Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The Cold Patient

I just got over a nasty cold. The reason I knew it was nasty…other than the lack of energy, stuffy head, sore throat, nasal drip and coughing jags…PaulA and Sweet Wishy were staying clear of me. I am not a baby when it comes to colds, although I do whimper now and then…and sometimes I roll around in my bed and moan. I never take cold medication, not because I am a freak like Tom Cruise and not believe in meds…but I don’t think anything really helps except massive sleep. Everyone has their own way of handling a cold…and we are all a little different.

When PaulA gets a cold…he soldiers on. He doesn’t let it stop him. He gets up and goes to work. He marches on…through the daily trenches of life. (So dramatic.)

When Colinboy gets a cold…he has to first make sure it is a cold…and not a rare disease from South Africa. He goes online to WebMD, researches his symptoms to rule out diseases such as necrotizing fasciitis…that nasty flesh-eating disease. He makes sure he is going to live another day.

When Chelsea gets a cold…she deals with it…as long as there something she can take. She wants it over and over now. A trip to CVS, down the cold remedies aisle, and she is set to go…with a med for every symptom.

When Bri gets a cold…she never says a word about…let alone complain. She can have something wrong with her and I’m the last to know. Turns out last spring she had Mono and was walking around with a swollen neck gland for 10 days before she decided to show me the tree trunk she had for a neck.

Yes, the 5 of us are all different…but if you take the good parts of how we each handle a cold and combine them…we are:

The perfect cold patient: Someone who…doesn’t complain to anyone…and after ruling out Ebola disease from the Sudan …and taking massive meds…soldiers on through their day…and gets to bed early.

Together we are the perfect cold patient.

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