I Will Be Well Again

Six days of fever, coughing with phlegm, a sore throat and a runny nose.

Boy, I felt like I was robbed off of my time! 😭

It started when I shopped at Costco with Shingo and my mother-in-law, Keiko-san, on a Saturday night after our stroll at the lovely Yuni Garden in Yuni Town, just about an hour drive from Fukagawa.  It was a lovely shopping spree, of course (not mentioning our sudden wallet bankruptcy, thanks to the temptations of Kirkland goods!). That following day as I woke up from our bed, I instantly felt the tingling itch in my throat. I knew something’s wrong. Stupid me though; I really didn’t bat an eye on it, and just continued on with the day like it was just nothing. And then Monday came, and BAM! There it went. I had to cancel the rest of my day because I wasn’t really feeling well, especially when I was taking classes at the 5th Graders in Elementary School with Kataoka-sensei. I knew the caution alarm was coming, and I had to speed up for home.

It took pretty much, a couple of days for me to “waste” my time in our apartment, splitting it between chores, sleeping, and trying hard to spare some moments for hobbies. But the hobby part was quite a struggle because the moment I was about to edit videos or update my scrapbook, or finish my letters, fever butts in and I had to rest again.

Photo by Vecteezy

It was an on-and-off thing, this fever of mine. I had the opportunity to work on a Thursday and Friday, hoping to save my paid leaves in the future. Unfortunately my voice was overworked especially during the four consecutive classes at the elementary school, and I had to stop talking because my throat was really killing me. Luckily Ikoma-sensei was there to assist me. But then the fever crept in again the following day, and on Monday.

So today, Tuesday, I decided to visit the hospital to find out what this disease really was. Was it influenza? Pneumonia? Tuberculosis, or worse, COVID? Damn, last night I slept by the kotatsu because I could hardly breathe, lying straight on the bed, and I needed a reclining chair at least to give me some oxygen and to keep me from coughing in the middle of the night. For almost a week, I felt worse than a barking dog. I hated my husky voice, my itchy throat, and my stubborn lungs. So during my check-up, I had to undergo a COVID test, which was my very first time, and WOAH, those were huge buds! The doctor quickly thrusted it into my nostrils and I shut my eyes because that really hurt! But to be fair, it was a sensation after that, because my nostrils suddenly were snot-free! 😆

I was asked to wait at the quarantine cubicle which was in the farthest corner of the room. There were three of us in there, and it felt quite odd being there. For obvious reasons, we could be possibly carrying a deadly virus, but I hope it wouldn’t happen.

After half an hour, the physician, Nakajima-sensei, called for my attention to finally tell me the results. It was a negative! Wooh, that felt so much better! I mean, I’m not yet completely well, but hearing that news alone made me feel almost crossing over to the finish line. I happily walked to the register and paid my bills, proceeded to the pharmacy, and carried on the proper meds.

And because I was COVID-free (and neither any of the terrible diseases I mentioned a while ago), I pat myself on my shoulder and drove to Ichikura Ramen-ya where I could celebrate more happily. I brought enough emergency bucks, so spending a portion of it for some yummy hot noodles wouldn’t hurt much.

Photo by Viridiana Rivera

Thank you, God! Thank you for saving me! I’m still coughing like a barking dog, but at least I know I’m not gonna be a pest in the society for having any of those terrible diseases! Only a few days or weeks of some more patience, and I will be well again.

Photo by Jared Rice