Under the weather

Lately, I haven't been feeling well. I've been getting crazy headaches, all of my bones were achy, and I was incredibly tired all the time. I figured it was just because I have been stressed lately about quitting my job, going back to school, paying for school, working full time, my new calling, etc... I was just waiting for it to pass and hoped that my vacation to Vegas would help a bit. When I got back home I started getting some other symptoms.

It started out as a simple stuffy nose, which I assumed was from my bad allergies during spring time. No big deal, right? Then last week I discovered a couple bumps on my neck. My step mom (who has worked in health care for years) told me that they were just swollen glads and to keep an eye on them for about a week. On Monday night after work I went to dinner with my brother, Graham, and our friend Trevor. When I returned home I felt my neck to see if I had any more swollen glands, and what did I find? My lymph node on the right side of my neck was swollen to the size of a golf ball. And it HURT. I showed Patty who recommended I take an allergy pill and see if it helped. When I woke up the next morning I felt even worse, so I ruled out allergies.

At work my friend Cassi told me that she had something similar a couple weeks ago. She said that the only difference was that she had white bumps on the back of her throat. Being the hypochondriac that I am, I immediately ran to the bathroom to check my throat. Sure enough, there they were. Nasty little things.

I went to the doctor who did a rapid strep test (came back negative) and removed the "white spots" aka built up food particles in my swollen tonsil. He also was very concerned by the size of my swollen glad and sent me to a blood lab to get some tests.

I am being tested for Strep, Mono, and Epstein Bar. Unfortunately, I won't know what I have or if I am contagious until next week. So for now, I will continue to be miserable. Hopefully, I'll get a letter from the always lovely Tanner B. this week to make me feel better. He always knows how to cheer me up, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. :)