this is disgusting but i feel compelled to share

Well on Friday I was digustingly sick. It was pretty much a 24 hour bug with some small remnants hanging on that I expect to be done with by the end of today.

I was supposed to work another double which is exciting because I need some cash and that is a kickass way to get it. I work in my own unit where I know everyone and the dynamic and it's only four hours earlier than I used to go in every Friday after class. Last week I took a lunch break during the first half of the shift and again in the second half of the shift and the only difficult part was the last hour and a half because everything was so calm. So when I woke up on Friday and my stomach felt all weird I chalked it up to not really getting enough sleep but figuring it'd be fine after a little bit and maybe some breakfast and went to work.

The first thing that I noticed was I was sweating. Who sweats inside after being outside where it was 38 degrees and nothing is going on and it's 6:30 in the morning? I got some iced water and eventually snagged the little fan and aimed it right at my head. And then I made my first trip to the bathroom. After I came back, the charge nurse asked me to go find some more history forms for the patients because we were running low. She had no idea where it was I could find them so I kind of took advantage of that and wandered around a bit honestly trying to find some in various departments but also using several different bathrooms in several different areas of the hospital. I couldn't find any of those forms anywhere anyway (it might just be because we're the only department that uses them, but I don't know) and went back to my computer. Then made another trip to the bathroom.

I was splashing some water on my face and drying it off and realized I looked AWFUL. Pale with sunken eyes because of the ridiculous black circles under my eyes. I was shakey and clammy and STILL SWEATING. So I took a deep breath and walked back to my unit and said "I really need to go home. Right now. I'm sorry." If it had been any other charge nurse, that probably would have been enough. But since I needed to explain myself I succinctly and unapologetically said "I'm shooting out of both ends. I'm shaky, I haven't stopped sweating since I got here, and I'm not going to make it. I may be able to go home and sleep and come back for my normal shift." And then I went home and proceeded to get worse. Hard to imagine, right?

There are some fantastic advantages to working in a hospital. I get free medical advice from the nurses all the time. Free blood pressure checks, great medicine resources I can use at work, and I think one of my last doctor appointments was free because he knows where I work and appreciates my unit so much. There are some disadvantages too though. When I get sick, I get SICK. And then when I'm at home and miserable, I smell like the patients that come in and it makes me feel even worse. It's not that I think I'm better than the patients that come in to the hospital, it's that I don't want to be sick like the patients that come to the hospital. Working there makes me a little paranoid too when I'm sick, wondering at what point it's the flu and what point it's internal bleeding or some other chronic issue.

But after awhile, K brought me some 7up, Vitamin Water, and Kaeopectate. I felt better, at least enough for everything to calm down and let me actually get a little sleep. And when I woke up on Saturday, I felt a gazillion times better. I took it easy yesterday and just ate some soup and crackers with some more 7up. I love Vitamin Water but I have to say my secret weapon when I'm sick with stomach issues is 7up over ice with a bendy straw, saltines, and eventually chicken and stars soup.

I collect stars because I love them. I love astronomy (the looking at stuff part, not the math and physics part) and stars just make me happy. Once I was sick at my parent's house and my mom got me chicken and stars soup because she thought it might make me feel better. I'm pretty sure I rolled my eyes when she said that but then later on I made it and sat down with a bowl of chicken and stars soup. I stuck my spoon in the bowl and all these stars were floating around and I smiled and realized my mom was right. It DID make me feel better.

I'm mostly taking it easy today as well. I'm thinking I'll go to church later on because although two Sundays in a row is an accomplishment, three almost makes it a streak.