enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

Great news! I have returned to the land of the living.

(Well, if you consider sitting in a t-shirt amidst a pile of tissues and empty Gatorade bottles the land of the living.)

I have been "under-the-weather" for about two weeks with a cold that Paul picked up. But then Wednesday morning I awoke in a mild state of death. I should mention, that I rarely get sick. I can count on one hand the number of days of school or work that I have missed for actually being sick. I should also mention, that this was my first time being sick without a mom or a dad who could stay home from work to care for me. I have a husband, but he had to go to work to care for other sick people. It's apparently one of those "the cobbler's wife goes unshod" situations.

So anyway.

After a sleepless (and sweaty night) I woke up at 5:00am with a fever of 103.3 and an aching throat, but there wasn't much we could do about it. Paul kissed my forehead and I mumbled something incoherent and came up with a plan to get myself to the convenience store down the street when I "felt better" for some Gatorade.

Fastforward to 9:00am, I still feel terrible but there is no way around this trip to the store.

I "get dressed" and take the elevator down to the main lobby of our apartment building.

And this is where it all comes crumbling down.

Literally.

Everything started to fade to black as the elevator doors opened. I have never blacked out or fainted before so I didn't know what to do (other than panic, obviously) so I walked into the middle of the lobby and started pathetically calling out "help!" Although my throat hurt so bad that "help!" was coming out as sort of a whisper. I was trying to call 911, but my damn iPhone has no buttons so I didn't know where the buttons were (plus, in retrospect, I would have needed to log in).

I really couldn't see anything. Paul keeps asking if things were blurry. But there WERE NO THINGS. Just darkness.

What felt like ages later, but was probably 15 seconds, the sweet maintenance lady came into the lobby. I can only imagine what the scenario looked like. I have no memories after this point and the next thing I know, I'm sitting on the couch with my vision restored.

I explained to the lady that Paul was at work and I was sick and trying to go get Gatorade. Then I gave her $10 and she went and picked some up for me. I could have kissed that lady, but then she would be sick too, so that would be a lame reward. (I am seriously so grateful for her though. I need to write up a thank you card and bake some cookies stat.)

So after that, Wednesday continued to suck. Paul determined that with the crazy fever and inability to swallow, I had gotten myself severely dehydrated which resulted in the black out. He diagnosed me with strep throat based on the crazy amount of puss in the back of my mouth.* (Good Times.)

My fever broke last night (BTW – is there anything so simultaneously awesome and disgusting as waking up in a pool of your own sweat?) and since then, things have been a bit better. I have started antibiotics and Paul made me chug (drinking game style) two 32oz Gatorades.

And just like that, I'm on the mend. And feeling sort of obsessed with the power of fluids.

*Really because I have four out of four of the centor criteria.

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36 responses to “elise takes a sick day.”

  1. Lisa Fine [lisasfoods] Avatar

    Oh no! What a scary thing to have happen, especially since you were alone.
    Glad you’re feeling better. I don’t think I’ve ever had Gatorade, but I know that the power of tea when I’m sick is pretty amazing.

    Like

  2. Ashley Marie Avatar

    Yikes!! That sounds incredibly scary. I had one incident like that once, not quite fainting/blacking out, just a few days of fever. The Doctor told me I had strep, but it turned out it wasn’t that at all! For some reason when people in my family get strep we have really bad coughs which usually indicates it isn’t strep. Long story short, I laid in bed having hallucinations for a few days until they figured out it wasn’t strep.
    I couldn’t imagine being alone and being so helpless. I hope you can feel like 100% very soon!

    Like

  3. Leah Buckley Avatar

    that sounds miserable. and scary. so sorry you were sick, but glad you’re feeling better.

    Like

  4. Giuseppina Lubrano Avatar

    oh my gosh! how scary! i passed out at a bank once. it was not fun. everything went black and then i woke up with some lady saying something in spanish. all i understood was milk.
    your wednesday sounds about as good as mine…i gave myself a concussion! by laughing :)no, really. smacked my head on the corner of a counter. thank goodness i didn’t pass out! i’m pretty sure that would have scarred my poor students.

    Like

  5. Robyn :) Avatar
    Robyn :)

    I fainted in church once 😦 Your situation sounds super scray, though!!
    Fever breaking is awesome!!
    Glad you are feeling better 🙂

    Like

  6. Lindsey Avatar
    Lindsey

    O my goodness!!!! I hope you feel better soon Elise!!! That must have been so scary, keep drinking that Gatorade and get lots of REST!!!

    Like

  7. Jill Avatar

    That is super scary, Elise! I’m glad you’re on the mend – and that a helpful person was around to help you. This is gross, but I couldn’t stop vomiting once and I got completely messed up. Had to go to the ER. Was sort of speaking gibberish – except for begging a nurse for a grape popsicle. I got an anti-nausea IV instead.

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  8. Caroline Avatar

    I’m so sorry! Coconut water is also a great alternative to Gatorade. Stay hydrated.

    Like

  9. Alexandra Avatar

    I’m glad you’re feeling better! I’m also glad that Paul knows how to take care of you!

    Like

  10. Julia Avatar

    I had a similar experience recently and it was super scary, since I was home alone. I thought I was going to die. Fortunately, I already had Gatorade in the house. Glad you’re on the mend!

    Like

  11. Linda Avatar

    Oh man! I am so sorry you were sick. I am so sorry. It really sucks to be home alone and sick! (not to take you into another world just yet but, just imagine having to take care of a baby while sick… believe me, not cool) I wish I could bring you some meals. I sincerely wish. Feel better soon! Big hug.

