flu

It would appear that I (Frank) have the flu.

The story goes back to Thursday morning on the ski slopes at Perisher. On that fateful morning, basically I stacked my snow board. During that stack, I somehow hit my chest and my head. Thankfully I was wearing a helmet. But as for the chest, I thought I had broken a rib. It was excrusiatingly painful to sit up or roll over. Bed was no longer the relaxing place it should be. Every reposition required careful planning and a lot of patience and teeth gritting.

Last Monday, I fronted up to my Doctor who pushed and poked me and declated no broken rib. To get me out of his office, he gave me a referal for an X-ray and said that if it is still painful next monday (~10days after accdent) then go and get an X-ray. As I understand it, if it is a green stick fracture, then 10 days is required for some calcification to occur so it can be seen in the X-ray.

As the week progressed last week, the rib stayed painful and I began to feel a bit off. By Friday, I had a very blocked up nose and felt terrible so I took a sickie. Spend most of the day in bed. Had delusions of doing some work but in the end all I could manage was the occasional hot steamy shower to relieve the gunkyness. Saturday I was sort of OK and likewise Sunday. I Spent most of the time resting but was able to participate in life a bit more normally.

This morning (Monday) I felt doubly crap. As well as needing to take more steamy showers to clear out my nose, I was coughing up more and more phlem. I was worried that the mucus from my nose was running down into my lungs and it would only be a matter of time before it became infected. Eventually ventured down to the chemist to get a pill to relieve the symptoms. Got that but it seemed to have no significant effect. Every cough reminding me of that sore rib.

Later in the day having rejuvinated enough to drive again, I venuted up to Canossa to the X-ray. Sat there did that. One of the amazing things was that the fellow could take the plate that contained the film and sitck it in a slot in a machine and view and zoom in on the X-ray. maybe they do not develop the film using chemicals. I wonder how they do it.

Anyway this evening, my Doctor phoned to say that he had received the report that sad the good news was no broken rib but the bad news was that the X-ray showed some fluid in the bottom of my lungs. He asked questions like
Have I had headaches - yes
Couging - yes
Aches and pains - yes.
Then pronounced that I probably had influenza.

And now I know why I feel crap.
And that is about all I can write anyway. This has been written in several stages.