Cough, Sneeze, No Voice.... but I can still work!

I have no idea what it is that is going around, but whatever it is I got it!  It all started out as what I thought were allergies with a stuffed up nose, scratchy throat and coughing. Then it progressed down into my chest, wheeze, wheeze as I breathed in and out. Then the other morning I woke up and guess what?  Opened my mouth to speak and all that came out were little squeaks of what should have been my voice! Gargling and hot tea with honey didn't help one bit.

If I had a conventional job, I would have been calling in sick but since I work from home and have a few options open to me, I was still able to work. Now granted I wasn't able to get on the phone and speak with customers but I could sit here and do transcriptions till my heart was content. If I needed to get up and go get an aspirin for my fever, needed to stop and cough my head off, there was no one to be the wiser.  I could work a couple hours and then take a break and come back later.  It is so nice to be an independent contractor!


Now I do have to tell you that I don't make as much doing transcriptions as I do when I am speaking with customers and filling their orders. But by the same token, I am still able to work and not have a total loss of income like I would if I worked outside my home.

So many times when we are sick and work in a conventional work environment, we are really forced to go back to work before we are fully recovered and it isn't unusual to relapse in a week or so. We worry about infecting our coworkers but we also worry about losing our jobs if we stay out longer than management thinks we should.

Thankfully I am on the mend and hope to be back up to full speed here by the end of this coming week!