This winter weather has made me sick with the crud

I’ve had the crud here lately. My nose won’t stop running, I’m aching all over and all I want to do is lay around and watch TV.

I am pretty sure I’ve ran a fever, but I didn’t have the gumption to go dig the thermometer out of the medicine cabinet.

After about two days, I decided I needed some medicine. So, I did what most farmers do, I went out to the feed room and dug around until I found some. I took that for two more days without much success.

I like the green salve you rub on a horse’s legs. I use it to relieve chest congestion. It smells good and kind of warms you up like icy hot, but it’s not greasy like icy hot.

After four solid days of being about as sick as I’ve ever been, I finally decided I needed professional doctoring. So I went to the walk-in clinic. The doctor asked where I got my antibiotics I been taking. Needless to say, she wasn’t surprised when I told her they came from my feed room.

She poked and prodded and took my blood pressure, temperature, checked my ears, throat and even mashed her bony fingers into both sides of my nose.

“Does that hurt,” she said? Well, yea it does, like I would say no and dare her to poke and prod me some more.

She sent the local pharmacy a list of medicines, mainly tamiflu and cough medicine. She also had her nurse come give me a shot of dex.

I think she gave me as much dex as I give a horse. My oxygen was at 91% in her office, I guess if I was a sick roping calf, I’d have done the same thing she did, loaded it up on dex and some draxxin or any other antibiotic I thought would work.

I didn’t tell her, but I also have the Dex she gave me a big shot of at home in the feed room. Although I haven’t been brave enough to try to inject myself with any kind of remedy, I’m a bit chicken when it comes to needles.

The tamiflu she got me sure seemed to make me feel better, but dang I’m sick of coughing. If I get out in the cold, I get to coughing and can’t stop. It don’t take me long to come back in and sit by the fireplace.

I went outside and fixed a busted pipe in my well house on Day 6. It only took about an hour to repair, but I sure was tired afterward. I’m not sure that I’ve ever been this puney for this long. I don’t have much stamina.

One day, I did laundry and dishes about the entire day. The next day I didn’t have the energy to do anything.

On Day 7, I felt good enough that I went outside snd saddled up some colts. I walked to the mailbox and back to try to build up some air. I had to stop twice going and coming because I got out of breathe.

I’ve had the neighbor helping me put out hay. My wife and son have been doing the feeding for me. I’ve sat around and worried about this and that not being done, it’s even kept me awake at night.

One thing I’ve learned from this bout of the winter flu, worrying doesn’t accomplish a single thing.

The Bible says in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”

I guess that’s kind of saying you should put off worrying until tomorrow, and then when tomorrow comes put it off again.

EDITOR’S NOTE: James Lockhart lives near the Kiamichi Mountains in southeast Oklahoma. He writes cowboy stories and fools with cows and horses.