When an Emotional Fever Hits
Illness can be a reaction to what’s happening in my life.
The first sign of fever, for me, is always a stiff neck. Before my body even feels warm, the stiff neck will settle in and I can feel the impending weight of illness settle from my neck into my shoulders, and then it spreads to the rest of my body.
Yesterday was different though. By mid-morning I felt the burn of a fever, but nothing else. Taking my temperature revealed a low-grade 100.2. Enough to feel crummy. As the day progressed, no other symptoms appeared.
By evening, I desperately needed to lie down. To make matters worse, my husband had the same fever, the 8-year-old wasn’t feeling well, and the baby had thrown up three times. Made me wonder about the 6-year-old’s ability to fend for himself… My husband said that he would put the baby to bed, and I tucked both of the big kids in at 6:00 pm, telling them “I don’t care if you play or read in your room; just don’t come out and leave me alone.”
I took a Tylenol and within a few hours, the fever had burned off.
Reflecting this morning, I don’t think it was any type of illness. This past week has been rough. I spent two years in therapy after losing my babies, and now that my rainbow baby (a baby born after loss) is 7 months old, I find myself…
