I got sick on 12/21 with a cold / cough.  I remember the date because of my birthday on the 23rd.  it was pretty nasty.  I ended up taking 3 days off between 12/26 and 12/31 to recuperate, since things were quiet.  I had several nights were I just could not sleep due to coughing.  J was in the same boat – it was pretty brutal.  Three or four days ago, I was still coughing.  Not constantly, but enough to be annoying.

Then, I got sick again.  Basically, the old lingering cough combined with a brand new cold / cough.  I’m on day 3 of having no voice whatsoever.  As in, I couldn’t talk even in a raspy voice even if I was really, really motivated.  Today, on day 3, I’m finally at a point where I can squawk out a word or two.  Did I mention J has been out of town since Sunday night?  It has been a brutal week.  And there has been a surge of pressure at work, so I have been struggling through half days.  It’s actually surprising how doable it is to conduct smallish meetings (<= 6 people) in a whisper.  It’s also funny how I’ll be whispering away to someone, and they’ll start whispering back unintentionally.

Last night was the worst yet, and I came so close to puking this morning due to severe coughing, so I decided to stay home.  Having spent the entire day in bed (now 1 pm) except for getting the kids ready for school, I’m actually starting to feel better.  It’s amazing what complete rest will do for you.   I also think not talking at all, except for an hour this morning with the kids, has helped a lot.

I’m on the hook to lead a review for management on Tuesday, and I really need to be able to coordinate that, which is really difficult when I’m feeling so awful.  Regardless, thank goodness the weekend is nearly here.