I haven't written anything for several days because I haven't been at all well. A number of other people staying at the Inn have been passing an infection around, and one of them kindly passed it to me. I felt worse and worse, and on the one really beautiful sunny day since we got here, Tuesday 11th, was obliged to stay in bed. Paul went out to enjoy the snow and skied all day with some 20 year old, so he got back completely wrecked again, and had to go straight to bed. The following day, I felt even worse, and Paul was also starting to feel unwell, since I had passed the infection on to him, so I did not stir from indoors, and Paul only went out for a short time.
As I continued to feel worse and worse, the doctor came to call, and diagnosed acute bronchitis, which had brought on acute mountain sickness. So I got a steroid injection, an antibiotic prescription, and 48 hours on the oxygen concentrator machine. It is quite a large machine, which sucks in air and concentrates the oxygen so I get more oxygen than I would by just breathing normally.
This is the machine, slightly taller than knee high, but it seems to be most efficient.
Paul refused to see the doctor himself, though he seemed even more ill than me and with such a sore throat he was quite unable to speak. But he says he has no difficulty in breathing. Anyway, we were both feeling too ill to worry about Valentine's Day, and Paul was resorting to hand signals in an effort not to have to use his throat at all.
Our local ski passes have been revoked for two days at Breckenridge, because Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th are the weekend holiday associated with Presidents' Day on Monday 17th. Americans have so little holiday time that they make the most of any public holidays, so Breckenridge will be full to bursting and the slopes very crowded with punters paying almost $100 a day for their ski pass, so the town is anxious to keep cheap elderly season ski pass holders such as ourselves off the slopes to make room for those paying the excessively high prices. We are encouraged to ski at other less desirable places where our passes will still be valid for the two days, but we are neither of us feeling sufficiently well to make long expeditions on the bus!
At least I hope to be well enough to go out for a walk if nothing else over the weekend, so there may be some more photos.
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