Illin'

As a wee child, I used to get tonsillitis every six months or so.  I was a mess.  Finally, at age 12 my mother said "enough is enough" and had the docs yank all those bacteria-snagging organs from my throat/nasal passage.  Since that surgery, I have never been sick in any way.  I don't even get a common cold.  No fevers, no sniffles, no coughs or sore throats.  Straight up Unbreakable shit.

On top of the fact that I just seem impenetrable is the fact that I take better care of myself than most people my age.  I passed my last physical with flying colors - even my resting heart rate was better than the average.  I'm picky about what I ingest, and physical activity is one of the biggest parts of my life.

So, I'm sure you could imagine the shock when I woke up this morning to find I couldn't inhale without excruciating pain.  At approx. 5:40 this morning I felt as if someone had balanced ten bricks on my chest - and I was more afraid than I have been in a long time.  Immediately, I began different breath control exercises that I'm familiar with from yoga - thinking maybe it would help.  For a moment I thought maybe I was still dreaming.  When I started to shake and get dizzy I headed downstairs to wake up my Grandmother and proclaim that I might be having some sort of heart attack.

But how could that be, I thought.  I have excellent blood pressure, excellent cholesterol, my lipids are perfect, I'm a normal weight, and there isn't any history of heart disease in my family.  I couldn't be 25 and on the verge of a coronary.  As I considered all these factors, the pain in my chest grew heavier and I knew I had to make a decision - drive myself to the Emergency Room and rack up another 3000 dollars of non-insured debt -or- relax, breathe, and assess the situation.

After many tears of frustration and fear, I chose the latter.  My Grandmother suggested we call our family doc, spit the symptoms to him and hang on his directions.  The specs are as follows:

- No fever

- No congestion

- No cough

- No "shortness" of breath despite the pain of inhaling

- No pains/numbness in arms or other extremities  

Doc said I should relax and rest for the day - try not to move much at all and come in tomorrow for tests.  He didn't seem to think an expensive visit to the ER was necessary for my non-insured ass.  Good news for me.  I guess the chances of it being a blood clot in my lungs are low, but not impossible.  I go in tomorrow for x-rays to help determine that.  Fluid on the lungs is another possibility, but again, why out of nowhere?  It doesn't make any sense to me.

Hopefully, it's a passing symptom of a common cold - which, again, is very odd considering I haven't been sick for 13 years.  Either way you slice it, this sucks.  I hate not going to work, I hate not being able to move around - I hate not working out.  I hate sitting around and sleeping all day.  This is my own personal hell.

The only upside?  Season 7 of Scrubs and an opportunity to dive into Les Mis.  Oh, and Grandma is making Chicken, Brown Rice and Broccoli for dinner because she's amazing and she loves me! :D  I feel bad though - poor thing has had to babysit me all day per doctors orders - ya know, just in case I actually have a heart attack.  Very reassuring.