Sick

Aching limbs and torso, shortness of breath. Extreme exhaustion, too tired to move or work. I lay in bed, trying to summon up enough energy to reach for my bottled water or ringing phone. Unable to stretch across the gap between my resting place and the desktop, I give up. At that moment, the coughs come. Hacking through my being, wracking my frame with spasms of torture, reverberating through lungs that refuse to expand for air. They continue until panic sets in, and I cannot rest until they stop and I gasp for breath. My head tips back, and I sigh in exasperation. Pneumonia sucks.