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Friday 4 August 2017

Warrnambool Whale Weekend - a washout

So why is that we often get sick on holidays?  Now that just sucks.  Last weekend wasn't really a "holiday", but rather a "mini-break." 4 days down in Warrnambool to go whale watching for our 13th anniversary.  Because that's our thing and as flying anywhere was off the agenda this year, local it was to be.  

It had been a busy week, but felt well enough.  Interesting that we're at our most productive the day before we are due to go on holidays.  Set off just before 9am - yay road trip!

Didn't expect to pull over in Colac with Emi clutching his side after a particularly violent coughing fit and certainly didn't expect for that coughing fit to lead us to the Colac Medical Centre.  Pain jab, x-ray, what to do?  We continued onwards to Warrnambool - surely an early night was all that was needed?  Would appear not as the pain returned with a vengeance and we paid a visit to the local hospital.  Lovely place - as far as hospitals go.  Nice doctors, friendly nurses and staff, they got him in quick, poked , prodded, tested and jabbed.  At least the nasties were ruled out.  Not kidney stones, gall bladder or broken ribs.

Loaded up on pain meds and home to bed.  But first came the fever.  One of those bone chilling colds that you just can't get warm from.  That was Emi and bed is where he more or less stayed the whole next day and night as well.  Except for the regular trips to the loo - you see this particular bug gave you the runs as well.  Nasty - diarrhoea and a cough do not go. 

By Saturday afternoon, I'd developed the cough. By Sunday lunchtime, we decided to pack up and head home a day early.  The highlight - we did drop by the whale nursery at Logan Beach and there they were.  The majestic Southern Right whales. Almost every year between June and September, females return to these waters to calve. There were at least 3 small groups and some well within a hundred metres of the shore. So glad we stopped - they are so beautiful and so close.

Made it home and the chills had got to me as well.  Freezing, but with a fever and yep, by Monday, the runs had come along.  Nice.  Going to sit on the loo when you feel a coughing fit coming on - priceless. 

Not quite the way we had envisaged spending our anniversary - giving each other the shits. 

No hard facts, but it seems that it's common for people to fall ill at the beginning of a break.  Apparently high levels of the stress hormone cortisol can be the culprit. Stress leads to higher cortisol levels in the body, reducing the strength of your immune system and leading to illness.

Or maybe we get so busy in the days leading up to holidays that we run ourselves down and don't notice we're a bit off colour?  Then you relax and wham!  Same theory behind Friday Night-is.  You know, you end up doing nothing and going to bed earlier on a Friday night than during the week.

Solution = permanent holiday.  And keep your stress levels down.  Now I'm off to bed to sleep the last lingering remnants of this bug off. 

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