The worst bit about the flu was the cough, particularly at night. It wasn’t just that it kept me awake. About twice a night my diaphragm went into a complete panic, desperately trying to expel something from my lungs like a Britain First supporter faced with a perfectly nice neighbour who didn’t happen to be white. Every time it happened, I’d cough so long and hard that I’d lose peripheral vision. It probably only lasted a minute or so each time, but it felt like years. And at the end of it all, I’d cough up a tiny bit of hard phlegm.
Yesterday I staggered to the doctor and passed her a pre-prepared note since I still had no voice at all. She said that I was quite right about antibiotics not helping with the flu, and that they wouldn’t help with the horrible cough either. She said the most important things was to keep drinking lots of water. Meanwhile, expectorant, Ibuprofen, throat sweets, keep warm, don’t talk, don’t think about work until Monday.
For once I’m doing what the doctor ordered, and it’s working. I feel better and I can whisper. I might even be better by Monday.
