The Spleenless Wonder

Yep! That's me. No spleen = lowered immunity. This is why I tend to pick up every single virus and infection with which I come in contact. I firmly believe the reason I am not sick all the time is because of my obsessive use of Germ-x and anti-bacterial soap. When one of the kids or Trevor gets sick I Lysol the entire house many times a day to try and avoid getting sick myself. Not only do I get sick, but I stay sick for longer then the average person. A standard sinus infection or cold is 99.9% guaranteed to turn into a lingering case of bronchitis. Luckily I'm vaccinated against pneumonia, but unfortunately allergic to the flu shot.

So my life during cold and flu season is one of constant vigilance and disinfection. As previously recorded in yesterday's blog, I've been sick. I thought I had a cold/sinus infection, but as the day progressed it was determined by the physician and people I work with that I might in fact have the flu. I was summarily sent home with instructions to fill my Rx for Tamiflu and go straight to bed, do not pass go, do not collect $200. The sleep did me good, but the muscle aches and general malaise was not going away. I spent the night waking up over and over again to a sore throat which I self diagnosed as strep when I got out of bed at 5am.

Google. O wonderful, ingenious tool! We don't need doctors anymore! We have the internet!! My symptoms match everything I've read for strep, so that must be it. The problem is that the more I Googled, the more diseases I found that matched my symptoms. Maybe I have a peritonsillar abscess or maybe diptheria or that often misdiagnosed condition pemphigus!!!! Maybe I should go to the doctor today.....

This is part two of today's blog.....it's been about 11 hours since the original post and I did go to the doctor. All it earned me was a brief lecture on the dangers of not coming to see him sooner, a nice thick shot of antibiotic in my posterior region and the joy of taking oral antibiotics for the next 10 days. The good news is that I do not have a peritonsillar abscess, diptheria, pemphigus or even strep throat, just a good case of the flu. (For all of you out there about to post or call to inform me that antibiotics don't do anything to cure the flu, keep your shorts on....it's to prophylactically treat any secondary infections brought on by the flu in my spleenless condition).

So, with strict instructions to not return to work until Monday, I will be resting quietly at home tomorrow with much time on my hands to do absolutely nothing. I can't wait. No kids, husband working outside on the deck and the remote control all to myself. It's a dream come true! Now if I just had a house elf.......