That was the week that was…

A couple of weeks ago, I had one of those weeks when you wonder both what on earth is going on, and what on earth you did for karma to be such a bitch so unkind.

It all started with waking up on a Monday morning feeling like I’d aged 30 years overnight… and what with me already being 65, that’s not an attractive prospect. I know I’m old and so have odd aches & pains, but this was next level stuff. Yet there was more still to come…

The next day, I nearly fell over while attempting to get out of bed, as my right knee resolutely refused to work. Some interesting manoeuvres later, I managed to reach a walking stick where I’d safely tucked it away after my knee op of 3 years ago.

Then there was my experience of the chills…

Starting innocently as feeling a tad cold, I first added a jumper on top of the two layers I was already wearing. Starting to shiver, a hoodie went on – so now four layers – with the hood up, plus a warm scarf wrapped around my neck & upper body. This was when it got really interesting, and I experienced what I can only describe as bone juddering shakes. Hopping (ok, climbing carefully 😉 ) into bed and under two layers of bedding which normally cause me to overheat, I felt as if my bones were going to poke out through my skin, the juddering was so violent. Honestly, if that’s what they mean by the chills, they’re seriously underselling the experience.

The knee which was the cause of my nearly falling over was my good knee, rather than the one which I know needs replacing. What was not just odd but decidedly scary, is the muscle strength appeared to be wasting away hour- upon-hour. So when I awoke the third morning to find spots on my eyelid, I hobbled hastily to see my doctor, where he stated that something significant had clearly happened on Sunday night, and speculated as to muscle inflammation being part of whatever virus I was hot-housing.

Come Thursday, shingles got ruled out and, by the weekend, I was feeling back to my normal self – knee included – having only taken a few painkillers. Indeed, a subsequent Xray confirms that my (right) knee is still entirely normal (it’s best we not discuss the left one).

So, some sort of random virus which raged rapidly through my body, leaving my knee weaker than I’d been after knee surgery, but was then entirely gone by the weekend. In the meantime, Himself has been feeling “not quite right” and now has a bit of a sore throat while continuing to work. So, yes, karma – I’m looking at you and wondering how I offended you.

Oh and a little postscript: on Sunday we had a (UK) Mother’s Day visit from my daughter and the germbugs, only to receive a report that there was vomiting in the car on the way home, so – yeah – we’ve got that to look forward to too…

They said our immunity was going to be rubbish and clearly they were right – so let me ask you in the words of Joey Tribbiani if not with his intent: “how you doing?” 😉

© Debra Carey, 2023