Of Illness and Headaches by Bonnie Le Hamilton

 

I’d like to say that Konnie and I never miss a week, but obviously that isn’t the case, last week being the worst example of it.

To start with, Konnie was sick.

Illness happens, and Konnie getting sick is common for her. Let’s face it, she doesn’t live alone, and the members of her family frequently interact with the outside world, which increases her risk of catching something.

I can’t tell you how many times she’s called me all stuffed up and coughing to say she was in no shape to write a post. Life happens. But last week was the worst. For one thing, her timing was horrible.

She called me less than half an hour before our self-imposed deadline to inform me she couldn’t manage her post. She sounded horrible, so I did understand. The problem was that my head was splitting, and I’d just taken pain relievers.

Now, anyone who knows me knows that I’m sensitive to that sort of medication and tend to fall asleep after taking them.

This is well known. I can remember more than once making plans with my sister-in-law, then calling on the day of those plans to let her know I just took my headache medicine.

A lot of drugs have warning labels about operating vehicles while under their influence, but, well, the drugs I have to watch out for don’t always have that label. Few people get drowsy taking Tylenol. I pass out with anything stronger.

At least once in the past, Konnie called and I answered, informing her I had just taken Tylenol. She responded by telling me she’d call back in a couple of hours and hung up.

Konnie knows this because I have always been this way, and some years ago, she commented on her youngest being the same way. (This was before I learned I was on the spectrum too.) At the time, we contemplated one of her kids being so much like me, without realizing that what we have in common is the spectrum, as well as DNA.

At any rate, in those conditions, I was in no shape to even think logically, let alone type, so there was no way I could have produced even a short post.

Had she informed me she was ill Tuesday night, it would have been a different story. I didn’t have a headache Tuesday night and had plenty of time to write something. Wednesday morning, I was out of it.

And I really should consider having a character who is that sensitive to pain medications in one of my stories. I do have a character who suffers from migraines, but I don’t show her sensitive to pain meds.

I guess I should also point out that Konnie getting sick happens more than me getting sick. I think the last time I was too sick to post was while I experienced an adverse reaction to a change in my medications; generally, when Konnie can’t post, she’s sick. She lives with too many people to be able to avoid catching something.

I, on the other hand, rarely get sick these days. I interact with the outside world, but not as much as Konnie’s family. I just don’t have as many opportunities to catch something, but I have plenty of things wrong with me to keep me away from the keyboard.

I also have a cat who likes to rest on top of my laptop, which was what kept me away from my keyboard a couple of weeks ago.

Of course, my cat also likes to snuggle with me, which would be the problem, adding to my having trouble getting my post done on time this week; it’s hard to type when you have a cat napping on your chest. And he isn’t exactly a kitten either. He’s six years old and on the large side for a cat, so when he snuggles, I have to stop what I’m doing and pay attention to him until he moves.

I really should have a cat character in one of my stories. I do have dog characters, which is strange since I am very much a cat person. Konnie has way more experience with dogs than I do. Though I don’t recall any pets in any of her stories at all.

And, considering the axiom about writing what we know, I’d say the pet thing should be the other way around. Konnie has way more experience with pets, especially dogs, than I do. You would think she’d have loads of dogs and cats in her stories, but again, she doesn’t.

Though there are exceptions to every rule and writing only what you know is rather limiting, it is better to write what you know intellectually rather than from personal experience.

Anyway, happy writing, everyone!