Sick Day

Here are some things I learned about taking a sick day when you're a transplant patient.

1) Don't get sick on the weekends or on a holiday (apparently it's not just banks that close on MLK Day).

2) If you do get sick on a weekend or holiday, charge your iPod, Kindle, or any other form of electronic entertainment BEFORE going to the ER or risk endless hours of boredom.

3) Remember your sick days in high school? When you got to sleep in, turn on the TV, put a heating pad on your stomach and just relax while your mom made you chicken noodle soup? Those days are gone, sucker. Your sick day will actually take up the same amount of time and energy as, if not more than, your regular work day.

4) The real ER is not like the show ER. It's actually a lot more similar to "The Office" but with people's lives at stake. For example, the top doctor in my ER today was a pretty decent cross between David Wallace and Tim Gunn.

5) Pray that the worst of your illness happens before you actually go to the hospital. You do not want to be the woman screaming, "Dear God, no! Please! Make it stop!" in the bathroom. (I can say thankfully that today, that was not me. Yesterday, on the other hand... well... it was a good thing I was the only one home).

6) Have a wonderful boyfriend who will meet you at home with soup and hugs afterwards. It really will make the whole mess seem a lot better.

7) Appreciate being healthy. You already do, of course, but appreciate it just a tiny bit more, and be very happy that you get to go back to work the next day.