Gopher Gulch: Nasty little bug

The weather is lovely! I want to be out playing so bad I can hardly stand it. Unfortunately, I can hardly stand. I don’t think I’m a special case, so it must just take a long time to recover from the bug that is making many of us miserable. Even though this seems to be a two-week bug rather than a one-week bug, I’d be willing to add a third week if only I could postpone it until November.

The bug that bit me causes non-stop coughing, with a lot of clear phlegm, especially if you take an expectorant, which is a good idea. The more of that crap you can get up and out, the quicker you’ll get well and the less likely you are to develop pneumonia or pleurisy. Suppressing a cough does more harm than good.

Flicker has been calling for hours, coaxing me out to play. His call is so compelling I confess to being teary about my inability to do so. I cry all the time anyway, but weakness doesn't help. Flicker has taught me a game. I pry a hunk of bark off a dead trunk, then back away while he eats the creepy-crawlies I've exposed. Like any responsible pet owner, he’s been training me for years.

I’ve never been sick this time of year and I hate it, but I’ve stumbled upon a technique that might help others with chest congestion and ribcage pain. I can’t see how it could hurt you, but you should always check with a qualified medical person if you do that sort of thing.

While the coughing has become sporadic rather than constant, I coughed hard enough to tweak soft tissue or crack a rib. Most of us know how painful that is, and every cough is torture.

If it’s medically safe for you to apply warmth to your ribcage, a heating pad at your back might offer comfort. What a hoot that some people are afraid of the huge spider at the window, while it’s this nasty little bug invisible to the naked eye that’s trying to kill us.