Yes, I have gotten sick.
In fact, I have been sick enough to do something which I rarely ever do. I called out from my work - twice! First on Sunday night, and next on Wednesday night.
Here's the funny thing: by Sunday evening, I was wondering if I might not have made a mistake, feeling better as I was. True, I was very tired, and also weak. But I had come into some work shifts over the years feeling quite a bit worse. And I don't like to waste sick days, especially early in the year. There have been years where I never call out sick, never use even one sick day. My thinking is that I don't want to call out every time something is a bit wrong, because you can easily become the boy who cried wolf.
By Monday and Tuesday, I felt mostly better. I woke up on Monday morning of my own accord, and with brilliant sunshine pouring into the bedroom. Still feeling a little under the weather, but my assumption - mistaken, it turns out - was that the worst was over.
You see, it started on Friday night during my overnight shift. I simply could not stay awake, which is rare. I mean, there are shifts that are tough to get through, but this one was ridiculous. And it carried into the next day, when I was working the weekend shift. It lasted all day, and when I got home, I went to sleep at 5pm, then slept until well past 5am the next morning, with maybe an hour and a half in between when I was awake by design. By Saturday afternoon, I kept getting the chills, then putting something on, and getting too hot and sweaty. So I would take a layer or two off, and I would once again feel cold, and so on and so forth. There were body aches. And I just felt weak, physically.
Again, though, I was feeling more or less halfway decently by Tuesday afternoon, before my work from home shift. Then that night, it seemed to come again, only in a different form. Still got a bit of the chills, hen too warm, but it was not as bad as it had been on Saturday. No, that was not the problem. Now, it was an annoying tickle in my throat, a fatigue and sense of weakness once again, and serious nausea. I tried eating, and then decided it was necessary to call out from work when it became clear that I could not hold anything down.
My feelings of nausea were particularly alarming. Twice, after laying down in bed, I had to rush back into the bathroom, and had to do that heavy breathing, attempting to control myself. Opening a window helped, especially since the cool air felt refreshing. I was glad that we had seemed to get back into the winter season, because for things like that, chilly to cold air is refreshing and restorative. But the weakness that I felt was pretty serious.
Right now, I have only really had one actual meal in the last day and a half or so. That would be the chicken soup which my girlfriend made for me. Otherwise, my diet consisted of the things she recommended, which included crackers, bananas, and almost burnt toast (well, bagels). Not exactly the best diet, and not the kinds of food that will replenish my strength in a hurry, but it's something. Also, I have not had serious bouts with nausea and vomiting like I did yesterday.
Still, I feel weak. My arms and legs are unusually tired and weak, almost wobbly. And the fatigue is serious, almost overwhelming. I almost get the sense that I could sleep for 12 or so straight hours, if I allowed it (and if circumstances allowed it).
The problem is, another weekend is coming up. And I work both jobs, to boot. I may have to take another sick day, although I really hesitate to do so. It's not something which I ever like to make a habit of. But the way I feel...well, if it does not significantly improve, then calling out from at least one shift from the two jobs is going to have to be a very serious consideration.
There is one bit of good news: I tested negative for Covid. It's strange, because I am one of the few people whom I know who has never gotten Covid, at least not yet. For a while, I was almost certain that this was Covid, since it had gravitated from one kind of illness (the body aches and chills) to another (the ticklish throat and annoying cough, the nausea, and runny nose). The only things which have remained consistent throughout is the fatigue and the feeling of being unusually weak.
Let's see what happens in the next few days.
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