Creature Comforts Taken for Granted

cw: illness

One of the things we never really think about when we're sick is how nice it is to be at home, surrounded by our own stuff and the comforting environment we're used to. Early last year, I had a really stark reminder of that when I had a really bad case of Pancreatitis that led to a several day stint in the hospital and having my gallbladder removed. There was nothing quite like being at home once I was well enough. I was surrounded by all my own stuff and the peace and quiet of familiar comforts for the days I needed to fully recover. 

Of course being ill in the hospital is a little different. There, you have doctors and nurses looking after you and the minor annoyances of their frequent interruptions are for your own benefit. They give you medicine and see to your dietary needs or restrictions. You're looked after in a way that you can't get at home, despite the lack of familiar.

This weekend, my grandsons were over so their mother could get in some much needed study time for her nursing courses. The littlest, who is two, got sick sometime around 3 in the morning and I spent the rest of the morning up with him. He was understandably miserable. Not only was he sick, but each time he got sick, his mom wasn't there to comfort him. Grandma is only second best in those moments. We sent him home for mom to care for sometime in the mid-morning after which he improved immensely and I don't think it was all timing. Being around mom works wonders.

The following day we drove across the state to attend a visitation and funeral. Sometime Sunday night after the visitation, I started feeling pretty sickly myself. I have a pretty shit immune system thanks to Fibromyalgia so getting sick shouldn't have been a surprise, but still, it was miserable. We're fiveish hours from home and I spent all night Sunday violently ill. I missed the funeral Monday because I was sleeping off the night before. Being sick far in a hotel, far from home, isn't all it's cracked up to be. 

Even spending the day sleeping and recovering isn't the same. I've missed meds, had trouble with food and clothes and what I really want is a day at home in my own bed to really feel 100% again. The weather has turned colder and as a result of being sick, sleeping all day and the weather, I've spend most of tonight up with a horrible migraine. I don't take my migraine medicine with me everywhere because they're intermittent, and so those are home. 

In a few hours we're supposed to drive home and while I look forward to getting home, the stomach bug passed to my husband, who normally drives because I get incredibly sleepy in the car. So we're going to figure out how to get home tomorrow, both of us tired and miserable. Then we're both expected back to work on Wednesday. A strong reminder how much being an adult and having to care for yourself can really suck. 

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