I
woke up in the middle of the night with a slight headache and a matching echo
of discomfort in my throat. Nothing bad–something I would’ve ignored in the
past. With mental sirens sounding loudly, my new response went into hyper speed.
Opening the medicine cabinet, I grabbed Mucinex DM and quickly downed a tablet.
Scooping up a new box of Vicks and my thermometer I headed to the family room
to set up a sleeping area that removed me from the rest of our household. I
returned to the bathroom long enough to spray surfaces with Lysol. With my
warmest robe and pillows snuck from the bed, I shifted quietly into the other
room. In the darkness, I snuck into the kitchen to add to my disinfectant arsenal:
more Lysol spray and hand sanitizer. I grabbed a new mask and added two bottles
of water, placing everything on the table next to the couch.
I
fell back asleep easily, but upon waking I realized that our household, like many
others, no longer can ignore a nighttime onset of a stuffed nose or slight
fever. With both the flu and COVID on the rise, symptoms I ignored in the past
become warnings to medicate and isolate as soon as possible. I woke up before
dawn and found that a normal temperature raised my spirits. The slight headache
and sore throat remained as a shadow of the night before. I drank a bottle of
water and settled back into sleep.
For
the rest of the day, I wore a mask around my family when they came in to the
room. I stayed snoozing on the couch watching disaster movies. I took a second dose
of medication even though my symptoms were gone. Waking up this morning with my
usual energy level, I’m thankful that whatever ailed me passed within a few
hours once a tablet hit my system.
Copyright 2025 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman
