Well, this was the illness that wouldn’t quit. In my last post, I was sick, but the full brunt of it hadn’t quite hit me yet. That night–Monday–was a long one. I tossed and turned all night, racked with nausea and alternately shivering and sweating. Tylenol was barely even touching the fever at that point (over the course of the week, I regularly saw 102.8F), and my head hurt worse than I think it ever has. I got up Tuesday morning and called for a doctor’s appointment. I had to get my brother, Chip, to drive me–thank you, dahling.

So get this–she said she thought it was Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. She ordered a blood test, but apparently it takes a while to get the results, and RMSF needs to be treated right away, so she started me on 10 days worth of Doxycycline. So I went back to bed. I slept a tiny bit better that night, but Wednesday afternoon I started throwing up, so the doctor called in a prescription for compazine. I was guardedly optimistic, but this entire time (three full days now) I’ve been comatose in the bed, with excruciating all-over body pain, plus the headache and fever, and now the nausea and vomiting.

Thursday morning I get up and I’m covered in a rash. My face looks like I’ve got a severe sunburn; the rest of me just has this . . . rash. I go back to the CDC website and look at all their lovely photos of people with this rash, and it looks to me like definite confirmation. I have a tick-borne illness. Don’t remember being bitten by a tick; don’t even remember seeing one. Apparently, my self-checking habits leave something to be desired.

So, I just mark time all day, fighting back the nausea (a losing battle). I didn’t sleep a wink that night. The rash felt like my skin was on fire. This was NOT on the CDC website–their stuff says that the rash doesn’t itch. Hmm. So I called the doctor, again, and she wanted to see me. I recruit another friend (thanks Erik!) to drive me, the doctor takes one look, and announces that I’m allergic to the antibiotic. Lovely.

An aside at this point: This was now Friday afternoon. I had been completely out of commission for four days. I don’t think I have ever just checked out like that before. I made no attempt to keep track of what was going on with the children; I don’t even think I laid eyes on Toby for about 24 hours at one point. The house could’ve burned down around my ears and I wouldn’t have noticed. I watched a little bit of television, but anything loud or overly visual made me feel sick. Reading wasn’t an option. I managed a shower every day, but not clean clothes. I got really, really tired of lying in bed. Wednesday afternoon, Lee developed a sore throat–probably the stress of having to deal with everything plus me. He stayed home with me on Thursday, and we just sat in the bed being miserable together. This did not, however, relieve the misery one iota.

So it’s now Friday afternoon, and the doctor prescribes a different antibiotic, plus prednisone, plus a different nausea medication. I go home (throw up), give the prescriptions to Lee, and get back in the bed. Lee calls from the pharmacy–there’s a glitch. This antibiotic is available only by IV. Hunh. After a few minutes of concern that I’m going to have to be hospitalized (hmm . . . they have good drugs there, don’t they?) and a bunch of phone calls between pharmacists and doctors and one very patient spouse (who by now has been diagnosed with strep throat!), we finally find a compounding pharmacy that will make it for me. Lee flies over there and gets it just before they close.

And ta-da! A little steroid action, one dose of Phenergan, and a good night’s sleep later, and I’m a new woman. I’ve been up and about all day (well, about is relative–I’ve been shuffling around my bedroom, occasionally venturing to the laundry room), and am even eating a bit. Not a tremendous amount, but enough to make me feel a whole lot better. My face still itches a bit, and it’s beginning to peel, but the fever seems to be staying down (knock on wood).

With any luck, I’ve seen the end of this one. Word to the wise: wear bug spray!