Thanks for asking, Laura. Yes, same sickness as before. I'm sorry you had had such a miserable time earlier this year, but I'm glad you are doing better.
February first, my son came down with a virus which he shared with me. But he got over his illness in time to return to school the following Monday. I wasn't so resilient. What started with a virus morphed into a sinus infection (sound familiar?), but then settled down in my lungs. I've now got bronchitis with some asthma thrown in. At my worst, my peak flow readings (a measure, basically, of lung capacity) had been off-the-charts bad. And I mean that literally. The charts graphing peak flow readings against height-and-gender-matched average people ends at age 85. My peak flow was a lot worse than that of the average height-matched 85 year old woman.
I've improved now so that I am breathing like an average 70-year-old height matched woman. That's still nearly two decades older than my chronological age. I get winded and fatigued easily, and am currently on short term disability. I actually had gone back to work for a bit over a week, but I was pushing myself so much that I was becoming a danger on the roads when I drove home at the end of the day -- I was so tired. (And for that matter, when I walked from the car to the office I was huffing and puffing as though I had just run a marathon.) I finally waved the white flag and decided I need more time to recover. I would have been happy to work part time, but my employer doesn't allow that; either you are 100% recovered and can do your full duties or else you must not do anything work related. There is no in between whatsoever. (I'm not even allowed to answer students' e-mails.)
On the plus side, I am not in any pain or discomfort. I also am able to watch some TV, go for small walks (my pulmonologist encouraged me to engage in light exercise), take lots of naps, and generally indulge in relaxing activities. In some ways, this is the closest I have had to a real vacation since before my son was born. (My summers off from teaching are spent cooking, cleaning, running errands, and generally tending to everything that is neglected during the school year. I have little "me time" during those two months.) So something good has come of this illness.
Joy,
Lynn
