Thursday 28 April: Day Seven. The miracle of healing is going on. For the first time, browny-green gunge comes out of my nose after I get up in the morning; this is the tipping point. I'm feeling much better, brighter, less rheumy, less of that ache in the backbone. Occasional cough; when I feel one coming on, a gulp of air in the lungs held for 20 seconds or so tends to stifle it effectively. I stay in all day (fourth day in a row) and decide to do no exercise at all.
Friday 29 April: Day Eight. And so, a week has gone by, and the cold, left untreated (other than plenty of tea with lime and honey plus good sleep) has done the trick. Still a leftover sensation of 'dustiness' in the sinuses. The pharmaceutical industry has earned zero złotys off of me, as I've not bought any 'remedies' which do nothing in terms of dealing with the virus, only provide some relief from the symptoms, which in any case, were not debilitating. For the first time since Sunday that I've gone out for a walk (10,000 paces done) and a full set of exercises done. A bit of sunshine helps enormously, lifting the spirits.
Saturday 30 April: Day Nine and I declare this cold over! Walked 20,000 paces today (from Jeziorki to Nowy Podolszyn and back); full set of exercises. No cough, very slight nasal congestion remains. Moments during the day when I remember that I'm getting over a cold - a handful. Still, got to take care over the next few days, build up the immune system. Rest/sleep; healthy diet; exercise/movement.
Unwillingness to exercise due to a need for physical recuperation (as opposed to outright laziness) is a good marker for how unwell you really are. This cold meant one day with zero exercise and four consecutive days without a walk. Last March whatever the mystery bug that got me (Covid? Slight fluiness, main symptom tiredness/fatigue) resulted in five days of zero exercise and five days without a walk in a row. My heavy bout of flu in January 2018 was the record during my time of record keeping - nine days without exercise and seven days without a walk.
Here's the worry though. Colds are the result of two things - one, a weakened immune system, two - a virus that latches onto a body with a weakened immune system. It turns out I caught a cold, not Covid. I've not ready anywhere how prevalent colds are compared to Covid - are they ten, a hundred times more common than Covid - even at the height of the pandemic? If I can catch an airborne virus like a cold, I could have also caught Covid.
Where did my immune system weaken? Over the Easter weekend, I guess - Easter Monday, a sunny day but with a strong and chilly north wind. Too warm for three layers - too cold for two. I felt after an hour and half out in the fields photographing horizons that I had been thoroughly chilled in my shirt and jumper. Lots of alcohol at the end of Lent too, then on 20 April a business mixer - 120 people at the Bristol Hotel, again, lots of alcohol and contact with many people, no doubt someone with a cold out there in that crowd (though I watch out to avoid coughers and sneezers). Still, it's over, but it's one worth contemplating in terms of whole-life health maintenance.
Time for gratitude. Thankful for being back to the default state - ease (as opposed to disease). It's good to feel well; short and mercifully light viral infections make one grateful for good health; complacency needs to be kept in check.
The war in Ukraine is still ongoing; personal tragedies occurring in people's lives because of the madness of one man who needs taking down - quickly.
This time last year:
Identified - photographs from long ago
[and guess what - they won't.]
April's end, summer's beginning
This time four years ago:
Best April ever?
This time five years ago:
The search for the Gold Train: Day Two
This time six years ago:
Semi-automatic (short story)
This time ten years ago:
So good to be back in Warsaw
This time 11 years ago:
At the President's
This time 13 years ago:
Summer's here, and the time is right...
This time 15 years ago:
Why I'm staying in Warsaw
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