Health is wealth

"Health is wealth."

How many times have you heard that phrase or saying? Most likely a hundred times. We constantly hear it, but we rarely take it seriously until we become ill. And I'll be the first to admit that I'm not exempted. I don't get sick a lot; even if I'm drenched in rain and don't wash up, I still don't catch a cold. I was overconfident, and as a result, I neglected my health.

Last week, however, I began to feel ill on Tuesday. It started out like any other day. I went to school to work, but because my colleague who usually gives me a lift on her motorcycle didn't go to school that day, I opted to leave early because the last public transportation trip is between 11:30 and 12 p.m. It was a hot and humid afternoon, and the jeepney was running a little behind schedule. I waited for more than thirty minutes in the scorching heat, and I was famished since I didn't have enough time to get a lunch because I was worried the jeepney would leave me behind. I got home after 1 p.m. and ate my meal right away. I felt nauseated and dizzy thirty minutes later, and I figured it was mainly due to hunger, so I chose to sleep it off. I fell asleep and awoke an hour later, but my head felt like it was about to crack from a severe headache, so I chose to sleep some more. When I woke up, it was already dusk, but the headache was still there, along with a fever and a chill. I ate my meal and drank my medicine because I couldn't afford to be sick as I had to go to school the next day.

I was sick, so I went to bed early. The fever remained the next day, but I'd told my tutees and their parents that I'd tutor them that day, so I forced myself to go to school, assuming that the reading session would only take an hour and that I'd have more than enough time to rest afterwards. Because the tutoring took over an hour, so I felt much worse, my colleague and I headed to lunch early so that I could drink my meds on time. Fortunately, my colleague is really nice, and she agreed to have us leave school early that afternoon because of my condition. However, it began to rain heavily about halfway home, and we were drenched, worsening my situation. I was weary when I got home. I decided to skip work the next day and recuperate, but my situation didn't improve; in fact, it worsened. I spent the entire day in bed. I expected to feel better after a full day of rest, but nothing changed; in fact, it worsened as my tonsils swelled and I felt as if needles were piercing my throat when I consumed food and water.

I'm used to applying alcohol on hand even while I'm at home, so I was startled when the alcohol didn't smell that afternoon! I believed it had expired, but I had only recently purchased it, so that was impossible. I had another bottle of alcohol in my backpack, and because it had a stronger scent, it was impossible for me not to smell it. But it didn't smell like anything, so I was concerned. I sniffed everything at home that had a strong scent, including lotion, soap, shampoo, and food, but they were all odorless. The spaghetti was very bland when I tasted it. I expressed my dissatisfaction, but my family members told me that it tastes fine. I'm worried I've acquired the Covid -19 virus because I'm showing most of the symptoms, but I don't want to risk seeking medical attention, so I'm staying at home and resting.

Never did I expected that failing to take better care of myself and my health would result in my inability to go to work, my difficulty to eat delicious meals because I can't swallow them properly, my inability to go online for a long period of time, and my isolation at home. I dislike this feeling, yet I have to put up with it. Staying at home is better than risking other people's health.

Health is wealth indeed, so better take care of yourself, specially nowadays that being sick is a big deal.

After a week, I was finally able to complete an article. Because I can't look at the monitor for lengthy periods of time, it took me the entire afternoon till 8:30 p.m. to complete this brief blog.