It’s been over a month now that I’ve been fighting a really nasty cold that turned into some serious bronchitis.  No joke.  A month.

It started off as mild allergies – sniffling here and there and maybe some sneezing, then turned into a full blown cold, then the flu, back to a cold, then dwindled down to allergies, then recently, back to some serious a$$ kicking in the form of a fever/chills, severe congestion, couging, which travelled down to right under my neck right around my collarbones complete with some serious bronchospasms.  A month of this, and yes, I have rested.

Okay … I’m a liar.  I have rested for the most part, however, it’s been rough sitting still.  For two weeks, I did nothing except run two times (a half one week, and a 5k the next) – nothing in between.  Both times I ran sick, and both times I did well.  The next race, I ran really sick, however, at that race, too, I did fairly well.  I ran, Elk Grove’s Running of the Elks, I was not sick, and did really well, however, two days later, I ended up severely ill! What the heck? Can’t a girl catch a break? I mean, geez Louise already!

Before we get any farther, I am an adult, and I have been a nurse for MORE than half of my life.  Although I am a nurse, I’m NOT a fan of conventional, modern medicine.  I don’t take medications except for the occasional tylenol or ibuprofen, and even that is few and far between. I haven’t taken an antibiotic for years … I mean YEARS, and I still refuse to do so. I am a big fan of preventative health care, and can be seen shaking my head at “reactional medicine.” I guess I’m just tired of taking people who don’t take care of themselves at all, and who make tons of excuses for their health (i.e., I don’t have enough time, I have kids, I’m too tired, it costs too much, etc.). So many people want a pill to take care of their illnesses or for weight loss, but can’t seem to realize that if they had just taken care of themselves they would not have been in the position that they were in to begin with. There are NO magic pills for anything!!!

So … yes, I’ve been sick, and, yes, I have been working out and running thru some of my illness when I can. I am a big girl, and I know my own limits.  I don’t need people telling me that I’m not going to get any better because I never take the time to rest.  What? (Mind you, this is a nurse colleague of mine who does ZERO exercise or exertion telling me what to do.)  I am the BEST expert on my own body, and I really don’t need an opinion from someone who knows absolutely nothing about me.  Contrary to popular belief,  I HAVE been resting, trust me. It may not seem like it, but I have been. I know my body and I know when it’s time to stop. And last week, I did break down and asked for a prescription for a Z-pack which I did take. No one forced it down my throat, I took it because I knew that I needed it.  Last week, I even covered my shift because I knew that I was too sick to go to work when I could have just called in sick and left my shift open and my co-workers short.   (Who does that?)

On a bright note, I got some news about my injured shoulder.  I was able to FINALLY get a referral and got in to see my favorite Physical Thearapist, Todd!  As you can remember, I’ve had this injured, bum right shoulder since December.  Despite resting it as much as I can, it hasn’t really healed. I’ve resorted to alternative medicine in the form of accupuncture which has made a remarkable difference (that’s another blog post for another day)! But going in to see Todd made all the difference as he was able to fit all the pieces together and come up with a real diagnosis!  What I thought was my shoulder all this time has actually NOT been my shoulder, but rather my rib joints! What the heck? Who would have thought? Seriously, Todd was able to pin point all my areas of pain and make a concrete diagnosis.  “First thru third rib joint irritation secondary to muscle strain (tight pecs and lats).” He showed me that when he pushed the muscle out of the way of the ribs that were affected, that my pain was alleviated. That’s true because the huge knot that’s in my back, when I have it pushed down, there is no pain what so ever, and my ROM is much improved!  Who would have thought?  That’s why I think Todd is the greatest PT ever!  He’s helped me thru a lot of my issues regarding my musculoskletal system.  So I now have exercises to help stretch the muscles that are injured, and he has assured me that I will heal, but that I need to be patient … something that I am not good at!

So … my lessons … be patient and take care of myself… I will heal.  I have NO doubt that I will.  Those that don’t know me can just shut up.  I have no time for naysayers.  Leave me alone.  I know that I’m hard headed – I’ve been called that my entire life, so it isn’t anything new. I’m tenacious. I’m good, and I know what I’m doing.  I’m busy getting well, and besides … I’m going to do whatever I want to do anyway. =)