So Much For Christmas Break

I was pretty excited to take my first Christmas break since high school.

No, really.  I know that in real, grown-up life, there is no such thing as Christmas break.  You might get a couple of days off at Christmas, but then it was back to work.  I knew this, and I accepted it.

But last February, my job duties changed and I was to teach only.  No problem, teaching's what I do.  It took a long time, though, for me to figure out that if I was teaching only, that meant I could take the same two weeks off of work that our students had!  Even better, Jay has the same two weeks off of work.

I had big plans, even scheduled an Open House for after Christmas.

Thursday was the last day of work for both of us.

Friday, about 0300, Jay woke up with a dry cough.  He didn't feel bad, just had a cough, no biggie.

We get up Friday, start to do some run-around, hit the laundromat.  At 1500, the fever started.  By the time we were done with laundry, he had "flu eye".  Nebalee teases me about "flu eye", but after surviving the great influenza outbreak of 2000 (or was it 2001?), in which we diagnosed 30 cases a day in the office for weeks, I can spot influenza at thirty paces.

We stopped at the grocery store so I could buy the makin's for chicken noodle soup, some Advil cold and sinus, and gatorade.

I made dinner and he was in bed by 1900.

This morning, I asked if he wanted to go to the doctor and initially his answer was no.  He took a shower to see if he would feel any better and came out of the shower agreeing to go to the doctor.  Our doctor's office is closed on Saturday, so off to Urgent Care we went.  Along with approximately 5,398 other people with "flu-like symptoms".

We checked in at 1030, finally got seen about 1230 and were told what I already knew: Jay has Influenza A (okay, I didn't know if it was A or B, but it really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things).

Poor guy sounds like a dying monster, "groan-inhale-groan-pant-pant-groan-coughcoughcough-ohgodthathurts-groan".  Sometimes he mixes it up; "moan-pant-pant-groan-coughcoughcough-sonuvabitch-coughcough-killmeplease-moan".

Almost $75 later, we have Tamiflu and guaifenisen/codeine cough syrup.

When I asked for a 'scrip for me, I was denied, which pisses me off.  Total breach of best practices, there Urgent Care.  Oh, how I wish my doctor's office was open.  She believes in treating the caregiver, especially considering how contagious influenza is.  So now it's a waiting game: is GunDiva going to develop influenza, or is her immune system still rock solid from years of working in doctor's offices?

Maybe next year, I'll just plan on working through Christmas break.