I am still alive. I am (thankfully) still well.

Hoping to avoid the avalanche of flu induced ill health that was last Christmas, I got my flu shot early this year. While it would be nice to take credit for being so forward thinking and responsible, it was actually my GP who reminded me of it when I was seeing her for something else.

Unfortunately I developed a cough/chest infection two days later. I sounded like a smoker. With asthma. My lung function dropped way down. The timing wasn't very good, but luckily, with a lot of exercise (swimming) and some oral antibiotics, and the diagnosis of 'virus' from the doctor (which explained why the antibiotics didn't seem to work), I seem to be back on track again.

Throughout all that I became increasingly paranoid about other meanings for my symptoms. I think it's natural to be cautious and concerned, especially as time goes on with these things. But I will be seeing my consultant/team at the end of the month and hopefully they'll reassure me that there are no long term significant changes with my health. (I should point out that when I say 'paranoid', I don't mean 'freaking out', I mean passively jumping to conclusions about alternate explanations)

Apart from all of that, I have big exams next week. And a undergraduate graduation ceremony to attend right smack in the middle. It's the stress of life, but I enjoy the satisfaction of meeting these challenges, simply because I've been given the opportunity to be able to.