Where I've been.

I've been MIA due to Rick's illness.
What we thought was the flu turned into strep throat and a lung infection.
The coughing is off the charts.

I have had as little sleep as Rick this past week.
When I say I am a walking zombie I am not even close to exaggerating.

He was told that this was a strain of the flu at the ER.
Obviously not the strain of the flu shot which he had.
His cough only got worse and he was feeling worse all over but wouldn't go to the doctor being the stubborn ass that he can be.

I just made the appointment after nights of no sleep and then having to work.
I didn't care if he was angry, got mad, tough shit was my mantra.
He lost his voice completely. He has not eaten anything and when he did including broth, he vomited.

The coughing kept everyone in the household up including our dog.
Rick found that laying down in bed made the coughing worse so back to the recliner for Rick. That made the dog go to sleep downstairs with him.
I could hear him coughing and when he stopped I would run downstairs to be sure he was okay. How twisted is that? Eventually, I would just end up on the sofa. I wasn't helping but I felt like I was there in the trenches with him. I was fetching him things, and rubbing his back and all around feeling helpless but awake.

Last night the coughing was so bad he never stopped. It wasn't like he coughed and then stopped. It.never.stopped. The poor guy was in pain.
We were at the doctor yesterday and got a new Rx for cough medicine with codeine. We got an antibiotic for him as well as Mucinex to break up the mucus obviously.
He was told not to take the over the counter things he was taking because of his heart. Remember last year when he got an infection and he coughed so badly that his heart went into A-fib and they couldn't get it back on track without stopping it and restarting it?  Well, as you can imagine that fear is going through us both worrying this will happen again.

The cough medicine the doctor gave him did nothing. the codeine actually made him stop for 10 minutes and he would instantly dose off. Then bam - the coughing woke him and the dog. I sat on the sofa in the dark listening to this.
I now believe the worst sound in the world is this coughing/hacking. The rattling in his chest isn't fun to hear either. (or his man whining)

Today the doctor called to follow up and I told her nothing is better. He is a hot mess. I begged for something to stop this coughing so he can get some rest, even if it is in a chair.  She called in something else and I ran to the pharmacy on my lunch break. It stopped him from coughing for over an hour!  I could hear him snoring from my office and it was a wonderful sound. An hour of no coughing is far better than anything we've dealt with so far. Now if we could just go for 4 hrs he would probably feel like a million bucks.

I hope that in the next couple of days with all the medications he can get better and this be over with. I told him that I am tired of this annual January shit of him being sick. It made him laugh at least. He only can whisper which he finds frustrating so of course, I torment him.
He gave me the finger at one point and I laughed and said, "Hey I know sign language, you're telling me I'm a wonderful wife and I was right in making you go to the doctors and you love me. Ah, thanks, babe."
He just shook his head and laughed. He then pointed to his belly.
I asked if that hurt too. He whispered, "yes my abs hurt from coughing."
"What abs? I asked.  "My 6 pack under this keg."
So at least he still has his humor.

I have had a sore throat for 5 days now. I am praying that I do not get this. I am going to keep moving like it's not there. But enjoy some sherbet in the mean time. Hey gotta do what I gotta do.