It sounds dirty, I know. Uvula. Swinging. Swinging Uvula!

It is October already and I have fallen way behind on posting. Not even Oisin Akbar Makamaka my Ukulele has been able to pull me out of this writing slump. I have been paying a lot of attention to Oisin, he is getting a lot of playing time and my audiences can almost decipher “Over the rainbow” accompanied with a wobbly voice. Today I did not intend to talk about my Oisin but rather my Uvula.

It has been many years since I have experienced a bad bout of tonsillitis. Now I am not sure if you’ve ever had it and I can’t guarantee you’ll appreciate my post about it however this very morning I feel compelled to talk about it.

Like most people I don’t enjoy being sick. This is when I want my family the most! My mom to rub my back, my dad to read me something entertaining, my sisters to shower me with gifts of soup, chilli and large interesting bouquets of flowers and my brother to sit in the easy chair in the corner, chatting away about everything. The problem is this isn’t 1994, it is 2012 and the last decent meal I had was Sunday night.

I haven’t had my back rubbed or an entertaining article read to me, a large bouquet of flowers did not mysteriously appear on my bedside table and there has been no chatting from the easy chair in the corner.

……I did however, get my soup and soup is a wonderful thing! 🙂 Thank you!

Before this tonsillitis turned into the beast it is today, it started out as a mild sore throat. I didn’t pay too much attention. Yes I felt the chill, the fever, the lack of appetite, the headache and the list goes on, but I had work to do, boxes to open and stickers to press! There was no time for getting sick so on I soldiered until I couldn’t soldier anymore.

A quick visit to the doctor ended when he sent me home to rest, drink water and sleep. Really? That’s it?

So off I went like an obedient patient, home to rest. The only problem is this tonsillitis thing takes time to go away and seems to get much worse before it gets better.

Now what about this uvula business?

I can stand a razor sharp sore throat and ear ache – ice, fluids and soups all work well to help alleviate the pain. What I wasn’t prepared for this time was a swollen uvula. That grape like sack that hangs at the back of your throat between your tonsils. What can I tell you, it’s super uncomfortable when it is swollen. So much that swallowing becomes impossible and breathing can only be done through the nose.

After a good day and a half laying around in bed, resting, drinking water and sleeping, I was pretty confident that the worse was behind me. I would wake up this morning feeling refreshed, renewed and ready to go!

Not so fast tiger. Yes the sore throat and ear ache persists on but what really got me this morning is my uvula. The swelling is starting to decrease and therein lays the problem.

Instead of being so swollen it fills the entire opening of my esophagus, it is now medium sized and can move around at will. I can’t think of a worse sensation than that of being in a perpetual state of choking all from something dangling, swinging around, teasing my gagging reflexes each time I move my head or open my mouth.

Today’s lack of talking and laughing doesn’t come from the pain alone, it comes from my uvula bursting into my mouth sending me into fits of bent over choking.

Needless to say today, not only will I be quietly laying in my bed resting, drinking water and sleeping, I will also be mostly inert as to not disturb my uvula from resting on whatever side of my esophagus where it brings the least sensation of the gag!