Sick
This cold began the way all of my colds do: with a sore throat. I woke up with it two Saturdays ago. I called Kit and we decided I should quarantine myself, so I didn't see him all that weekend. (Or all the next week as it happens but towards the end of the week this was more to do with our conflicting schedules than anything else.)
The cold progressed to Stage Two quite quickly. On Sunday the sore throat was less sore and moving down to the base of the throat/top of the chest and inducing a tickly cough.
Monday and Tuesday the cough didn't get worse but I became hugely bunged up. I went through a packet of tissues plus masses of toilet paper each day.
The first half of last week I also felt exhausted and like I'd been hit by a truck.
By the end of the week, the runny nose had generally cleared up and the cough had worsened. At times it was uncontrollable. One day I had an uncontrollable coughing fit that lasted several minutes on a packed train. I was sitting down with people either side of me and people facing me, and I just couldn't stop coughing. To make matters worse, at the end of such a fit I find myself in desperate need of blowing my nose, but of course by the end of the week I'd stopped carrying tissues because I wasn't generally so bunged up. Then on Monday I coughed so hard after brushing my teeth that I was sick.
Over the weekend I began to get popping/pain in one or both of my ears on or off.
Now a new delight. Monday my eyes felt a bit sensitive. Yesterday it became clear that a stye was developing in one of them. Swelling got worse through the day and by the time I went to bed it was clearly red and puffy compared to the other eye. It is itchy and painful and annoying.
And I've still got a cough.
In short: woe is me.