The Many Ways To Be Sick

I remember very distinctly how sick was defined as a child: a fever and/or vomit. You could also stay home if you had a really terrible cough or cold, but it had to be so bad that you were struggling to breathe.

Lyme disease is difficult because we don’t always look sick. People often use this as an excuse to reject our claims. “Well, you don’t look that sick, and you’re not confined to bed, so it must not be that bad.” (I usually want to say, “I wish I was in bed!”) The word “sick” is too weak for my taste. Eskimos have hundreds of words for snow, and we have one word for something that can affect our mind, heart, and body? Maybe we just need a more in depth list of definitions.

Sick: Rachel’s Definitions

1. Nauseous, and sort of achy.
2. Achy, with a fever, and a side of nausea.
3. Dizzy with extensive brain fog.
4. Minimal brain fog with a fever.
5. Coughing the day away, with some achy joints for company.
6. Throwing up a meal that definitely WAS NOT gluten/dairy/sugar free.
7. Wishing I could throw up something I should not have eaten (yes, you, chocolate cake. I am looking right at you)
8. Panic ridden, fever ridden, wishing I could ride health into the sunset and never come back.
9. Dizzy with achy joints.
10. Depressed to the point of exhaustion, but unable to sleep due to INSOMNIA.
11. Feeling like my head is full of swarming bees
12. Anxious about talking about being sick because I’m really not getting any better.
13. Perfectly healthy….aside from the dangerous gas heating up my room (hope my roommate doesn’t come home soon)
14. Bloated from dangerous, un-expelled gas. (Seriously, these jeans should fit. I literally can’t gain weight on a dairy/sugar/gluten free diet)
15. Unable to sleep due to confusion over previously listed symptoms.

I’m sure there’s a whole lot more I could list. Let me know what some of yours are in the comments. What do you mean when you say, “I’m sick”?