I had a pleasant Saturday of less itching, minimal coughing, and almost-gone arthritic joint pain. My rash has cleared up and I took Advil only once today. I’d like to give a shout out to Dr. Z across the street, the almost-empty bottles of Advil and Tylenol, the almost-empty boxes of Claritin and Benadryl, my trusty inhaler, and my new cough medicine with codeine for getting me through the past week. Oh yeah, I also lost 5 pounds this week on the childhood disease diet. You should all try it! It rocks!

I’ve been out sick since Monday and feeling 75%.  I went to see the doctor on Monday and she said that I had the flu.  But then, on Monday night, I broke out in a scary rash all over my neck, chest, abdomen, and back.  And then on Tuesday morning, it had spread to my arms and legs.  Yikes!  Well, I went back to see her on Tuesday and she told me that I have “Fifth Disease“, which is a childhood virus and has an eerily similar set of symptoms that I had.  It starts with a mild fever, aches all over, and headaches.  Then once the fever goes away, a rash appears from the center of the body and spreads out to the extremities.  Great.  Apparently once the rash appears, I’m no longer contagious…just really gross to look at.  Luckily it did not appear on my face and I am going back to work today with my neck covered up.  Ah, the hazards of working with sick kids.