Thanks for the shout-out. 
Nice to have you back, and congratulations!
It’s heartbreaking that you lost the woman who was your mate in both body and soul, and I praise you for the love and loyalty you showed her for all of those years! If we can in any way distract you from your pain and help you bear your cross of grief, I will consider it a wonderful thing! Welcome back!! 
Aw shucks! Y’all are makin’ me blush. But seriously, thanks for the outpouring of heartfelt support. I knew you’d be there when I needed you. Thank you one and all.
That didn’t take long.
The “today” there was Monday. I was at a layover hotel in beautiful Newark when I posted the OP. Having also worked Sun the previous day after my lingering cold finally subsided enough to fly. Yaay me. 
Back in the saddle agin! 
By bedtime I was back to overtly sick, hacking like mad, nose-blowing like an elephant, & not able to really sleep. Called HQ at 2am to tell them my Tue was an abort and somebody else needed to show up at 7am to take my shift. Which they did as I rode home semi-conscious while dosed up on too many decongestants trying to avoid blowing out an eardrum or sinus cavity. Which in fact I did avoid. Yaay!. But … Sigh; it’s always something. But at least when I checked at home, it’s still not COVID. Yaay!
A couple comments on my larger scale situation, lest this thread start to sound like a request for a pity party. Which it decidedly is not.
It is admittedly a weird situation.
It was evident my first wife was real unlikely to make it to old age for several years before she died. Which was a topic we discussed thoroughly, as we always had done with anything significant in our joint lives. And about 12 months before she died she really switched from making the best of her increasingly circumscribed life to trudging resignedly towards her fate. She never got cynical or angry or difficult, but she slowly withdrew into herself leaving me with a good patient, but not fully with a spouse.
As such, I’ve been mourning her loss now for much longer than the mere 10 months since she died. It doesn’t necessarily lessen the total amount of pain one experiences losing a spouse, but it does distribute it very differently across time.
Since then IRL I’ve said many times that if she never had had any disease and was perfectly healthy when crushed by a bus that same day, today I’d still be curled up in the fetal position crying all day while trying to adapt to my and her loss. I’ve certainly met other survivors who went that route. To their detriment.
I will miss her. And I will miss the might have been’s from possible alternate timelines we didn’t get to live. But now is now and tomorrow is tomorrow. One of the advantages of living in a condo full of elderly folks is the constant exposure to their thoughts given their own experiences of their long live’s various adversities and tragedies. They make a sage and supportive team. As do you all.
Life is good.
Late to the party, but wanted to add my condolences, congratulations and welcome back wishes to you.
Hope your not-COVID passes fast.
Glad you’re back, and thanks for sharing. If I ever need an example of the numerous ways life can fuck you over and pick you up again, this must be it. Thank you, and all the best.
I don’t know how I missed this for the last couple days, but welcome back! It’s very good to see you again.
I don’t know what I can say that hasn’t already been said, but I join in with the condolences on your losses and congratulations on your gains.
Condolences and congratulations. You were always one of my favorite posters. Glad to see you back.
So you’re saying that you fought off a cold, and then got another one? I guess it’s possible – there are a bazillion different cold viruses, which is why we never develop immunity.
Sure glad it wasn’t COVID.
I myself have not had a cold in many years, but I can’t recommend my particular strategy to you. But FTR, my successful strategy is a steady diet of wine and vodka. So that when cold viruses insinuate themselves into my bloodstream, they go “Holy shit! Did we ever pick the wrong bloodstream!”. But by then, it’s too late for them. They’re doomed! But I understand that in your particular occupation, this sort of preventative strategy isn’t feasible! 
Seriously, let us know how you’re doing.
I suppose it’s more accurate to say I’d fought it back to almooost healthy, then subjected myself to excess stress and reduced rest and reduced medication for 2 days at work. So then the damn thing got up off the mat at the 7 count and beat me silly in the next round.
Went back to the doc the day after I got back & we’re treating aggressively again. And I’m taking it easy & not going to prematurely declare the fight over as I did last time. Sinus infections are notorious lingerers. An illness I’ve never been prone to but have suddenly discovered. Such fun.
With Dayquil/Nyquil for symptom relief I feel about 98% normal as long as I don’t do more than a couple hours mild activity a day and don’t get too far from a kleenex box. All in all, it’s a minor irritant. If I had an office job I could soldier through the days physically present but not highly productive. Like most folks do most days, at least IME.
And yes, since I can’t work at my particular job, I’m taking your vodka and wine “cure” to heart. It may not cure the illness, but I’m a lot more relaxed about being ill. 
Thanks for asking.
True that. Take care of yourself.
That sucks. As stated above, take care.
Might be useful to look at it from an occupational-health angle. I’m no ENT surgeon, but I can imagine that being a pilot can bear a relationship to developing sinus problems, given the exposure to changing air pressure during takeoff and landing. Maybe an incredibly superfluous remark, but otherwise maybe something to look into.
What name did you use before? LSLGuy doesn’t seem like a name I’ve seen before.
Actually, I thought you were on another of your periodic breaks. So sorry to hear about all you have went thru. Sounds like things are picking up for you, which is good to hear. Hope your good times continue on.
It’s not like I missed you or anything. We have all kinds of pilots on board who picked up your slack on telling tall tales of wild piloting adventures and alcohol fueled layovers in exotic places. You’ll need to up your storytelling some. Overall though, nice to see you back.
Malingerers?
So glad to see you back! And so sorry to hear what happened in the intervening time. Here’s wishing you the best on your new path. And looking forward to more of your posts, too!
Thanks all.
As to @Drsunflower1, there’s not much evidence piloting causes sinus problems, but there is plenty of evidence that people who can’t beat their sinus problems end up medically retired from piloting. Either because they just can’t stay unclogged enough to work enough to avoid being fired as a malingerer, or because they chance it by routinely flying half-stuffed up and eventually blow up an eardrum or a sinus cavity that won’t heal well.
As to me right now, starting tomorrow I’m taking a well-deserved weeklong vacation Thu-Wed and will be trying very hard to be absent from here the whole time. It’s not quite a honeymoon, but it is “Just us two & to hell with the rest of the world and all responsibilities and normal day-to-day habits.” time. Very refreshing if we both can pull it off.
Cheers and see you all late next week!