Wimping Out

A woman giving birth can almost imagine the pain of man flu.
– Every woman everywhere

I went to the doctor today. I don’t often go to the doctor. But, this could be serious. I wanted to catch it before it got any worse.

What, you ask?

Well, I’m sick. Oh sure it started with a sore throat and I was able to power through with the help of cough drops. (I ran out at one point and that was kind of hard, but I got through it.)

But, then, it started getting worse. I had a stuffy nose. . .It was really stuffed up. Oh, and I still had to keep sucking on the cough drops because of the throat thing.

But, I figured that some people had it worse than me. No one I can currently think of, but I’m sure others have suffered and it would be wrong for me to make too much of a deal about my impending doom.

But, it still got worse. A cough developed. Yeah, I KNOW! Even with cough drops. And My throut got really sore. . I’m sure it’s probably red. It might be bleeding, or that might just be the cherry cough drops, but either way, it really started to get unpleasant.

But, I’m not gonna be a burden on anyone. Mostly I suffered in silence. . .other than the hacking cough. But, of course, I didn’t need to go to the doctor. I mean, it’s just a cold, or possibly the beginnings of walking pneumonia. But, I can still push on.

But, today. Today was the worst. My ear started to hurt. I mean, this could be serious, right?

So, I went to the doctor.

So, does it hurt all the time?

Well, no. Just when I burp.

When, you burp?

Yeah, I get an intense pain during the burp.

And then it goes away?

Yeah. Until the next time I burp.

Good news. The doctor tells me I’ll live. And despite my fears, I have neither the flu, pneumonia or any unpronouncable condition. I apparently have a mild cold and a slight ear infection.

The doctor perscriped an antibiotic for my ear. But, suggested I use it only if the pain becomes too severe.

We’ve found that an untreated ear infection runs its course in about six days. If we treat it with an antibiotic, we cut that down to five and a half days. Advil and Tylonol are probably your best bet.

How will I know if it’s more serious?

If you go ten days with no relief, come back and see us.

So, I’ll push through. I’m in day four of my ten days of devastation. I’m still eating cough drops like candy and now I’ve added Advil and Tylonol.

If this is like childbirth, I have no idea why any woman would agree to have more than a single child.

Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren.

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