Some notes on my summer…
My summer was fine and dandy up until July. On July 26th, I got the flu. 103-degree fever, very achey all over. It hurt to even walk…
The following week, I want in for hydration therapy because I still wasn’t feeling well. The IV drip didn’t help because it turned out I was dealing with a virus that wasn't showing up on blood tests. I was devastated because I wasn’t getting better and realized I’d have to cancel my trip to Europe in September. I cried.
But, despite my acupuncturist’s insistence that I stay home and rest, over the next 2 months, I just couldn’t get it into my brain that I was sick. I was functioning although at a lower level. I even went out to a gala. I looked lovely on the outside but felt like hell. Was it worth the opportunity to wear this beautiful gown?… Maybe…
But my body showed me who was boss. I eventually had to stop seeing clients for a while. In fact, I may have even lost a few. I hated having to tell my favorites that I was out of commission.
My sister could see that I was struggling a bit and drove in to stay with me. It was wonderful having her. She picked up the slack. I nearly fainted from dehydration one day and she ordered me to stay in bed. It was all so absurd, me stumbling and then crawling to my bed so that I didn’t fall onto my face. This could have all been avoided had I just rested like the doctor told me. But my sister made sure I stayed put and, together, we both figured out the path to wellness…
Rest and high quality sleep
Lots of water
Resting the gut through fasting
Supplementation (thank you, Reddit!): L-Lysine, N-Acetyl-Cysteine, Quercetin
low-glycemic natural sources of high dose vitamin C (kiwi, apple; thanks, Dr. Xu!)
This gosh darn nightmare has finally come to an end. One of my wonderful clients who couldn’t see me while I was sick helped me celebrate my return to society with a fabulous steak dinner at Bones last week. I wore one of the dresses I bought for my European trip. I looked and felt wonderful.
I think and hope I finally learned my lesson: respect your body! Give it time to do what it needs to do when you’re sick. I lost 1/3 the cost of my trip to Europe and may have even lost a few clients along the way! Ignoring the signs and trying to power through my sickness was a huge mistake that I never want to make again.