so,  we’ve just had a  long weekend. how did you celebrate woman’s day?

me, i spent it flat on my  back – and no, not in “that” way. i truly don’t recall when last i was this ill. 1990 maybe?  and just when i had started back at training. was planning on going to the boxing gym after work on thursday, but as i was doing my last scene of the day, i realized i was sounding a little hoarse. i wasn’t feeling bad, i just sounded funny. and by the time we wrapped, i realized i was coming down with something.

this time, i decided  i was going to pollyanna myself well. i suffer chronically from sinus infections in winter, so i’m no stranger to (expensive) doctor’s visits for the obligatory antibiotics. i really didn’t want to do that again, so i dosed myself with propolis and and tiny bottle of something called infagard which i bought for a staggering R150 from someone who swore it would fix me overnight. just take a swig and hold it under your tongue till it stops burning and then swallow. well, let me tell you, burning was an understatement. it feels like you’re being seared alive, like the soft, delicate lining of your mouth is being eaten away by metal-etching-acid, like coke dissolving a penny. i did it quite a few times, trying to ignore the pain and the tears which would well up involuntarily and  uncontrollably, but eventually when my mouth felt too raw, i had to give it up. and i certainly wasn’t feeling any better.

anyway, long story short – i spent about 3 nights unable to breathe, coughing, and trying to stem the tsunami flowing from my nasal cavities while a mountain of soggy kleenex built up next to the bed. last night i woke up choking because i’d somehow stopped breathing. !!!  all in all a little scary. yesterday i finally caved and went to see my doctor who diagnosed me as on the verge of bronchitis. when i went to dischem to get my meds, the line was probably 20 people deep and every second one seemed to have the same hacking cough that i have. seems there’s a radical flu making the rounds, trying to claim as many victims as possible before winter goes into hibernation once again. (so if you come down with this thing, don’t wait – please see a doctor, cos you eventually will have to). last night i was coughing so badly that i had to try to sleep sitting upright in the hope that the wretched hacking would subside. the dreaded lurgie seems to also have claimed my voice, so it was very interesting to hear the toad-like croak ensuing from my throat during scenes today. i won’t be surprised if they want me to dub myself once i’m better.

despite feeling like death, the bf and i also managed to host a little braai for a good friend’s birthday and i ran around the garden spinning some fire for the first time in ages. i guess pretending i wasn’t ill, only made things worse, so that i spent most of woman’s day out for the count. inbetween feeling wretched, i also made my first fire hoop in years, a special request from my massage therapist. i liked the reminder that i am a woman who knows what to do with a power tool! 😉 and i bartered for a number of massages! yay!

one of the other cool things about being ill, was that i surfed upon the warped brain of david thorne, a self-professed trouble maker over at 27b/6. he’s very funny though i doubt i’d want to be the target in his sights. check out his site – he seems to have become somewhat of a interweb icon. then my other great find was an agony aunt column unlike anything you’ve ever read, called dear sugar,  over at rumpus.net. it’s agony aunt advice which reads like literature and is bound to have you weeping.

anyway, i’m now on day 2 of antibiotics and i swear i felt worse today. i’m hoping the antibiotics kick in soon because i’m so over being ill. the doctor wanted to give me a sick-note for the rest of the week, but i just had to laugh. she obviously has forgotten the maxim, “the show must go on!” if i don’t show up for a few days all the scenes i’m in have to be rescheduled and i’m inconveniencing a whole crew. so, i just stood around on set hacking inbetween takes.  i have to admit, being this ill has made me feel very much mortal. the difficulty breathing, the hacking, the gunk in my lungs which make me feel like i’m drowning…. yup, to quote christina storm, “ek is nie ‘n fokken meermin nie!” *

so, can i just get well now, please?!

i’m going to keep reminding myself: every cell in my body vibrates with energy and health, my body heals quickly and easily, i am the embodiment of radiant well-being!

*i’m not a fucking mermaid!”