There are always plenty of bugs breeding at this time of year and other more unexpected dangers: I am very grateful for my current reasonable state of health as I begin this new year of 2006. Unfortunately, my husband, Sir Rianus is not faring so well. Alas, as I write he lies in bed, feverish and feeling under the weather (which is currently cold and foggy)! I suspect he may have the nasty virus that afflicted me in November leading to much coughing, blowing of my soon very red and raw nose, and absence from my workplace. I visited the kind doctor of this royal burgh who issued me with a prescription for some useful drugs that combat infection, but being a stubborn and silly GUCH* princess, did not take them immediately. Thus I was not fully recovered when I decided that it was time to return to my usual place of daily employment. After one hour, I felt that the day would be better spent resting and was on my way to the car when I slipped on some frost...
A moment later, I was viewing the world from a horizontal position and wondering if I had bumped my head on my way down, I had definitely bumped my elbow and my underside was feeling a little tender, and yes I did believe I might have bumped the back of my head! This was BAD news! I gave myself a moment to gather myself and despite wishing to be magically transported home I knew that the right thing to do was to go back inside, and report the incident. Not only did I have to humble myself enough to admit that such a silly mishap had befallen me, I had to get checked by a doctor in Accident and Emergency to check that no serious damage had been done. Ever since I studied head injuries at college I knew that it was something definitely best avoided by people on anticoagulants, such as myself. I was right. As soon as warfarin was mentioned, guidelines were checked and the rules were: 12 hours observation. I had walked into the hospital that morning as a health professional and a few hours later was getting banded as a patient!!!!
From the receiving end, I am pleased to report that my colleagues are indeed wonderful people, and I was looked after very well. I also became aquainted with the night staff which had not been in the original plan but a worsening headache kept me in; happily I was set free the following day.
So I recovered from both cold and fall and have appreciated my sense of smell and lack of brain damage ever since! So please be careful as you go in this slippery season and look after yourself if you do catch a bug, make the most of the sofa time and let the world go on without you for a little while. When you are feeling better you can brighten it all the more with your new appreciation for your senses and life itself :-)
* (Grown Up with Congenital Heart Disease)
