The girl who couldn’t stop coughing

We are nearing the end of our fall marketing/strategy meetings with our vendors. This morning the whole team was attending- my boss, her counterpart, the divisional, and my counterparts. We left our office at 20 til 11AM and started trekking to the vendor’s office.

Unfortunately, I did not realize the meeting would be 10 blocks and 3 avenues away- that feels like miles away in heels. We arrived not too late and were whisked away into a nicely decorated conference room. Rounds of introductions were made and the first of a series of presentations began.

About an hour into the presentation, I started to feel a tickle in my throat.

Oough cough.

The presenter continued to talk.

Cough cough

My boss looked at me with a concerned expression and mouthed “Are you ok?” I nodded but for the next two minutes proceeded to cough nonstop. My cheeks flushed red as I realized that all eyes were focusing on me. My boss asked for some water and I excused myself from the room and continued to cough for a solid minute.

I’ve had an ongoing cough- the remnants of a cold for almost two weeks. . and nothing- not sleep, not cough suppressants, were doing anything to relieve it. . . in fact it seems to be getting worse.

I returned to the room feeling a little better but now my throat was so raw from coughing that even the slightest tickle would bring on a new fit of coughing. Over the course of the next two hours I proceeded to down three bottles of water which helped tremendously- though the occasional cough would let itself out. . . part of me was slightly moritifed- and I'm certain that I'll forever be referred to as that girl who couldn't stop coughing.

On the way back to our office, my boss asked if I was okay and suggested I go home early. I protested that I wasn’t feeling horrible. As we made our way back to the office, I started to feel flushed and unwell.

So that’s how I have found myself on a Thursday afternoon in pajamas, laying in bed and blogging. I have a couple magazines and dvd’s by my side and plan to take it easy. . . and hopefully a good night’s sleep will make me all better by tomorrow..