It's been quite a week. I came home with an extra souvenir from Virginia...a version of a black death cold that started the day we left. So you can imagine with a serious flu looming that driving up and down hills was not conducive to a comfortable drive home for me.
By the next day, it had me so weak it took me 30 minutes to get from the bottom of my bed to the top after a bath. I was then in bed for 16 hours unable to eat or move except to put ice packs and heating pads on aching joints. My meals consisted of Belvita crackers samples and dry Cheerios because I was so nauseous. I had to skip workouts Sunday and Monday because I had zero ability to do so. This was especially irritating given for the first time EVER on vacation, we exercised every single day. I was super proud of us for doing so. The Mr was able to workout so he did while I mouth breathed and shared a blood supply with the couch or bed.
As if being sick wasn't enough, the legs did not appreciate the hikes the few days we were out as well as keeping up with the exercise. I've now taken to calling my ankle my "yankle" because when I went to get out of the bathtub, it yanked so hard I cried for 10 minutes. It is VERY frustrating to go on what I used to consider a pretty easy hike and have it pull me back progress wise.
I have a chiro appointment today and am going to talk to him about giving me specific exercises to do in between appointments because I need to move this progress along especially if the tissue as a whole remains healthy and I didn't do any damage.
So it's been kind of a crappy week of recovery on many fronts for me this week. I'm still sick and almost always go for a full 10 days when I get sick so I'm about at the halfway point if past colds are any indicator.
I'm pretty sure I picked it up at Luray Caverns where everyone around us was hacking. You couple that with the lack of eating consistent fruits and veggies daily like I usually do so I don't have any vitamin C, the immense stress I was under in the month leading up to it and doubly so hoping all was pulled off as planned that week to lack of water (AGAIN! WHY is this such an issue for me when traveling!?) and my system was pretty much doomed.
I will absolutely take my Airtamer Travel Air Purifier
(affiliate link) with me on future trips and just tuck it into my scarf so it doesn't look like some detonator around my neck. I cannot risk getting sick over Christmas and this has always helped with long travel days. I should've known better and taken it at the more touristy places like the caverns and Monticello where we were herded in with multiple groups of people. I'll also make sure we keep hand sanitizer ON us instead of just in the car. I'll definitely have to order my favorite, lavender hand sanitizer from AKL Maui since it doesn't dry my hands out like the regular stuff. I also said we'll need to make sure we buy some navel oranges and have at least one a day. Good Lord man, after a zillion trips under my belt, you'd think I'd plan for potential cold/flu going into the season. DERP!I'm going to be heading into a crazy work schedule so I need to try to take care of myself. I'm hoping to feel much better next week so I can get a jump on a lot of that. I hope my editor is ready to bust his hump. *ducking*
Do you usually get sick on vacation?
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I am proud of us for sticking to a workout routine every day on our trip. I'm not going to say it didn't suck having to eat up time on a vacation for something I wasn't too fond of doing but every time we just went ahead and did it, there was a feeling of supreme accomplishment afterward that made every one of them worth it. I guess that pretty much sums up working out every day in some ways. It always ends up being worth your time, even if your mind is against it beforehand.
ReplyDeleteAs for your souvenir, I really felt for you. I could tell you were really knocked down by this one and it sucks that it had to start the day we left so that it not only ruined your ability to enjoy that last day but also gave you the worst pressure on a day where we were driving up and down mountains with constant changes of pressure to mess with your head.
I'm glad you got sick the last day instead of the first. I mean getting sick is bad not matter when/where, but at least it didn't ruin the whole trip for you.
ReplyDeleteMost of my trips these days are just for a weekend either to the mountains or to my folks' so I'm not crowded in with a bunch of people. I have gotten sick after long trips in the past, but mostly I think due to less sleep that I would have gotten at home. Not sleeping enough is probably my single biggest factor in terms of getting sick and how sick I get.
I will often get sick on long trips to city destinations, but it is usually nothing major. I have attributed my picking up the common cold from my use of public transit systems. When my trips have been much more nature based I have avoided getting sick. However, I usually travel prepared regardless. I'll have a small stash of cold meds, gravol, Tylenol, cough drops, and Imodium in my toiletry case. I learned my lesson after developing a very sore throat in Vienna and having to mime to the pharmacist my problem since I do not speak any German and all their cold supplies are kept behind glass, forcing you to talk to the pharmacist.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry you got so sick. Gah!! It's hard enough coming home from a vacation to get back into a routine, but when you are down for the count, that makes it even worse. I'm glad you have a plan for Christmas and will be fully prepared with what you need to bring with you to help keep your immune system up. Praying that you get good exercises from your doc today and start to feel better quickly. Water, rest, water, rest, water, rest. =o)
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