Working with young children you get exposed to a lot of sickness. Yucky stuff, colds from noses that drip constantly, fevers that parents have attempted to suppress with Tylenol before bringing them to school. My personal favorite is diarrhea. I have to admit that sometimes I am a sympathetic vomit-er. I see someone vomiting and then the gag reflex just kicks in. Parents get called and are supposed to pick up right away but they often don’t.
I remember when Michelle was in kindergarten and I got a call at work that she was ill. I left to pick her up and when I got there, I was let into the building and led up to her classroom, where she was sitting basically in the middle of her room in front of a large garbage can. To this day she remembers that. While she was sick her teacher, Sr. Maureen read to the rest of the class. She said she was embarrassed and I can totally see why.
I have always been the person who goes to the doctor when I get sick. In my early adulthood I would visit Dr, Maurice. He was a great doctor. His office was in the neighborhood and his office person Dorothy would handle insurance etc. She was an older lady, and got you in and out right away. Dr. Maurice was a great guy, more on him later. In my teens, twenties and thirties he would treat me for frequent sinus infections. I used to get a lot of migraines too. This summer I found myself barely able to breath and so I left work and went to immediate care. Fluid in the ears, allergy complications and so that doctor put me on Symbicourt.
So this week after my Executive Director was walking around like Typhoid Mary and spreading germs all over the place, I got sick. On Tuesday the pain in the center of my chest was awful. Thankfully no pain in the jaw, or left arm. No leg swelling or diarrhea so I surmised no heart attack. But really how would you know that you were having a heart attack if you don’t know what one feels like.
Thursday I went to Dr. Lipinska and got more Symbicourt, an asthma inhaler and some Prednisone in case it get worse. Environmental asthma. The center is old and dirty and the basement smells like moldy butt.
So the moral of the story is When you are sick you go to the Doctor. No excuses when you have insurance. Do what is necessary to be well and don’t pass on germs to others.
Reasons for Gladness 