I finally got the weekend off after working a couple of evening shifts (that finishes at 12 midnight) and seeing heaps of patients. While I was expecting to get a well-deserved rest, I wasn’t expecting to fall sick.
This morning, I work up with laryngitis, which simply means inflammation of the area where the vocal cords are. In other words, I lost my voice. Technically I didn’t really lose my voice because I could still speak with a low, manly voice – so low that it will put the basses in my choir to shame.
And this happened because I was examining a baby – a cute one, I must say, and listening to her heart, when she suddenly stuff her whole hand full of drool into my mouth. At that point in time, I knew that it was a lost war and it would have just been a matter of time before I get really sick. True enough, 2 days down the road, I started getting symptoms, and on the third day, I started getting really sick.
I guess these are “work hazards” with seeing sick patients. There’s this thing about putting on a mask with each patient, but I just feel that it adds an invisible barrier between me and the patient. It was definitely a risk that I took, but I guess what’s done is done.
Despite being really sick, and “speechless”, I still bothered to get out of the house to do some grocery shopping before I run out of food at home. This is how life living away from your family is like – you basically have to look after yourself (and your dependants) because there won’t be anyone else to look after you.
Thank goodness I still have Sunday to start packing up my things. Living on my own without any housemates or roommates made me realise a lot of things about myself. Although I am really messy while I was living with my parents, I realised that I am actually quite “OCD” about a lot of things at home. I would pick up strands of hair that I see on the floor, or pick up little bits of dirt as I walk. I got so tired of picking up hair strands and small pieces of dirt that I actually folded a scotch tape such that the sticky bit faces out and I use it to stick hair and dirt onto it so that I could then throw the bits away.
That was something that I would never have done at my parents place. I guess when we live with our parents, we tend to take a lot of things for granted.
Alright, I think I better go take some anti-inflammatory medications and pain tablets before I go to bed. Goodnight everyone! 🙂
