Yes, I'm holding my boobs!

Here's the problem:

I'm a school teacher, and I'm surrounded by weird germs and bugs all the time. I thought this would get better if I taught older kids, but apparently that is not the case. Just yesterday all the teachers in my building received an email to make sure we're washing our hands and door knobs because a kid was just diagnosed with some ultra contagious rinovirus that causes very bad things to you (I won't bother to mention exactly what it does) but it results in you getting severely dehydrated. We've also had documented cases of Whooping Cough this year. And, as I well know, we've also had a contagious little pneumonia bug... It's been a rough year for bugs.

Problem #2 - I get sick a lot.

Problem #3 - The minute I develop a sniffle, I'm surfing the internet to self-diagnose. I'm convinced that I've had the Ebola virus, West Nile, malaria and I'm sure to have cancer from the next bump I see.

Here's the thing--I really do have something wrong right now. The pain in my left ribs and back is really, really bad. I had the back pain last week. Someone gave me the name of chiropractor. I called and he could get me in on Monday--only over the weekend I was feeling better. I'm cheap, so I canceled the appointment. Naturally, on Tuesday, the onset of rib pain AND back pain became severe again. It hasn't improved. In fact, I think it's getting worse. I didn't work out Wed. or Thurs. I put my bike on the trainer for 30 minutes tonight, but it was a feeble attempt. You see, when I cough, it hurts 100x worse than normal. Biking makes me cough... I'd pedal a little bit, then get off and cough. I'd get back on and pedal as slow as possible so I wouldn't cough. Then I'd have to cough, etc. etc.

I developed this habit that seems to help so the cough doesn't hurt as much. I reach around and hug myself, half-heartily squeezing my boobs as close as possible to my chest while coughing. (Where's my husband when I need him? He'd love to do that job for me!) It still hurts to cough, but not quite as bad as doing nothing at all. It's hard to pull this off in public, so in public I do the same thing, only double over so no one notices that I'm holding my boobs in for dear life! Unfortunately, as Amy and I learned from some nice biker babes in Boulder a couple years ago, you can't take in as much oxygen when you're leaned over. (That's why you shouldn't ride your bicycle in your drops when going up a hill! Bike tip of the day!) Coughing is just a big painful experience right now. And don't get me started about sneezing! Finding a comfortable position in bed at night isn't a treat either.

So I've been doing my little internet searches to see what disease will surely lead to my demise this time. Apparently it is quite possible to bruise, fracture or break a rib from coughing. These don't always show up in X-Rays so doctors usually just make a diagnosis from your description of pain. All have the same path of recovery. They don't splint you because it inhibits your ability to breathe. They give you painkillers and tell you to lay low for six weeks. What's the point of going in if you already know they're not going to do anything? Then I get on the chiropractor websites... One went on and on about how doctors refuse to admit that you can dislocate a rib... But chiropractors are the only ones that will diagnose and fix this ...

So why don't regular doctors diagnose a rib out of place? Wouldn't that show up in an X-Ray? One site trying to dissuade people from going to chiropractors said that if you have a fractured rib, a chiropractor could adjust it and puncture your lung! Yikes!

Decisions... Decisions... I'm on the 'wait and hope it improves' path right now. If it continues into next week, I'll have a decision to make. Doctor vs. Chiropractor? Hmmm....

I wish I could do something tonight. Why do these ailments always turn their worst on Fridays when I can't see anyone about it? I tried to swim tonight. I made it exactly one half of a length (not a lap--I only made it half way down, one way.) I couldn't take the pain in my ribs when I pulled through with my left hand. I couldn't even pull myself out of the pool with a little tricep dip. I crawl over two lanes and use the stairs.

I can force myself to exercise through pneumonia. I'm used to being tired and lethargic when working out. That defines 90% of my workouts! But excruciating pain... I can't work through that...

Come on now... I need to pull through this ASAP!!! I keep thinking it's only March, but it's not! It's April!!! I was so much farther along than this last year! And it wasn't an Ironman year!!!! It's pretty frustrating when my husband that I adore tells me all about his long bikes, runs, and swims, and then labors on that he's not sure he's doing enough... I love him, I support him, so I have to listen... But this really stinks.