The last time I was sick was a few months ago, I was sick with a cold. I was able to treat my cold by taking some medicine, drinking plenty of fluids, and resting. My sickness was met with indifference. Having a cold is seen as something that is not severe so it does not warrant a big reaction. My mom was helpful by checking on me, and making sure I drank tea and took medicine regularly.
The last time my girlfriend was sick was back in February. I was extremely worried about her because it came on out of nowhere. I had gone to visit her at work, and she was lethargic, running a temperature, and visibly not in good condition. She tried to play it off and say that she was fine, but based on her symptoms I knew she had to have something serious. That night I had her spend the night at my house because I was worried about her driving while being so sick. The next day we went to the Emergency Room to get her checked out due to her running a temperature of 103°F. We found out that she had caught a bad case of strep throat and she would need to take antibiotics.
What each of these experiences had in common was that we both needed to take medicine. The difference between the two experiences was the severity of the symptoms, how long it would take to treat the illness, and how we were able to determine what we were sick with. Our illness experiences were completely different because I was able to go to the pharmacy to pick up some over the counter medicine and treat my illness at home. Her, on the other hand, had to go to the hospital and be prescribed medicine.
Julissa's Sociology Adventure 
Hello Julissa,
I enjoyed reading your blog, luckily you guys caught the strep throat early or else it could have gotten really bad. Having a cold is never looked at seriously but it sucks. I remember once I got a cold and it lasted for a very long time. My ears were plugged and so was my nose. The cough takes forever to go away, but luckily yours went away soon.
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Hi Julissa. I enjoyed reading your post. Being sick has to be one of the worst feelings. I like how you pointed out the specifics with you and you’re girlfriends sickness and it’s severity. It’s always a good idea to get checked up even though you may think it’s minor because it can be more serious that you think it may be. Did this bring your relationship even closer? And how did you feel when you saw someone close to you in that condition? I’m glad that it didn’t go downhill from there. I’ve seen something like that happen before, where the person doesn’t want to go get checked up even though they’re feeling horrible. It’s very common.
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Hi Julissa. I think people underestimate the benefits of drinking lots of fluids so I think you did the right thing. It may not seem like it will make a big difference but it truly does. It is nice to have someone be there for you through an illness. My mom would also check on me all the time while I was sick. It must have been hard for you to see your girlfriend in that kind of position. Having someone close to you being sick and feeling helpless is one of the worst feelings ever. I wonder how she caught a bad case of strep throat. I’m glad you took the precaution and was attentive with her throughout the entire experience. Thanks for sharing.
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Hi,
That’s so great that your mom is there to also check on you because when we are sick sometimes we are not in the right state of mind and we do need people to tell us what we can do to get better. Everytime I do get sick and do go visit my mom she has the right remedies for me. When I really did go looking for her was when my daughter was a baby because she experienced it with me and my siblings, so that made me feel very comfortable in going to her for advice.
I commend you on taking care of your girlfriend when she was sick. Sometimes we have so much going on in our life like work, school, and more that we try to make ourselves think that we are not sick. I have been guilty of doing that as well and we just need someone to tell us that it’s not okay and that our health comes first. I am currently trying to tell my mother that she should rest because she is working two jobs and in one job she is working more than 40 hours a week, I see that she is very tired but she does not want to let go of the other job. The reason why is because she has worked there for so long and she says no one else wants to work there because of how dangerous the area is. How do you convince a person that they should put their health first?
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Hi – Like many of us, we experience colds. I think colds are definitely okay to experience. They are nothing like strep throat. I personally and thankfully have not had strep throat. I’ve hard it’s a terrible illness. You are brave and a good person for being there for your girlfriend. It shows charisma on your behalf and she is very lucky to have you take care of her. I’m glad to hear you both were able to get better, even if it takes needing antibiotics. Sometimes Tylenol isn’t enough am I right?!
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I like how you were able to be there and fully support her through her sickness. I agree that the levels of severity influence how each illness would be treated. I understand the indifference that is felt when it comes to having a cold because it is super common and is easily treated. How long after the antibiotics would it take for her to recover from strep throat?
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