Sick, Sick, Well-ish, Sick, Sick…

Last updated on November 26, 2023

One of our Facebook and Twitter followers asked: “Are you sick often? My son is.”

Ask my wife or my mother… or even my college students. I am susceptible to everything. It stinks.

Oh, yes. Definitely. I’m sick right now. It seems like I’m sick twice as many days as I am well. There are days when I believe I am never well.

My colds turn into something worse most of the time. I have chest congestion and have for months. It started as a cold, became bronchitis, and then a staph infection. Antibiotics and steroids have not cleared my chest. The coughing hurts, the gunk in my throat disgusts me. But, there hasn’t been a good solution.

The immune system overreacts to everything. A minor cold? Nope. My body rushes to “help” and ends up making matters worse.

I realize this question was about illnesses, but physically I’m fragile, too. When I have an illness, it makes it harder to ignore the leg, back, shoulder, and neck pains. I was in a back brace for scoliosis and there are some permanent issues with my spine, which leads to pain in my limbs.

So, yes, I am sick often and it magnifies my autistic traits. Coughing with a bad back hurts. A lot. Sensory overload is a constant state of existence, and being ill only makes it harder to tolerate sounds, lights, and touch.

Maybe this isn’t comforting for parents, but I am only one person. I don’t know if others have similar experiences.