Imagine this: all is going well, you’re doing well in your classes, you are becoming close with your friends at school, and you are finally acclimated to living at school. All is well one minute. But then the next minute comes and before you know it, all you feel like doing is laying down.
My sickness came and went throughout the week. Just when I thought I was fine and that whatever I had had blown over, I started to feel ill again. It started out with a bad headache, a fever, and chills. I was convinced I either had the flu or a very bad cold, and I was hoping it wasn’t the flu because that would mean that I would be sick for a few days. Little did I know that this was an illness that would put me out of school for longer than just a few days.
This sickly feeling I had came and went for a week without an end in sight. Thankfully, the week following was spring break, which meant that I would be able to see my primary care doctor at home. After running some tests, the results concluded that I had mono. Mono is notorious for making someone feel as if they are coming down with a never-ending cold (as it did with me), making one feel extremely weak and tired, and lasting three to four weeks, and that’s if you’re lucky. Some cases, I’ve heard, have lasted up to six months. And worst part of it all was that there is no known cure for mono except lots of rest, fluids, and Vitamin C.
By the end of spring break I was only about two-thirds of the way through my illness. I was home sick from college the entire week following spring break. When I finally had enough energy to come back to school, I was still not entirely better. Unfortunately, although the mono itself was gone, the virus left me feeling weak and tired for over a month after. This made studying late at night a lot harder, since all I wanted to do was go to bed early. Not to mention I was a week behind from the week that I was home, and for a college student, catching up on all of that was the most challenging thing I had faced all year.
If nothing else, having this horrible illness taught me some valuable lessons. It taught me to be thankful for my small campus; that I wouldn’t have to walk far to class when I was unusually tired or weak, and that I had professors who were understanding and willing to work closely with me. It taught me never to take having my family around to take care of me for granted. It also taught me to lean on my friends for support; even kind little gestures such as asking how I’m doing or offering to help in any way possible was enough to make me feel that much better knowing I’d surrounded myself with such positive people. But most importantly, it taught me to put my health above all things, even when there is schoolwork that needs to be sacrificed.
