A Tale of Sickness

I don't get sick often. I'm super healthy, but over the weekend I was pretty ill. Sore throat, congestion, chills, aches, fever. You know it. I'm feeling better today, so that's GOOOOOOD! In the midst of my pain, I remembered the last time I was sick, nearly eight months ago... *twinkly music transitioning us into a dream/flashback sequence*

...The year was 2010.

The location was Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. 

I was on vacation in Utah with Zane and his parents. We were having a grand old time, and I lost my health. I blame it on altitude sickness, which shot my immune system, which allowed me to contract some horrible infection in my head.

Let me describe my pain: throat and ear throbbing, waking in the middle of the night in tears, ibprofen overdosing in vain, cringing through waves of pain pulsating through my head.

Zane found the nearest doctor to Bryce Canyon, a hospital in Panguitch, Utah. It serves several small towns in the area - "area" being miles and miles. I'm a city-girl, so this freaked me out.

Panguitch Hospital is only open on certain days of the week. I'm a city-girl, so this freaked me out.

We had to wait an entire day until the hospital was open.

This is me on my day of painful waiting. I was not happy, though I tried to look it. Are you convinced?

We went to the hospital first thing the next morning, while Zane's parents hiked in the beautiful canyon. When we arrived to the nearly empty parking lot and walked into the deserted, yet surprisingly new and clean hospital, the woman at the desk told us that we would have to wait until 4:00pm because they were booked all morning.

Then she told us that there was a nice skate park nearby if we wanted to go there while we wait.

I wanted to scream and throw things and say, "I'm in severe pain, lady! Do you think I want to skateboard? I can't even walk without crying from pain! Your eye make-up looks bad, and there's no one in this place except us, so how can you be booked?!"

I didn't say that. We left and came back at 4:00pm. Then I saw a nice, young, attractive, hipster intern about my illness. That made things better.

He checked me for strep. Negative. No inflammation in my ear. No sinus infection. My illness was a mystery. The doctor that he was working under (old, creepy, non-hipster) concurred that there was no obvious reason for my illness. Since I was just passing through they gave me antibiotics, which worked.

The next day Zane's parents took us to a waterfall they had discovered while we were at Panguitch hosipital. It was an extremely mild hike of Bryce Canyon.

I'm obviously feeling better.

*Twinkly music bringing us back to the present* Luckily my illness this weekend didn't involve too much pain or missing out national parks. Although I did have to miss out on meeting baby Elinor in her first week of life. Boo.

But! I went to the doctor yesterday to confirm I didn't have strep throat. I didn't! I don't! Non-contagious! I'm holding babies tonight!!! 

P.S. You get 50 points if you spot the special person who traveled out west with us.