Recovering from Awful, Awful, Awful Cold

Did I mention that the cold I have / had was, well, AWFUL?!?

It started on February 7th. I remember, because that's the day that Denis and his girl, Katherine, came for a visit. I thoroughly enjoyed the company, and they cheered my tired spirit. Then the next day, I felt even worse, then worse, then - WHAM! - by Monday the 15th, I barely made it in to work, then finally booked Tuesday and Wednesday off because, frankly, I was that damn sick with a cold-induced sinus infection. I couldn't function at all. I couldn't even drink a glass of wine!

I thought I was getting better on that Wednesday, then - WHAM! - I was feeling deadly again by Thursday when I had to go to work.

I love being a supply teacher;lots of good points for sure, such as wonderful kids, and good work hours,  but, one of the drawbacks is, if I don't work, I don't get paid. Yep, that's pretty fair for sure. But. when you're sick, and haven't really had enough work for the year already, and spring break (unpaid) is upon you - well, calling in sick is definitely not an option high on the list.

Add to that the little problem of a scarcity of doctors in the Outaouais, so my lack of access to medical care, I did all the self-care I could do at home. I took sinus medication, ran a humidifier at night, even bought a nasal irrigation system (which helped incredibly). I took as much rest as I could, drank several litres of water per day, and really did take care of myself. And then I did call Info-Sante, to ask where I could go to get my issue seen to.

The woman was really nice, and did her best to locate a clinic  for me. She finally gave me three numbers in Gatineau, and the third one I called actually had a receptionist who answered the phone, and - wonder of wonders - booked me an appointment with Dr. Anya.

So, that clinic was the Centre Medical du Portages, and you can see some info here: http://www.sante.gouv.qc.ca/en/repertoire-ressources/ressource/?nofiche=29324


Dr. Anya was professional and kind, took me right on time, and agreed to send me for blood tests, even though he was not required to, as I am no a regular patient. I do hope to be accepted as "his" patient. I will ask after I return to get my blood work assessed.

Anyhoo - what it comes down to is, I'm feeling much better, though still tired and not all that physically strong. And, I finally, finally, went to a doctor and am going to have blood tests done! Yay, me. I have not seen a doctor at all in close to five years, and have not had a check-up in about ten years. All in all, a good day today.

here: http://www.sante.gouv.qc.ca/en/repertoire-ressources/ressource/?nofiche=29324