Words to the Wise...Sharing Isn't Always Good

I learned a valuable lesson or two this week. First, don't do storytelling under a blanket with two sick grandkids! Why? Because you too will get sick. Last weekend Landon and Annie were both sick with coughs, colds, and eventually ear infections. Being the wonderful grandma that I am, I thought it would be fun to do our storytelling under my large Bears fleece blanket. It would take their little minds off being sick. So, Landon got the flashlight and under the blanket we went. In the midst of our stories there arose such a clatter - coughing - germs spewing into the contained atmosphere of the blanket. I guess I was so concerned about them coughing that it never occurred to me that I was inhaling some nasty bacteria. Later in this week Lindsay comes down with a sore throat, cough and ear ache. She visits her doc who informs her that she has walking pneumonia, an ear infection, AND a sinus infection. Of course I had been in close proximity to her as well, having gone there to help with the kids. I woke up on Thursday with a bit of a sore throat and a cold, but dismissed it as no big deal. Well, it got worse. Today the throat was so sore that I put in a call to my own doc, who prescribed a "very strong antibiotic" to "knock it out quickly", to quote the dear man who has been my doc for many years. I have not been on this antibiotic before - Levaquin - so I decided to read the warnings and side effects. I shouldn't have done that because now I can add stress to the side effect list! OMG! The ones that really got to me were "swollen tendons" and possible tendonitis. Great! With my recent battle with my stupid knee and all the swelling I've had due to crazed bursa tendons and hamstring issues, imagine my delight when I read all this. Oh, hook me up with this one, please! I could also experience dizziness, stomach pain, intestinal issues, and on and on. Was I better off nursing a sore throat, gargling with salt water, as my grandma and mom would have told me to do? The other thing that scared me was that I only take ONE pill a day! Ooooh, this is some powerful stuff. My doctor also told me to get Mucinex D. Is anyone else appalled by the Mucinex commercials with the little booger monsters invading your nose? That is all I could think of as I picked up the box at Target. Back off booger monsters! The Levaquin Super Hero is gonna getcha!