I Have Finally Recovered From a Nasty Bout of Bronchitis

in cooler weather

Yesterday was the first day since June 12 that I can say I have finally recovered from a very nasty case of bronchitis.  I suspect it had been building up for a few weeks after a summer cold. It hit me hard after a high intensity hard cycling ride with my grandson on June 12. Within hours, I had a high fever, chills, no appetite (very unusual for me), was extremely fatigued and could not stop coughing. I believe this is probably the sickest I have ever been. 

A double dose of antibiotics seemed to knock most of the bacterial infection out of me, but I continued coughing almost nonstop. I actually bruised my ribs during this time, which made breathing very difficult and aerobic exercise almost impossible. I did try cycling twice and made occasional forays to the gym, but it was wasted effort. I had to take several catnaps a day, even as recently as this weekend. 

Last week, I decided to try the elliptical trainer. I am used to exercising 2 plus hours per day, but just 30 minutes on the elliptical was very difficult. I took a day of rest and then continued, adding time every day. It seemed to help stretch the intercostal muscles along my rib cage and made it easier to breathe (and sleep). 

Yesterday, I woke up feeling very good, was able to hit the elliptical for 45 minutes, and then lifted weights. I could see that I lost a lot of strength in less than a month. I also lost 7 pounds, and suspect the weight lost was mostly muscle. It is probably going to take me several months to get my strength back. In the evening, I was able to walk my seeing eye dog buddy for a mile, and he was very happy. 

An elliptical trainer reminds me very much of a hybrid bicycle. Once I can do an hour on the elliptical, I can return to cycling. 

My appetite is still shitty but that probably is more the result of the heat than my illness. 

On the bright side, I really have improved my French language skills and the cataract surgery made it possible for me to return to reading. 

I want to thank those of you who reached out to me or who left encouraging comments on this blog. I know pretty clearly now that I have more time behind me than in front of me and that's OK. As the stoic Marcus Aurelius said, "Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back."