Sick.

Sunday night I went to bed with a slightly sore throat. It was sore, but not terrible. It got progressively worse through the night...sore enough to wake me up several times. Around 3:45 or 4 in the morning I decided to just get up as it was obvious I wasn't going to be able to sleep any more.

I stumbled my way into the bathroom, my limbs still groggy from the NyQuil and prodded at my grossly swollen neck glands. I attempted to look in my mouth, but opening it/sticking my tongue out was painful.

I decided I would need to make it count, as I would most likely wuss out of opening my mouth again for days...oh if I only knew how true that was....

Anyway, I groped my way around the house in search of a flashlight and then stumbled back to the bathroom feeling rather victorious. I perched myself atop the sink and peered into the back of my throat (illuminating it with said flashlight) and then my world ENDED.

My right tonsil was grossly swollen and pitch BLACK. (They were both swollen and black-sh, but the right one was REALLY bad). How is that even possible??!!

Panic seized me.

My skin grew clammy, the room began to spin, and I spent the next 40 minutes in the bathtub alternating between googling "black tonsils" and vomiting profusely (which did not help AT ALL with the throat pain).

Around 5 I text my dad "911, HELP. FEVER. CHILLS. BLACK TONSILS???!!! GOING TO DIE"

Dad texted back, "ouch." followed by "just self medicate, I'm sure it will be fine".

Totally not helpful.

I poked at said giant tonsil with a q-tip and it POPPED. Black stuff began oozing out of it and I started vomiting again, mostly I think, due to panic. (possibly also due to the gross and/or ick factor).

At 6:15 I gathered up the courage to call out of work (talking was sooooooooo painful) and headed to the ER, having totally convinced myself that my tonsils were necrotic and I was at death's door.

On the space on the ER form for why I needed to be seen I wrote "woke up and tonsils were black??!! Poked one and it POPPED??!! Pretty sure that's not supposed to happen? Why is this happening??!!"

Nothing of note really happened at the ER, save for the throat swab. I told her ahead of time that I sometimes (read:always) have control issues and because I've never had a throat swab before there was no telling how I would react.

Apparently, I do not react well.

No sooner was the q-tip in my mouth than I was biting down and ferociously shaking my head from side to side. To make matters more awkward, my mouth would not open to release the swab. Would. Not. Open. After a few minutes, I calmed down and released it. Feeling more prepared for the second swab I decided we should try it again, but the results were the same.

Finally I just asked meekly if she would please just let me do it, since apparently, I was not about to let her swab my gross tonsil. She consented and the swabbing proceeded without issue. It did however, return from my mouth covered in blood and black stuff.

My lab results came back positive for strep throat, which was amazing because despite being immuno-compromised, I have never EVER had strep throat. It's the one thing I've traditionally been resistant to, but apparently there's a first time for everything.

In addition, my gross black/popped tonsil was a tonsillar abscess which had to be drained. This was...unpleasant. However, I felt MUCH better once it was over with.

That being said, I still feel like death. I've spent the past 36 hours alternating between fitful naps and hot baths. (I think I took upwards of 8 baths yeasterday alone.) My throat looks much more strep-y today, covered with big streaks of puss, and grossly swollen (but much less black). I'm having a hard time sleeping, both because I have to take meds every 4 hours, and because the pain in my neck/throat/teeth/ears is insufferable when laying down.

I have to go back to work/school tomorrow, so hopefully I'll sleep better tonight and I'll be able to talk a little bit better in the morning. :/

That's all I know.

I miss you terribly.
Lots of love.
Me.