Am I allowed to whine now?

At least a little bit?

I have kept my dire health issues off my blog until now. I guess putting it into writing makes it more real somehow.
For the past five weeks I've been struggling with various cold related illnesses.
It all started with the worst case of stomach flu I've ever had. After a week it completely crashed my immune system and a flood of bacteria came storming in.
Boom! I come down with cold and a pretty nasty throat infection. I got antibiotics which cured my throat. But these buggers are sneaky, they've moved on to my ears.
For those of you who've never had a middle ear infection let me tell you: it's the worst pain I've ever experienced in my life! The first time it happened I was hoping it would be the last time as well. I'm also practically deaf on my infected right ear and the pain killers don't work either.
I decided to keep a positive attitude. I ate all my pills, drank gallons of tea, doused my nose with saline, nose drops and whatnot.
So last Thursday I went to the doctor for a checkup. This young doctor was really sweet and funny (I'm assuming he works with children a lot). He humorously remarked that the state of my ear was similar to that of a public restroom which made me laugh. Then his face got serious and he escorted me into another examination room (never a good thing). A whole bunch of doctors gathered around me and they were all looking inside my ear mumbling to each other.
Diagnosis: I have a punctured ear drum. They have no idea what caused it but are pretty sure it's healing itself. Yeah that put me right at ease!
Well I'm still trying to stay positive but I am scared of the possibility of permanent damages to my hearing.

These photos were taken last Saturday when I managed to go for a short walk with Mr. C who had to practically carry me up the three flights of stairs afterwards. Because of this illness I'm so weak that a perfectly normal thing like a trip to the doctor or a simple little walk feels more like a pilgrimage.