Irony or Serendipity?

I was burrowed under my wool comforter (I'm allergic to down) when my phone rang. "uhhh- hmmm. Hello?"

...moaaan, "I'm really sick" is what I almost make out over the phone line.

My little sister was calling me, and she sounded HORRIBLE. I'd just gotten back from getting my throat gouged, I mean swabbed, at the lab cuz I thought I might have strep. Hearing my sister, it reminded me how BAD Strep Throat is and sounds! After asking her a few pertinent questions (fever? check. sore throat? check. Spots on your tonsils? check. Pain so bad you would rather spit than swallow? check. Chills? check. Tender lymph nodes in your neck under your jaw? check. Feel like you'd rather go to the hospital than do anything else because you feel so absolutely rotten? check. Have child(ren) in school/preschool? check.*), I deduced that she had a VERY high likelihood of strep throat, and that she should really be going to the doctor to get it swabbed. Oh, and after hearing this recommendation from my friend, when I talked to my sister I said, "ASK FOR A SHOT!" The last thing a person wants to do when they don't even want to swallow spit is to swallow a giant HORSE pill! I didn't want to swallow ibuprofen that I knew would help, let alone a giant pill that took tons of painful gulps to get down my raw throat. I didn't even think I'd be able to get it down the first couple of doses.


I then thought, Huh, maybe I don't have strep... I have been mostly functional, haven't had fever or chills. But, I DO have a sore throat and NO other symptoms. *shrug* Well, the rapidstrep test was negative (as it was the last time I'd had strep, so I don't put much money in that for me), and I knew that the doc's office would call the next day if it were positive.

Fast forward a day.

Phone rings as I'm playing chase with my girls and I hear a cough, and then a scratchy voice in almost tears, but maybe it's jubilation, "Heeehhhhllo? I have strep!" Yay! I mean, relief! Her horrible illness can be treated with some antibiotics, and she'll feel SO much better in 24 hours!
No phone call for me, and my throat was hurting some, but, come on, I was running around on the floor and laughing with my girls! (and maybe so you don't think I'm all that great, I should mention that only an hour earlier I'd been screaming about [literally] spilled milk). So, no strep for me, it's just a virus and it'll work through my system and I might have a sore throat for a week, but then I'll be good, right?

Uh, wait. There's a message on my phone, and there's that phone call from my doctor's office saying, "Yes, well, the culture did grow strep, and we've called you in a prescription."

So, I load up all 4 girls, driving into the onset of a blizzard we're facing in the next 24 hours, to go get my drugs so I can also feel like a new woman once the Blizzard has passed.

So, is it ironic that my sister and I got the SAME illness the same time? Or just serendipitous.

Is it ironic that I seem to accomplish more housework when I'm sick, and play more with my kids? or is that just my perception... although I'm nearly caught up on the laundry...

Oh, nope. I didn't get the shot. But I can swallow horse pills right now... maybe my immune system is better cuz it's seen this brand of infection before. Maybe I'm getting enough sleep. Whatever the reason, I'm VERY grateful I don't feel like my sister, and I'm praying she recovers quickly!

* Don't use this checklist to self-diagnose. If you think you or your kid has strep, go check it out with your doctor. People often have different manifestations. I only had chills and throat pain with tender nodes. My sister had EVERYTHING. Strep needs to be treated because it can go on to Scarlet Fever and can cause heart damage, or worse, if untreated. It's a rather serous infection. Thankfully, it's usually easily treatable (unless you are allergic to penicillins).