Spring Fever - Literally

Sorry for the inactivity on the blog lately - we have been sick :( Unfortunately, our nice 11-day vacation to Atlanta was interrupted early on by a virus, which we came down with after being exposed to it from certain family members (won't name names--you know who you are :) hehe). We tried to keep going, but this virus was not so easy to ignore. Within a couple of days of getting it, I began losing my voice, and I went to an urgent care center there. He said it was not strep or the flu - "just a virus," with flu-like symptoms. Time, he said, was my best friend. Well, time was not my best friend because, for one, we didn't have much time left in Atlanta (and what time we did have was cut short, as we decided to leave early due to feeling so awful), and, two, time only caused this virus to get worse! By last Thursday, I had lost my voice completely, and Ben began to lose his (he probably shouldn't have gone on that fishing trip with my dad that day - but, then again, if he was going to get sicker anyway, might as well do it while having fun, right?). Friday, we decided we needed to get back to where we had health insurance coverage (i.e. VA, rather than GA). We drove that long, horrible drive sick as dogs - and whispering in order to communicate since neither of us could talk! Ordering drinks at Starbucks and asking where the bathroom was at a gas station are things that you just take for granted that you can do - whenever. Well, without a voice, it's pretty hard. We grunted a few noises that were apparently comprehensible enough to be understood (we did get the correct drinks at Starbucks, and I was able to secure the key for the bathroom behind the gas station). However, it was rather awkward and frustrating. Anyway, we made it back late Friday night. Coughing and hacking as we unloaded, we debated going straight to the ER but decided to wait and get some rest first. Not so much. Rest is difficult when you are coughing non-stop! So, after a restless, short night, at 6:15 a.m. Saturday morning, I got up and announced to Ben that we were going to check ourselves into the ER to get checked. We were worried it was bronchitis and even possibly pneumonia, and we knew we couldn't wait until Monday when the regular doctor's offices opened to find out. Turns out, we both basically just had a big mess caused by the virus: laryngitis (of course - we knew that), sinusitis and bronchitis. After the hospital, we went to get our prescriptions, including antibiotics and cough medicine. We also had to get some bare essentials at the grocery just to survive the week (and Ben got me these daisies while he was at it - how sweet!). I slept in the car while he did all that, as the ER folks had already drugged me up on this super-duper strong (narcotic) cough medicine, which apparently causes you to be very drowsy. (I woke up in the middle of my "nap" in the car and was totally surprised to find myself still in the grocery parking lot!) Anyway, we got home and slept almost the entire rest of the weekend--the first time we'd really slept well in a week due the coughing fits we'd been having. Needless to say, we are still recovering! Today I am going on 7 days of being mute and finally my voice is starting to come back (though barely still). I will be SO thankful when this thing is cleared out and I can talk again and feel well again! Ben feels the same way, I know. Plus, things are piling up at work, so it will be sort of nice in a way to get back into routine and get things done there.

Well, as far as our trip to Atlanta, the only things that happened according to plan were that we watched my brother, Daniel, enter and complete his first "pro" bass fishing tournament. It took place at Lake Oconee, and he finished 39th out of about 60 co-anglers (which are fishermen without their own boats--each accompanies a pro angler who has his own boat, and they compete amongst themselves). The great thing was he actually caught something, and many people did not even catch anything that day--it was horrible weather (cold and rainy), and the fish weren't biting very much. He has obviously caught MUCH larger fish before, but for a first-time tournament, we are proud of him for his 1.79 pounder!!

Another thing that happened was we went to fish with my dad and brothers the Friday after we arrived in Atlanta. That day was the day we probably caught the virus, as we drove Matthew to the lake while he had a fever and wasn't feeling so well (although he thought it was just a slight bug and didn't see the need to stay home for a low-grade fever--and I doubt he regrets going, in hindsight!). Anyway, Matthew caught a HUGE bass that day, a 5 lb 2 oz one. It was one of the largest (if not THE largest) bass ever caught by someone in the family. We were proud of him too. If only Daniel could've caught that one in the tournament...

Otherwise, our trip to Atlanta was fun, though somewhat disappointing because of the way it ended and being limited for most of it due to being sick. Oh well, seeing family was the point, and that was still enjoyable despite being sick!

Oh, one other fun thing was we got to stop and see old friends in Greensboro - Rachel and her family (Nathan, Collin and Emma). See her blog post for pictures (which are actually from my camera, but I figured there is no need to post the same ones twice!).