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So bronchitis really isn't fun!
Jan. 30th, 2022 08:07 pmEspecially not in context of a respiratory pandemic. I wasn't so much scared that I'd fail to get enough oxygen at all, it wasn't that bad. Just racking coughs, inability to sleep due to same, etc. But I was scared that it would set in for days, maybe getting worse, and I'd need to seek medical help - but I had "COVID symptoms" and, back when it was just a cold, I hadn't collected the negative result certificate from my last test. Plus if I needed medical help over the weekend I would've had to go to the city urgent care, where I've never been and don't know how equipped they are to deal with my weak German, and, and.
Fortunately, unlike my last major run-in with bronchitis, the acute phase passed quickly. Around 24 hours - I woke at about 4am on Friday morning with my snotty nose and cough having turned from "sore throat, dry cough" to "rattling cough, aching lungs" type chest infection accompanied by yellowy snot. I was a complete write-off for Friday, although a friend brought me meds, and Shiny reminded me that codeine will act as a cough suppressant. And by Saturday morning at about 4.30, I could manage to lie (on my elaborate pyramid of pillows that kept me at about 40 degrees from flat) down and breathe without feeling the rattle. It came back a bit - the cough seems to be dry during the day and rattly at night now - but, yanno, I could mostly breathe on Saturday. And today I can take about a 3/4 deep breath without hitting the cough point.
I've still been a noodle all weekend.
Mercury has been such a devoted nurse. He refused to leave my side from Thursday night until Saturday morning - even when I opened the doors for him to go out, he sat in first one doorway then the next, glaring at potential threats. Please enjoy this instagram post documenting his round-the-clock nursing efforts.
I got all emotionally tangled because it's not possible to communicate gratitude to a cat! If you marvelise him, he just recognises that you're giving him his natural due! He has no concept of "emotional labour" or "you are a baby you should be frolicking, not worrying about me"! He just thinks it's his job to look after me, even though I am a big human. And unlike humans who might want to look after me, I can't logically explain to him that it's just bronchitis, it's no fun but I won't die of it. He's just a kitty! And when he's sick he tries to hide it from me, so I'm... extra wibbly.
So I gave him 3am snackies, and smoked salmon, and expended my noodle-limb energy on moving the couch to retrieve cat toys.
Fortunately, unlike my last major run-in with bronchitis, the acute phase passed quickly. Around 24 hours - I woke at about 4am on Friday morning with my snotty nose and cough having turned from "sore throat, dry cough" to "rattling cough, aching lungs" type chest infection accompanied by yellowy snot. I was a complete write-off for Friday, although a friend brought me meds, and Shiny reminded me that codeine will act as a cough suppressant. And by Saturday morning at about 4.30, I could manage to lie (on my elaborate pyramid of pillows that kept me at about 40 degrees from flat) down and breathe without feeling the rattle. It came back a bit - the cough seems to be dry during the day and rattly at night now - but, yanno, I could mostly breathe on Saturday. And today I can take about a 3/4 deep breath without hitting the cough point.
I've still been a noodle all weekend.
Mercury has been such a devoted nurse. He refused to leave my side from Thursday night until Saturday morning - even when I opened the doors for him to go out, he sat in first one doorway then the next, glaring at potential threats. Please enjoy this instagram post documenting his round-the-clock nursing efforts.
I got all emotionally tangled because it's not possible to communicate gratitude to a cat! If you marvelise him, he just recognises that you're giving him his natural due! He has no concept of "emotional labour" or "you are a baby you should be frolicking, not worrying about me"! He just thinks it's his job to look after me, even though I am a big human. And unlike humans who might want to look after me, I can't logically explain to him that it's just bronchitis, it's no fun but I won't die of it. He's just a kitty! And when he's sick he tries to hide it from me, so I'm... extra wibbly.
So I gave him 3am snackies, and smoked salmon, and expended my noodle-limb energy on moving the couch to retrieve cat toys.