Walking Pneumonia

Upon rereading yesterday's post, which I thought was “brilliant poetry” at the time, I realized a few things. I'm glad I didn't feel well enough to add links, as nearly every sentence would have gone somewhere. More importantly though, I realized that I'm awesome. And if that's not any indication that I'm still under the weather, then nothing is.

It's not so bad though, just annoying. Mainly it's a head cold at this point, stuffy nose and teary eyes. I'm drinking ridiculous amounts of fluid, and soon I'll have a few days off from work to rest. I'm not too worried about myself right now. My dad, whose had his cold for about a week now, finally went to the doctor on Thursday, and was told that he had Walking Pneumonia.

To read the description of this illness, it doesn't sound so bad. It includes the adjective “mild” and basically states that it's an infection that won't incapacitate you and leave you bedridden. It's an infection that you can walk around with, hence the name. Of course, this may be why it's so deadly, especially to near-octogenarians like my dad. A person could continue walking around thinking it's just a cold, going about his normal routine, and only get worse.

For the most part, my dad was getting marginally better each day, at least until Wednesday when he went shopping in the rain. When I got home from work, he was back to being slumped in the living room chair wearing a Winter coat. When he told me Thursday morning that he was planning to see a doctor, I knew it was serious enough for him to be concerned.

So, he's on an antibiotic now, as well as some tablets for his postnasal drip. He's still complaining about having no pep, and he keeps dozing off. I heard a ratcheting sound at one point from three rooms away, and walked down the hall to find him in a chair with his head hanging back, eyes closed, and mouth wide open and snoring loudly. Drowsiness is also a side effect of one of the medications they gave him. He probably caught about twenty minutes of Lost, and I had to fill him in during intermissions when he woke up.

It's funny how things so small that we can't even see them can knock us out of commission. It's been a long, strange week, and I pray that healthier times are ahead for all of us as Easter approaches.