If you hear a whimper it's me dying of a cold

I'm not sure why but sickness always feels like a personal insult or set back - it's like I shouldn't be able to get sick somehow. I always get pissy and utterly irritated (apart from extremely self-pitying), much worse than any normal person should. It’s a bit embarrassing actually.

Anyway, I’ve been on a short trip to Sweden even though I had about one thousand things that I had to get done this weekend (actually three, but they feel like much more!). It’s been lovely during the day, but during the nights the fact that I’m so behind on my other stuff has been giving me heart palpitations. I’ve been trying to get some work done in the mornings or right before bed, but it is quite impossible being at home. So imagine my frustration when I wake up this morning (to this day that was supposed to be a travel/work-day) with a sore throat, fever and a runny nose. The bus ride to the airport was spent half asleep and fighting nausea. Once at the airport the plane get getting delayed and I kept getting worse shivering and coughing. When I finally get on the plane with the full intention of getting some work done I’m seated next to two “natural medicine” sales representatives. Very friendly, talkative and extremely enthused about their product – very cliché if I may say so myself. I’m not very into alternative medicine (to say the least!) and one hour with a dude asking me if I’d ever heard of nitric oxide, antioxidants, fish oil and the benefits of “all sorts of vitamins and minerals” in blueberries (and yes, he was aware of the fact that I’m a doctor!) very nearly did me in.

I truly become a horrible person when I get sick; I really wanted to kick him in the shin just to get him to shut up! It’s not (just) the fact that he’s talking about “curing” ADHD and diabetic neuropathy (which he didn’t know the name of) – it’s just the fact that he’s talking, to ME, while I’m sick – that is just the worse crime you can ever commit!

To get just little tiny bit positive I did score “A great tasting nutrient and vitamin rich powerhouse. Based on the wild Alaskan blueberry and other Super Fruits” – aka a 29ml blueberry extract that is supposed to cure my cold before I get home…  Oh well, it can't hurt to try. Bottoms up!