Feeling like dying is overrated

Ah... so much to say, so little time and energy. So as most of you may or may not know, I've been ill, very ill many would say. Long story short, I caught the nasty flu that was going around which caused me to develop bronchitis. Because of Kaiser's stellar care and my own reluctance to throw in the face of every health care worker my complete medical history, the bronchitis irritated my asthma (which I thought I no longer had), and I ended up in the emergency room to get respiratory treatment after 12 merciless days of fever, aches, no appetite, no sleep, and constant coughing. The coughing was so severe at one point that I now have a chipped molar from passing out onto the bathroom wall/floor.

Why would I ever share the ugly and personal details of what happened to me? So I can say for certain to everyone who reads this, don't be like me and be reluctant about your medical history! Know it backwards and forwards and really push it on to medical personnel so that you might even sound worse off than you are, because they would rather not treat you if they don't have to! I'm sure some (maybe all?) of you already know this, but I had to learn it the hard way and wouldn't wish my experience upon anyone. The upside is that I'm now finally on the mend (it's going ever so slowly, but at least it's going) and hopefully now I have some antibodies to use against future flus (H5N1 anyone?).

As always, I am ever thankful for my family and friends who helped me out in one way or another and I'm better for it. The most interesting part of this whole experience was the psychological impact this had on me. It's quite a thing to not feel like you're ever going to get better and be basically shut in for two weeks (the chicken pox wasn't nearly as bad for me). I have no clue how people who are sicker than I was deal with such feelings of isolation and despair. Of course, now I'm highly motivated to get physically healthier and get mentally tougher.

I'll leave you with one of many of my favorite lines from The Princess Bride that I feel is particularly apropos... "Get some rest. If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything."