"Paiging Nurse Ratchett"

"Are you o.k.?!"

With the most serious look of concern I've ever had thrown my way, Cori, wonderful co-worker at the Lobster said just those words to me Friday night as my shift was winding down.

Apparantly my face had turned the same color as my freshley Cloroxed oxford shirt.

"No, not really."

That was all I could get out before I suddenly started feeling like I was about to pass out in the middle of the kitchen. I had been fighting what I thought was a minor cold since Wednesday night when I woke up at 3 a.m. with a coughing fit. Things started progressing until Friday night's debacle. I knew I must have looked bad when three of my other co-workers stopped what they were doing, took me back to the back bar and made me sit down with a glass of water. Convinced my blood sugar was dangerously low, Cori, who also happens to be a nurse, made me eat applesauce.

You don't argue with Cori.

I was able to limp out of the Lobster by 10, crawl into bed after downing some Nyqil tablets and slept straight through until my alarm went off at 6:45 a.m. Saturday morning. Talk about getting rest.

Saturday was, in a word, hell. Sorry, make that HELL. I had a fever. I had to open the restaurant at 8 a.m. and sit through a meeting at 9 before I started my shift at 11. Hot flashes kept hitting me all day to the point where I was purposely dropping ice cubes down my shirt. My one manager caught me doing it at one point and almost reprimanded me for it until she saw how miserable I looked. Luckily my replacement came in early and I was home, in my jammies, firmly entrenced on the couch by 4:30 p.m.

I didn't move until 8:30 p.m. when my empty belly said, o.k., we may not be that hungry but we need something. How about some Jello? So I ate a Jello cup. And that was enough. I managed to stay up another hour or so before I nodded off again. Only for about a Real World/Road Rules Challenge episode. Finally I dragged myself to my own bed where I didn't move from until 9 yesterday morning.

I didn't hear the room mate and soon to be room mate come home at 3 a.m. from the bar.

I didn't hear the soon to be room mate puking at 5:30 a.m.

Heck, I didn't even hear those two up and leaving so the room mate could be at work by 9:45 a.m.

I did feel a little better yesterday, I think the fever broke while I was at work. Today was even better. Didn't need any Dayqil and I'm going to try and sleep with out it's lovely green partner.

On the upside, while I haven't weighed myself yet, I know I've dropped some weight as I never have an appetite when I'm sick and the most substantial things I ate all weekend were a home made bowl of minestrone soup and an orange.

Sadly, the appetite is starting to come back.