In Which Our Heroine Contemplates the Up Side of Death
It is coming on. I can feel it. The lurking dreaded cold clammy hand of lurgy. Ugh, I feel ghastly. The tickle in the throat, the little bit of a cough, the drip drip drip of the sinuses, the aches in the joints that say "I'm a virus and there's sweet FA you can do about it, baby." I don't get sick often, but boy when I do, I get sssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeck. In fact, that last time I got sick, and had these aches in my back the night before, I woke up the next morning and spent the next night (and in fact the next week) in the hospital. It was an experience and a half. And I will in fact pass on the wisdom gained from that experience to you: if they're pressuring you to have the spinal tap with the fact that if you have spinal meningitis you might die, consider opting for death. Because death will be a heck of a lot less painful, considering you'll probably sleep right through it. And if the first doctor can't manage to get fluid on the spinal tap, again consider the death option before letting a new and exciting doctor near your back with one of those needles. I say this despite the fact that the second doctor cut a deal with me - she got one shot, my boyfriend could hold my hand (the first doctor had kicked him out), and if she couldn't do it in one go, it was over and no one else was going to have a try. Credit to her - she got the fluid in one take, and with the anesthetic I didn't feel pain, just pressure, but that said there was enough pressure that when I held Kit's hand, he had to be very sweet and kind, and just say things like "Remind me never to arm wrestle you, honey." Which is something I always find truly amazing. There you are, or there I was, three days of a 104 degree fever, weak as a kitten all day, all I can do to open my eyes and watch TV, but they start sticking needles into my back and suddenly I'm Xena, Warrior Princess with the grip of steel!

I'm sure it is just a wee little virus.

But if it isn't, don't let those Lutherans get ahold of me!

Love, but no kisses in case you catch what I've got,
Anne