The girl who never gets sick...got sick.

Yep...my 5 year track record of "never getting sick" has been broken.  And by "never getting sick," I mean never getting sick enough to need more than a good day or two in bed to recharge. 

Today, after fighting a bad cough and cold for over 2 weeks (which includes a 4 day holiday weekend, mostly in bed), I made a visit to the doctor.  I am SICK.

Seriously, its not a big deal to have to go to the doctor, but I'm an "Apple a Day" kind of gal. I typically beat a cold in 2-3 days tops with a lot of rest.  Not having to go to the doctor is just my way of measuring my general "healthiness."  But even I know, when you have to go, you have to go.

Admittedly, I pushed myself to work, because when you are a Temp, there is no such thing as paid sick days, and I already had a very light pay week last week with the Thanksgiving Holiday. But that really had nothing to do with the decision to go to the doctor. I really thought I could beat this thing on my own.

For over a week, I took everyone's advice. I drank tea with honey and lemon, I tried a Nettie Pot, I ate vitamin C, I drank a gallon of OJ, I gargled with warm water and salt.  At work, I ate Ricola cough drops and Cold Tylenol.  At bedtime I'd take NyQuil. 
I'd wake up feeling a little better than the day before, but at the end of each day I felt worse.

After 9 days of trying to get healthy on my own, I realized this was more than I could handle with home remedies.  The earliest I could get was a Friday morning appointment with my doctor (3 days later).  I went ahead and made the appointment, figuring I could cancel if I was feeling better by then.  

Well, there was no cancelling this appointment. In fact, I showed up to my doctor's  office 40 minutes early, hoping the doctor would see me sooner, so I could get quick relief from this cough (which the doctor diagnosed was from a sinus infection)!  All I can say is that it has been 12 hours and 2 doses of prescription drugs... I feel better ALREADY!

The point of my story is not to bore you with my sick saga.  It just goes to prove that  a person who never gets sick, can get sick.  Its DANGEROUS to go without medical insurance, because you never know. 

Today, I was thankful for my coverage from The Freelancers Union.  You have to jump through a few small hoops and it takes about a month to get qualified, but when you are in, you are in. I hope I don't have to use it often, but at least I have it when I need it.  The way I look at it, its just one less stress or factor in the decision making process about dealing with your heath. 

I am also thankful to my steady gig at Elastic, which helps me pay the monthly premium (which is just under $500 a month).  

That's my story...I'm looking forward to a restful weekend and bouncing back to my old self on Monday.