Time Out

Matt blogged about the Greendrinks event last Wed unfortunately I had to leave the event early. You see, my body decided around 8pm that night that it needed a time out. The way I knew this was from getting lightheaded, no I wasn’t drinking, and how hot I thought the room got.

I left the event and proceeded to drive home from Babylon to Huntington. As I got near my house this unbelievable shiver gripped my body and I couldn’t stop shaking. It continued as I entered the house and I was shaking so visibly my wife, Adele, asked what was wrong? “I don’t know” I said, “I just can’t stop shivering.” I explained feeling lightheaded, she came over and felt my head and offered to make some tea with honey. By the end of my first cup the shiver dissipated and we headed off to our bedroom.

I took my temperature and had 102 fever. My plans for the evening having changed, I hopped into bed and proceeded to sweat profusely through the night. As I woke up in the morning I knew I had a least an infection and hoped nothing worse. I felt like I had been hit by a Mack truck. I called in sick and got back in bed. Knowing my Dr. is closed on Thursdays and I’d have to wait until Friday I also started to take otc things to help.

The long and short, “full blown bronchitis” my doctor said. I told him I put off coming in until necessary, hoping my body would fight it on it’s own. He said “I guess you waited a little too long.”

I went home after seeing the doctor, got into bed and continued to be up and down throughout the weekend.

I learned a few things from this:
1) Our bodies don’t care about our agendas, they decide when it’s enough and take their own time outs
2) I have a very loving family who knows I don’t get sick often, but when I do it’s generally not a minor cold, it’s usually something that knocks me out
3) 20 month olds toddlers are very smart, even though he doesn’t know exactly what’s been wrong, my son Jake was very clingy this weekend with me
4) I need to develop my ability to be a good patient, I got very cranky and irritable
5) We all run too hard - I NEED A TIME OUT should be a more common phrase in my, our vocabularies, before our bodies force it on us

Tom Pellicane - Publisher, canvas Magazine