ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER
Well, my vacation was going great until I woke up Tuesday morning with a sore throat. This is unusual for me, but still, I didn't think much of it. As the day went, on I found myself feeling really rundown, so I decided to make it an early evening, and was in bed by 10:30. The next morning, I woke up with my throat feeling horrible, and my voice almost unrecognizable. I should have known I was in trouble when I spit up a little blood in the shower. Still, this was the last day of Siggraph that Tim and I were going to attend, and we had a full day ahead of us. Within an hour or two, I could barely speak, and by the end of the day, I told Tim, I was ready to see a doctor (and oh yes, I'm sparing you the gory details, but I'll just say that my throat looks like a horror movie). We went to an E.R. and four hours later I walked out with the diagnosis of a severe throat infection and a 105 degree fever. I was given antibiotics and told it was OK for me to fly home but I should see my regular ear nose and throat doctor right away when I get back.
So the next morning I had to fly home. LA to Atlanta went without a hitch... well, except for the screaming infant in the seat directly in front of me... and the other screaming infant two rows ahead... and those kids who kept singing 'Row Row Row Your Boat'... and that guy who kept whistling...
You'd think I would have slept through all this, especially since the doctor gave me Tylenol and Codeine for the pain in my throat, but I must be immune to Codeine's comforting effects. The problems were in Atlanta. I was only supposed to have about an hour layover, but due to thunderstorms in the area, the flight was delayed an extra half hour until 9:45 p.m. The airport was packed, and they kept telling us to hold on. At 10:15 we were told we were about to begin boarding and as were standing in line, we were suddenly told to go to another nearby gate while another bunch of people boarded our plane which somehow was now bound for Florida. Once we got to the new gate, we were told that there was no crew available to fly us to Washington, and we'd have to wait until 12:40 a.m. to leave. We nearly had a riot on our hands here! Then, yet another delay - this time, a flat tire on the plane that hadn't even come to pick us up yet. So now we're looking at a 1:15 a.m. departure. Just before we got on the plane, it was announced, that Airtran was going to give us all a free one-way ticket for our inconvenience. If only I was physically able to scream...
Now, keep in mind, I'm sick here. I can barely speak above a whisper, and I sound like the worst throat cancer patient you've ever heard. I've been on antibiotics for less than 24 hours and I've still got a fever - maybe not 105 but I'm still warm, and this just sucks. And my poor sister! She was expecting to pick me up at the airport at 10:30 p.m. and now she's looking at 3:00 a.m. Fortunately for me, I sat next to two delightful people on the plane back to Washington. One of them was a nurse, and she explained a lot about what might be going on in my throat and what might have to be done. Anyway, by the time we were on the ground, and I was walking to my sister's car, it was 4:00 a.m.
I got home at 4:45 a.m. (Friday morning) thanks to my wonderful sister, and I was in bed by 5:30. At 7:30 I got back up and called Hillary at work. She's going to be on vacation all next week, and so I wanted to touch base with her quickly. I only talked to her for a couple of minutes, but I completely wore out my voice doing so. Later that morning, I was having trouble talking to the doctor's office, and so Hillary called them for me, told them she was my sister, and negotiated an 8:30 a.m. appointment for me this morning. Thanks Hillary! You Rock! Enjoy your vacation and have fun with the Outlaws!
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