Flu Who?

Last Tuesday night I hung out at my sister-in-law's house and had a slight headache. On my way home it got worse. A few times I felt a little nauseous and dizzy. By the time I carried David up to bed I thought I was going to pass out. I had Emma get ready for bed by herself, and left a sleeping Mckenna in the car for Ian to take to bed when he got home 10 minutes later. I took a bunch of Advil and Tylenol and went to bed.

The next morning my whole body was sore, especially my head, neck, and back. Over the next two days I had a fever, chills, night sweats, more nausea and dizziness, heat rash, and was just super super sore all over. The headache was the worst I've ever had, even when I was on 4 Advil and 2 extra strength Tylenol. Wednesday night was the worst. I was shivering more than I ever have in my life. And Thursday morning I stopped halfway down the stairs and just started crying because I hurt so much. Last night was the first night I started feeling a little better. I just figured I got a nasty flu and it had to run its course.

Then I woke up this morning...

...with swollen lips. I looked in the mirror and the inside of my lips looked like I had chomped down on them sometime in the night. There wasn't any broken skin, just big red and purple bumps. Odd...

Then my feet started to itch. And get red bumps, as did the inside of my cheeks and the palms of my hands. I finally went to see a doctor today. The diagnosis?

Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. Nice, huh? Yeah - I know what you're thinking: disgusting! You can go Google it, but it's basically just a viral thing that has to run its course. The doctor said once the rash appears, I'm not contagious anymore, but the rash usually lasts about 1-2 weeks. Yuck.

Now I bet you're still wondering why I felt so cruddy the past few days. Well, it turns out that there's a complication with H/F/M disease...you can get Viral Meningitis - very commonly described as "The worst headache you've ever had." Sound familiar? Here's what the Mayo clinic has to say about it:

Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes (meninges) and cerebrospinal fluid surrounding your brain and spinal cord, usually due to the spread of an infection. The swelling associated with meningitis often triggers the "hallmark" symptoms of this condition, including headache, fever and a stiff neck.

So wish me luck as I drink my milky smoothie and rub hydro-cortisone cream all over my feet. Oh and Happy Holidays! Hopefully I haven't coughed on you in the past couple of days.