Alaska Plague

So a plague has hit the Mat-Su school district...coughing/sneezing/fever/chills/nastiness. My lovely children were kind enough to pass this illness on to me. It started Friday when I was coughing a little bit but didn't think much of it. Friday night I went to the Mighty Matanuska Brewfest at the Alaska State Fair grounds and had a blast with some other contract employees. On Saturday, I felt a little bit off, but I went up to Talkeetna and went hiking at Hatcher's Pass with Annie. On Sunday morning, I woke up and knew that I was dunzo. I had a fever/chills/cough/sneezing/aches and all I wanted to do was sleep but I couldn't get comfortable. My recruiter had called to check in on me, and he recommended that I call Teledoc which is a service that is provided by my company. Basically, you call and schedule a consult, then a doctor calls you within an hour and you describe your symptoms to the doctor and they will write you a prescription if you need one. At that point, I thought it was just a virus and I would wait to see if I got better. When I woke up yesterday, I knew I had to call Teledoc. So I called and within an hour, I had antibiotics and an inhaler waiting for me at the pharmacy. The pharmacies here in Wasilla are a little bit of a shitshow. You have to wait in line forever, and there is always a cast of characters waiting in line. When I was walking into Walgreens, there was some guy in the parking lot puking out the window of his SUV. Really dude get it together. There is so much drug use (meth) and alcoholism in the Valley..it's unreal. I feel really bad for lots of my kids on my caseload because most of them come from poverty and don't have stable family lives. It really makes me value what I have. Speaking of kids on my caseload, I miss my Northeast Rehab kids like crazy!! I can't wait to see everyone when I come home for Christmas vacation!! I will be landing in Boston at 10 am on Saturday December 20 and I will be in Massachusetts til January 3rd. I'm a little homesick for certain things (family and friends OBVIOUSLY): Panera, Dunkin Donuts (the coffee up here doesn't have anything on Dunks), Boston accents, and the fall foliage. There are only a few good restaurants in the Valley, but they don't even compare to the restaurants back home. Anyways, I miss you all like crazy and I hope everyone is doing well. Lots of love, B