    Like

  12. desiree Avatar

    glad your starting to feel better. Take it easy girl. 🙂

    Like

  13. Funnelcloud Rachel Avatar

    I have blacked out when sick before and it is the scariest thing ever. Vision just disappears like going into a black tunnel, then boom, you’re somewhere (on the floor) and you can’t remember how you got there. The worst! Hope you feel better soon!

    Like

  14. Nicole Hurley Avatar
    Nicole Hurley

    Ugh. My son, daughter and I all had influenza this past winter and I took them to the doctor. They had to do this AWFUL test where they shove a q-tip up the kids nose to get a sample of whatever they need to test. My son’s nose started squirting blood and he started screaming (because they jammed that thing so far up his nose) and I just ran to the bathroom as everything started going black. I wasn’t sure if I was going to barf or black out but I didn’t want to be embarrassed. I think being sick just made the situation so much worse. I was so scared to almost black out. Glad you are on the mend. Strep sucks 😦

    Like

  15. Vanessa Avatar

    I’m sad you were feeling so awful but glad you are getting better!
    But seriously, this was so well and fascinatingly written that I leaned into my laptop with every sentence! I feel horrible that it was at your expense!

    Like

  16. Mollieb Avatar
    Mollieb

    My favorite part of this post is the asterisk mention of the centor criteria 🙂 (because I’m a PA by the day and a crafty lady by the night…)

    Like

  17. Vee Patel Avatar

    Oh no I’m so glad you’re ok & the cleaning lady found you. I live on my own with my sister now so it was weird for me being sick & not having my mom taking care of me too. I hope you feel 100x better really soon `=]

    Like

  18. Flo Avatar

    That’s quite a scary thing that happened to you.
    I’m so glad you’re feeling a bit better now.
    Keep hydrated ! (such a strange thing to write in a blog comment, but hey, fluids are our friends ;))
    I hope you’ll be completely ok very soon.

    Like

  19. Megan P Avatar

    Glad to hear you’re feeling better! i was like that last summer,where i was so miserable and so sick, sicker then i have ever been in my whole life, and on top of that it lasted a whopping 2 weeks! I know how it feels,so am glad that things are looking up! Antibiotics work like a charm!
    Megan

    Like

  20. Annemiek Avatar
    Annemiek

    Hope you’ll feel better soon.

    Like

  21. Liz Avatar
    Liz

    Yuck… Fainting and being sick sucks! Hope you’ll feel your old self soon.

    Like

  22. Monika Wright Avatar

    Wait ’til you’re a Mom and you don’t have the luxury of being sick and staying curled up in bed, only of taking care of everyone else who is sick. Take care of yourself and drink plenty of fluids. Love, a Mom of 3.

    Like

  23. elizah09 Avatar
    elizah09

    Oh, sorry to hear you were so sick! Glad you’re doing better, hope you continue to get better! Purple G2 is my favorite–hooray for nice maintenance ladies 🙂

    Like

  24. Pixie Avatar

    Glad you’re feeling better! I had strep constantly as a child and it ended up causing some serious health issues for me. To this day, I avoid anyone with strep, lol, glad we’re on opposite coasts! Keep drinking liquids! And rest.

    Like

  25. marta Avatar

    get well soon. rest and recoup. this crazy illness has been everywhere lately. i can’t believe how sick everyone is. hope you’re up and crafting soon. xo.

    Like

  26. elise blaha Avatar

    oh, no kidding. After this experience, I know I need to live in a town where I know at least one person well enough to come over when were sick. I cant imagine.

    Like

  27. elise blaha Avatar

    ha ha! thats the point, I guess, to make the random interesting! love.

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  28. elise blaha Avatar

    I was just telling Paul before I saw your comment that the only thing worse would be taking care of a baby or kid while going through this. I really cant imagine it. Thank you for the well wishes!

    Like

  29. Danielle Avatar

    Glad to hear you’re felling better now. What a scary situation & thank goodness for the kindness of strangers. Take care of yourself & rest up!

    Like

  30. elise blaha Avatar

    I should also mention – I already had a lot of respect for what mom’s do. Now it’s tripled. 🙂

    Like

  31. Melissa Avatar
    Melissa

    I have two words for you: ORAL LIDOCAINE. Seriously.

    Like

  32. suzanne Avatar

    Strep is horrible!! So glad you’re feeling better!

    Like

  33. Monika Wright Avatar

    I am the child of an Air Force family and I just don’t know how my Mom did it, without family support just around the corner. I would say that she learned to make friends quickly, which I am sure you’ll be great at doing. I didn’t really learn what it was to be a Mom until #2 and #3 came along and I had to learn to juggle a lot of different things. It’s an awesome, tiring, rewarding, gut-wrenching experience, Motherhood is, but one that will forever change you.
    Get well and enjoy your she & he time while you can! ; D

    Like

  34. Thinkie Avatar

    Hope you feel better soon!

    Like

  35. Heather Avatar
    Heather

    A. GROSS!!! B. SO glad you’re doing better! Much love to you!

    Like

  36. Lex Avatar

    Yikes!! No bueno, glad you are on the mend though. I rarely ever get sick, but when I do it’s BAD. Never to the point of passing out, did you discover bruises from collapsing or anything later? Take care, have hot soup and keep chugging those Gatorades!! ?

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