Sick Days of Summer

Virgil said "The greatest wealth is health," and no truer words could have been spoken.

I have been sick for the last week, and though I thought I was dying, my doctor said it was just a bad cold. It might be just a cold, but tell that to my body - my throat is so sore that every swallow is agony, my coughing wracks my whole body and everything hurts. And to add insult to injury, I have a case of conjunctivitis which makes me look like something out of a zombie movie.

With all the breakthroughs in modern medicine, you would think there would be a cure for the Common Cold by now. Or at least some remedy that would make the symptoms bearable. But no, all the doctor could offer was Tylenol (doesn't work) and Robittussen DM (also doesn't work). I was better off with Throat Coat Tea and banging my head against the wall.

And then there is the boredom.

I was sick and in bed, but not comatose, so I had to fill those daylight hours somehow (when I wasn't sleeping). I have two Tivos and a DVR and by Day 2, I was caught up with all of my usual programming. So then I was forced to do what men do -channel surf - and thus enter the realm of ...dun dun dun... "daytime TV."




Do you realize how many "Judge shows" are on TV during the day? I knew about Judge Judy and the People's Court but Judge David Young - who's he? And Judge Karen? Who's she? There are 8 Judge shows from Judge Alex to Judge Mathis.

And then there are the talk shows. I am a big Oprah and Ellen fan, but they are on summer hiatus (I've seen all the reruns). Other than The View, I was left with Maury "You ARE the father" Povitch and Jerry Springer (no comment).

So then I moved on to property shows on HGTV. I love House Hunters , but when I found myself not only watching Property Virgins but Tivoing future episodes, I decided it was time to turn off the TV AND

...READ.



Now I want to clear up something about librarians right now. I know, when you meet one there is the huge urge to say, "Boy, I bet you read a lot of books." Well, yes, most librarians do, but we certainly don't have the time to read at work. Like you, we have the usual duties a busy job entails, and there is little time for reading. And even one's time away from work can be too hectic to read if you have a young family or a rich fabulous social life. Librarians are just like everyone else. We don't always have time to read as much as we would like. In my defense, I thought I was too sick to concentrate on reading, so defaulted to the tube but eventually enough was enough.

As you can see, this has been more of a Hang Dog Days of Summer for me, but now I am on the mend and glad to be alive and well. There is nothing like a look at one's mortality to make one appreciate life that much more. I know, I wasn't dying, but it sure felt like it.

I am not the only one who has written about dealing with illness. My modest little blog comes from a long line of literature in this vein. Here are some interesting ones.

Anatomy of an Illness by Norman Cousins

Nose to Nose, a Memoir of Healing by Barry J. Schieber

Blindsided: Lifting a Life above Illness by Richard Cohen

Now it's your turn--

Have any cold remedies that might have helped me?

Favorite "illness memoirs?"

Favorite daytime judge show? And why?

"Maury - More show than talk - Discuss.

"So you think you can dance" - greatest show on TV (I just threw that in because it IS the greatest show on TV)

What do you do to while away the time when you are sick?

Finally, the library subscribes to many premium databases that can help you with your health issues.

LOOK HERE

I particularly like The Health and Wellness Resource Center where you can easily look up your drugs that have been prescribed, symptoms and medical issues and get all kinds of information about them. If you need help working with these databases, don't hesitate to contact your local library.