3 Lessons I Learned From an Unexpected Bout of Sickness

Benefits discovered on the road to recovery.

Sickness is the dreaded life immobilizer that begs us to slow down and take better care. I’ve been sick this week (still am), and in the absence of COVID testing, because I’m too sick to drive 30 minutes into town for a test, I’ve chosen to self-isolate. I know that I don’t want others to catch whatever this is, COVID or not, so I am staying put.

My husband had the sickness first, and when I found him napping on the couch at 4 pm on a Saturday, I knew this was the dreaded winter sickness having its last hurrah at the end of February. I brought him tea, dimmed the lights, and made plans to get groceries in the house if it was contagious.

Time to batten down the hatches, I figured. Flax milk, peanut butter, and bagels, among other things, made me feel better about impending illness.

I didn’t have to wait too long.

By Tuesday night, I started feeling the first inklings that illness was imminent, with a low-grade headache, sore throat, and fatigue. I went to bed early, and Wednesday was rough; I slept most of the day, with the heat on high, wrapped in blankets, waking periodically to sip water.

I remembered working in the city through viruses like these, going non-stop for 12 hour days, and then riding the train home, and how hard it was to recover, so I made rest a priority and gladly took NyQuil along with electrolytes.

My husband had to work that night, so I tucked my son into bed beside me with all four pups, and we listened to a sleep meditation before both falling asleep at 7:30 pm.

The next morning, I felt 25% better, enough to warm my son’s clothes in the dryer for the frigid morning and make Betsey’s homemade dog food, and as I stood up for the first time in days, I thought about the lessons I had learned from this bout of illness.

1. Bonding With Animal Companions

A growing body of scientific research suggests that our pets can also make us healthier by decreasing levels of cortisol (a stress-related hormone) and lowering blood pressure. Studies have also shown that animals can decrease loneliness, improve mood, and promote feelings of social support.

A few weeks ago, we welcomed another rescued into our pack. Betsey the elderly bulldog was surrendered when her owner could no longer care for her, and she was quite depressed.

A silver lining to being bedbound for several days was the way all of our rescue dogs patiently sat by my side, offering comfort and warmth. And after spending a few days in bed with Betsey, she began to chew her paws less, and I could tell our bond had increased when she gave an enthusiastic, “grr, roo woof, woof!” when I finally felt well enough to stand.

She seemed concerned by this illness, and as I listened to her contented snores, I realized that we both felt better, a little less lonely from this isolation.

All four rescue pups remained close by, and Betsey brought her own method of healing by simply being there.

2. Discovering New Podcasts and Videos

“I’ve got bad news. I have to do a video shoot tonight,” my husband said as I shivered in a pile of blankets and looked up at him blankly. “What are we going to do with River?”

I wanted to stay as isolated as possible from our 5-year-old to spare him this illness, but you can’t really isolate yourself from a child when the other parent has to work.

“I’ll set him up here in bed with all of the pups, and we will figure it out,” I said through the haze of sickness.

As soon as River laid down, he began to stall.

“I need my stuffed animal,” he said. “Okay, honey, go get it,” I replied, exercising my patience muscle. But as soon as he arrived back with “old bear,” he immediately declared that he could not sleep without more water. “Okay, go get your glass,” I replied. He came back again. “You know this pillow is all wrong!” he exclaimed. “Okay, go get the other one from your bedroom then,” I replied.

Clearly, this bedtime was going nowhere.

But then I had an idea. I turned on a sleep meditation from the honest guys, and as we both visualized the snowy winter scene (not unlike our own snow falling outside), we were relaxed and mostly asleep within 20 minutes. That’s got to be some magic, I thought. Wait until I tell my husband what I discovered to help with bedtime!

Bedtime has been a struggle lately, and this was an unexpected miracle and a method that I intend to repeat every. single. night.

3. Fasting

Many of us have heard of intermittent fasting’s benefits, which vary from reduced inflammation, improvement of gastric disorders, and even weight management.

In fact, research points to the wide-ranging health benefits of intermittent fasting, according to an NIA-conducted review of the research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Many years ago, I used the practice of intermittent fasting to help with digestive pain, and while I don’t practice it all the time, if my stomach starts acting up, it’s my go-to (along with green juice). As a bonus, intermittent fasting also helps with chronic pain flares, based on my experience and current research.

While being sick, I unintentionally fasted for two days while still sipping vegetable stock, sugar-free Gatorade, and taking vitamins (specifically D, B- complex, C, and N-acetylcysteine).

At the end of the fast, I found that my thinking was clearer and my digestion felt smoother. I felt reset in a sort of way (even energetic), ready to get out of bed and get back into the game of life.

All in all, and as someone who has experienced chronic pain for decades, often immobilizing, I gratefully accepted the gift of good health that is allowing me to finish this article and corral our many rescue animals around the house.

Here’s to gratitude, so much overflowing beautiful gratitude. And I expect that life — our greatest and wisest teacher — will continue to guide and enliven our intertwined paths, sustaining us on our ephemeral journeys.

All earnings from this article will be donated to RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit that empowers donors to forgive billions in oppressive medical debt for individuals and families across America, thus helping medical debt from the COVID crisis at an estimated cost of $20,000 per person.

Let’s help our brothers and sisters.

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