Spectacular

I've been sick for the last few days, had to work one of them, but the rest of this week I've been home, hardly able to function. The sad thing is that I could study with all this great "time off" but I can't focus enough through the fuzziness of my head to let anything get through!

This morning I finally went to the doctor. Actually...I went to the Minute Clinic down the street as I learned they take my insurance and don't charge a copay.

The diagnosis...Bronchitis. And I'm completely unsurprised. She prescribed an inhaler, a codeine-based cough syrup to use at night, and an antibiotic. It's likely that this is viral, not bacterial, so with the practitioner's "blessing" I'm waiting a couple days to see what happens before I fill the other prescription. If it gets better, as it seems to be doing, then clearly, it's viral.

This afternoon I decided to take a nap. Unfortunately, I'd used the inhaler once, and that apparently made the expectorant I've been taking work that much better! It seemed the very act of my head hitting the pillow, even an elevated pillow, was a cue for my body to violently reject every bit of potential fluid in my lungs or bronchioles. This didn't leave me the possibility of simply clearing my throat a little...no. This caused me to have to sit up and double over coughing so hard I thought my very head might come off!

Fun.

After about an hour of this, and realizing how desperately I needed sleep considering that I was falling asleep immediately and waking up every 5 minutes (no kidding!) to cough like this, I stuck it out hoping that eventually it would be over. NOW I understand why she prescribed the special cough syrup! I didn't take it this afternoon, but I WILL tonight! Without a doubt!

You know, though, this isn't so bad. I could be suffering something that much worse. And really, the fact that this is happening during Lent, is, no doubt, all part of God's most wonderful plan. It's enforcing a fast I didn't plan, but which ultimately is for my own good. And it's giving me something real to offer up. Not just "ooh, I miss my chocolate", but rather.... "ugh, I miss being able to breathe without going to my knees in agony!"

(Note to literalists: yes, I am speaking with a certain degree of hyperbole!)

In all seriousness, we are all invited to join our sufferings to that of Our Lord, and if we have something in this life to suffer, this is the perfect season to recognize that call, and offer it up in reparation for sin, for the conversion of souls, on behalf of a country that refuses to pray for itself, etc. I'm grateful to have this to offer. It seems that I can't really do a good job of self-imposed suffering, so God in His Mercy has chosen something for me, and for that...I'm grateful. And even joyful.

Now...just don't ask me about my "joy" tonight as I'm trying to sleep and experiencing the really fun head-pillow-violent cough mechanism triggered every five minutes for an hour or so before I can finally sleep. And only God knows how long any sleep will last before the violent coughing will start up again.

Hope y'all are having a great Lent!