I usually take for granted the fact that I can just pop something in my mouth and eat it without thinking upon it much. I'd have impulses to do that over the past few days, a rice cracker, a Hershey's kiss, a bite of pear, etc. The second I would pop it in my mouth I'd instantly regret it. The flavor might be nice for a few moments, but then...OW! Another thing I found I take for granted a lot is yawning. So I should say thank you. Thank you Throat for usually swallowing voluntarily and happily! And thank you Yawns for usually being so easy and so painless! And Body-as-a-Whole, thank you for being in a general state of wellness most of the time. It's nice and I want you to know I appreciate it.

I still held preschool on Tuesday. At that point, I was still not totally sure I had strep, but just in case, I wiped everything down with Clorox and washed my hands 1000 times during the 2.5 hour period. I'm not too bad at keeping my germs to myself. None of the rest of my family has it {yet}, and I'm sure hoping none of my preschool kiddos get it! Boy, I'd feel awful if they did!

Adam took the afternoon off yesterday so I could have a nice nap (oh! was it nice!) and see the doctor without my entourage.

My throat hurt bad enough that it repeatedly woke me up from sleeping Monday night and Tuesday night, I was so grateful for ibuprofen that helped me catch some restless but needed Z's. I also had this weird dream Tuesday night where I was having an asthma attack (I don't have asthma) and I was trying to get myself to the hospital. Adam was being super unhelpful and wearing this tight-fitting ribbed tank top and a cheesy button down shirt with only the bottom buttons buttoned a la Jon Gosselin, maybe it was the outfit that was causing the unhelpfulness. Talk about nightmares! Anyhow, throughout the dream I was breathing terrible loud, gasping breaths. When the non-dream and much-more-tastefully-attired Adam rolled {loudly and largely} over in bed to try to get me to roll over too, I woke up from my dream just enough to discover that 1. it was just a dream, thank goodness and 2. the loud gasps in my dream had actually been me snoring as loud as a chainsaw--I'm not exaggerating.

It kind of stinks that when you have an excuse to live only on chocolate milk shakes, they don't taste good and even though they aren't as painful to swallow as any solid foods, they still wound you as you try to choke them down. All I wanted was FOOD, real hearty food; I was starving! Strep doesn't kill your appetite, you are still hungry, it just makes you not want to eat. Nothing tasted/felt good, even banana-berry smoothies and {my very favorite} Odwalla Chocolate Protein Monster blended with vanilla ice cream shakes. Sad, sad, sad.

I have to throw out my toothbrush.

When my doc offered "pill or shot" yesterday I said with gusto and joy, "SHOT!" It hurts like the dickens, but it's fast and I should be able to eat with no discomfort by tomorrow! I woke up this morning, my throat still sore, my neck still painful, but the general achy unwellness in my body since Sunday night was gone.

Strep, strep, go away and DO NOT come back another day!