the plight of unpopped ears

I keep hearing Delta is going under and really its no great suprise to me. I called a few weeks ago to reserve a flight with some frequent flyer miles and this is when I discovered that free tickets can only be used on certain flights...these certain flights happen to be the crappy ones. So my choice for flying out to Nashville for GMA (Gospel Music Association) week was between a flight with 4 stops or a red eye.

I took the red eye.

I left for Nashvegas on the 10:40pm flight Sunday night and arrived at 8:ooam. Storms across the whole midwest made for a rather bumpy...and sleepless...night. Once at the Hilton, I decided not to take a nap so I could get adjusted to the time change. We will call this "mistake #1". Mistake #1 was quickly followed up with the more grevious "mistake #2". The sun was shining and I decided to go for a little run that turned into an hour and half one. Just a little jog through Nashville during the height of allergy season, I was later to learn. Monday was full of running into people and visitng. Tuesday morning began with a bang at 4:30...that's AM. By the time we left the Listening's showcase, I had been awake WAY TOO LONG.

That's when I noticed my throat was sore. I thought it was from shouting over the music to visit with friends.

Wednesday I knew it was more than that. Coughing. Sneezing. Sore Throat. Runny Nose. I looked like the poster child for a cold medicine ad. Felt like it too. Got just enough sleep in the afternoon to make it through the evening.

Went to bed way too late Wednesday night and awoke Thursday morning with a nose bleed. Fun stuff.

My ears had begun to feel a little bad too by the time I boarded another crappy Delta flight home. My symptoms were evolving from 'cold like' to 'flu like'. I was shivering and covered in goose bumps, but hot to the touch. I slept most of the way to Salt Lake City, but by the time I raced to catch my flight to Seattle, I was almost faint.

That short flight hour and a half flight nearly killed me. My ears never popped. If you fly much, you know ear popping is essential to the flying experience. THe ears MUST pop. But mine didn't. They were aching to the point that I almost wanted to cry. The plane landed and I shuffled out to baggage claim..no poppage. My friend Matt picked me up at the airport...still no poppage.

So we stopped at Walgreens. I asked the pharmacist what he recommened. He said that I should take a decogestant and try to not blow my nose...that it could take up to 3 days! UGH.

So I am shuffling around the house,..trying to keep my balance...feel like I am in a tunnel.

You never realize how important some things are (like your ears) until they don't work!