Hijacked! And who moved that wall,anyway?

Nope-not dead yet. Nearly, but not quite. I got hijacked, but not by people. Or aliens-although that would have been a more amusing story. I got hijacked by pneumonia. Sad, but true.

I was all set to wish everyone a happy Easter-but I got caught in freezing rain, got a nasty chill-and spent the past two weeks (nearly three) in bed, unable to get up, wheezing badly and coughing so hard you would think that the noise was someone revving up a tractor. Imagine how it sounded-imagine how it felt...

So on Easter Sunday I could already feel that I was ailing-but I chose to ignore it, thinking that it would just go away. Numpty. It never just goes away. And I decided to take myself to the movies, because that usually makes me feel better. I got up out of the seat after the film finished, had tremendous trouble walking, got to the screening room door, walked out-and walked straight into a wall. Nose first. Poor nose!

I didn't hurt myself-I was moving too slowly for that- but I confess that I staggered and stumbled all the way home. I call it "pinballing"-I move like I'm about to topple over, and have to hold onto anything that isn't moving. Pinballing. I got home, and - what a wuss! - I started to cry. It was terrible. I sounded like I would be coughing up at least one lung at any time. And I went to bed and couldn't get up for a week.

I did see my GP last week-finally. She told me that I should have called an ambulance, that I should be in hospital. Huh. I might as well have talked to a two by four. So I started on my back up antibiotics, which didn't help, and changed my infusion appointment.

The short (er) version: I went to see the immunology people on Monday, got checked out, had my infusions, bloods drawn (they did leave me with a teaspoon of blood, as a courtesy, I think), swabs, and they decided that I've got pneumonia. So I've got stronger antibiotics for the next two weeks, and that should kill anything-probably me, too.

The upside: once I start coughing, people get out of my way. Even the idiots who aim straight for me tend to move when I start coughing in their direction. Yippee.

Now I'm starting to get back to life. This is the first time I've been online since I got sick, and I haven't been walking, which doesn't help the balance (such as it is). It has let me know that I am still vulnerable. In fact, people who are born with CVID (dud immune systems) are more prone to lymphoma. Of course, they had to gleefully tell me this on Monday, and they've scheduled scans of the lymph nodes, because mine are swollen. I vote no to lymphoma. Enough is enough, after all.

I went to Starbucks earlier-first time since before I got sick. I'm obviously on the mend if I can go to Starbucks. It's even sunny out-and this is England. So miracles do happen, and there is a God! (maybe)