Saturday, 31^st March, 2018 1250

Sorry in advance for a moaning entry!

When I went to bed on Thursday I may as well not have bothered. Every time I dropped off and closed my mouth the pain from my teeth meeting woke me. I am sure everyone reading has experienced an abscess at some point, so have I but nothing serious.

When the alarm went off, not only was I in pain but incredibly tired. I was a finger-click away from calling in sick.

I didn't though and struggled up and into work. I have only once before not taught my classes personally, that was when I completely lost my voice so had to enlist students to play at being teacher. This time it was because I was irritable, knackered, in pain and in danger of throwing up. The students thought I was mad, they suggested I go and sleep in my office while they studied on their own. They would have studied too, albeit not my subject!

I asked for a student to go to a chemist and get me antibiotics and also confirmed with them that 999 was a painkiller. I knew I wouldn't be going for breakfast, (I ate a sausage roll for Wednesday lunch and have eaten nothing since) chewing would have been agony.

So when I finished at ten with a four and a half hour break ahead of me, I went to my office and made a beaker of 999. As it came in powdered sachet form I suspected it might be TCM but if it numbed me so what? It was vomit-inducing. I know medicines taste bad but this was something else. Only then did I look it up online. Yes, it is TCM – for colds!

I tried to get some sleep in the armchair to no avail but maintained the hope I would nod off. I gave up after two hours. When I got up, I felt my face and immediately went to look in the mirror. Within two hours the left side of my face now looked like a bullfrog's throat during mating season. By then the TCM had started me alternatively being freezing cold and boiling hot. I descended further into the slough of despond when Janet kindy pre-warned me that there was a staff meeting that afternoon so the bus would probably be late. The last thing I felt up to was taking public transport.

As it happened the meeting finished early for once so the school bus had room and left nigh on on time. When I got back to Peili I went to the chemist armed with a note in Chinese for strong painkillers. The price was certainly strong at 39\ a pack and to be honest the capsules don't seem to kill pain. With nothing on the box in English I can't even check what it is!

The pain did start to abate by then anyway, presumably the amoxicillin had a hand in that but I was so tired that I went to bed at nine last night. I obviously had a fever as I experienced sweats and shivering and had a very fitful night. And when you have a fever you have really weird dreams, none of them happy. I can't recall in how many of them I murdered people.

Twelve and a half hours later I got up. I am not so tired now but I do feel rather weak from lack of food. Tuesday night's dishes remain unwashed so I will have to at least do some of them, I need soft food so will overcook some pasta, open a tin of tuna and mix with mayonnaise. At least I should get some energy back!

Although there is less pain, today the swelling is more pronounced. If I put a handkerchief under my chin and knotted it atop my head I would look like an ageing, overweight Plug from “The Beano”!!