Could you all do me a favor?  Please pray that I get over this illness quickly, and that work goes smoothly tonight.  I know that sounds silly and kind of simple, but I could really use it.

I’ve had a terrible cold, an earache, and a very, very sore throat for the last 5 days.  I slept for a solid 12 hours today and still am not feeling better.  I’ve been taking cold medicine, ibuprofen, and Tylenol at appropriate intervals, but it’s not helping.  I’ve started to lose my voice, and even my gums are hurting.  I probably should’ve gone to see a doctor, but I hate seeing the doctor.  If I’m not better after tomorrow night, I’ll probably try to get an appointment for Thursday (my day off).

I’m working both tonight and tomorrow night in a very busy Emergency Room, and I can’t bring myself to call off.  My department’s call-off policy is strict: call off once in a 90-day period and you get a verbal warning, call off twice in that same 90-day period and it’s a written warning, and call off three times in that same period and they can choose to pursue disciplinary action.  If I call off, everyone else is left to pick up the slack, so I don’t want to call off unless I really, truly cannot work.

**Thanks for your prayers and sweet comments!  I hate to think what last night would’ve been like without them.  It was probably the worst night that I’ve ever had in terms of busyness, but I was able to get through it.  Plus, a co-worker wanted to trade days with me and asked if she could work my night shift tonight in exchange.  Awesome!  That means I’ll have some time to recuperate.**