I’m fine with sharing clothes and food with my family, however, I draw the line at illness, which falls under the category of oversharing.
Yesterday, when I started experiencing post nasal drip and an overall crappy feeling, I had an ah-ha moment. I remembered seeing Jessie sneaking a sip of my iced tea a few days earlier. At the time, I put the travel mug in the dishwasher and didn’t think anything more of it. Besides, she typically only drinks from her own glass.
Now, this past weekend made sense. Jess had been under the weather, camped out on the couch and wrapped in a comforter. We didn’t know what was wrong. There was no fever, sneezing or coughing. Other than her not moving, the only clear indicator that something was off was she wasn’t eating.
One of the most challenging aspects of a non-verbal Angel is sleuthing out what is wrong and she wasn’t giving us much to go on. Usually, she will show us where it hurts, or tell us on her Talker, but this time I missed the clue which was her holding a washcloth to her face.
By Monday, her activity level was up and her appetite had returned and it seemed she would be ready to return to her normal schedule by the next day. While waiting in the car for her ride, Jess had the dry heaves. Reluctantly, I made a doctor appointment. Not because I didn’t want to know what was wrong but because it’s usually fruitless to see a doctor if she doesn’t have any clear symptoms. However, even though she’s never had strep, I needed to rule it out.
The doctor’s” best guess” was allergies. All they can do is guess. However, later that day, when my throat started, I realized this must have been what she was dealing with over the weekend. Fortunately, her resting allowed her body to fight the possible cold and that was my plan to prevent from getting sicker as well, that and eat the chicken soup I’d made for her over the weekend. Chicken soup must be what they are implying when saying, feed a cold and starve a fever.
Yesterday, the bounce in Jessie’s step had returned and I was somewhat rested. After too many days of her being housebound and impending weather, we took the opportunity to go strawberry picking. Heavy rain will shorten the season and this was our only chance. Jess liked the idea but started complaining when walking in the field to get to the designated patch. I’m sure if the footing were better and the ground was even, she would have helped pick. Every year, I keep trying to get her to participate and one day she will.
The only help Jess offered was to say we needed ice cream to go with the fruit. She’s always thinking. Ice cream makes a sore throat feel better and nothing yummier than freshly picked strawberries to top it off.
No one likes people who overshare. It’s boorish. At least this illness appears to be fast-moving and I’m grateful.
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