Sick for Three Days

Unlike many, I record painful experiences as they tend to teach better and by

narrating suffering, I hope to understand better. I have turned my attention

from the glossy to the matte side of life, and leave the thrills, the glories,

the coveted happiness, in fleeting, to take care of themselves.

 

Toward the end of Jan, I thought I'd survived the flu season, especially after

the wife's Covid and the boy's two-week bout of headache and coughing. Sunday, I

hiked with my nephew as planned. Monday, I sneezed more but otherwise felt OK.

Noon jiu-jitsu class went smoothly and I even bike-commuted.

 

Tuesday, more symptoms appeared. I decided, rightly, to skip BJJ as I didn't

want to pass it to 71-year-old Leon, the judo black belt who became a great

training partner over the past weeks. Toward afternoon, I felt a bit fever and

my body ached slightly.

 

I picked up the kid and cooked pene with tuna sauce and enjoyed the pasta with

him. I even had a bit of liqor with supper as it was the Chinese New Year. My

diet and exercises over 10+ years didn't make me bug-proof but had certainly

cultivated the viruses, I told myself. By bed time, I was shivering. My feet

stayed frozen and kept me awake for hours.

 

Wednesday was the worst. I woke up from a restless sleep with a slight headache

and a stuffy nose. I had to skip my morning routines as I felt weak and the

muscles hurt with the slightest moves. Even lying in bed, the back felt

throbbing, as if I had just deadlifted with a poor form, and the rest of body

aching as if from 10 rounds of hard grappling. I kept asking myself: ``Is this

what's going to feel like when I'm old?''

 

I had no fever and with little appetite, skipped coffee, and had two bananas and

a mango for lunch. I took the day off from all regular activities but read, with

a muddled head, another 80 pages of a novel. The only physical exercise I took

was a trip on foot to Trader Joe's and back. I tired easily and had to take a

nap in the afternoon. In the evening, I made the sandwiches but should have

eaten one piece instead of two.

 

Thursday morning, my heartbeat slowed down noticeably but still raced faster

than normal. Lying in bed in the small hours, I could feel my body was fighting

and winning. I later lunched on some nuts, one banana, and one mango. By the

afternoon, I didn't need a nap and felt almost bike-worthy. All the symptoms

were gone by the evening except for a lingering cough.

 

I haven't learned much from this acute episode except at times to be less

demanding on myself. My body's strong and will recover. Take some rest. There

is no hurry.

 

For the long term, I don't have a plan to improve besides sticking to the

regimen already in-place. Besides, I have been practicing fasting regularly

and taken only cold showers, both should improve my immune system. Someday,

I might do more Wim Hof practices. I didn't get sick for an entire year in

2023. Maybe I've done my best. The rest is up to the gods.

[7grizzly]

回复 '暖冬cool夏' 的评论 : Thank you, 暖冬, for reading and your kind comments. Glad you recovered from Covid. I think it lost much of its venom in five years. Take care and Best wishes to you.

[暖冬cool夏]

I haven't learned much from this acute episode except at times to be less
demanding on myself.
+1， glad that you were hard on yourself:)
I got covid too two weeks ago. I took Paxlovid and recovered quickly, with lingering bad cough now. Take care,my friend, and best wishes for your 2025!