disconnect

ruby has been quite the patient these last few days.
she had been extremely achy and irritable and unwilling to eat or drink anything so i knew something was wrong.  so yesterday i took her to the doctor and after a few culture tests, she was diagnosed with strep throat.  the poor girl even fell asleep on the exam table.  i have never seen her this put out.  our nights together have been rough.  she wakes up like every 2 hours whimpering in pain.  i think the hardest thing about it all is that she is noncompliant with her meds.  she has been taking ibuprofen/tylenol for the pain and fever and then an antibiotic and it is like pulling teeth to get her to drink them.  i think her problem is that it hurts to swallow anything.  poor girl.  i just feel so bad for her.
i think her meds are finally kicking in because in the last hour her disposition has improved.  she is up walking around, eating quesadillas, doing a puzzle with hank, and requesting pop to drink.  she totally milks the 'sick' thing for all it's worth because as we all know, when you're sick, anything goes.  pop whenever you want.
apparently people used to die from strep throat.  not sure if that meant the people who had strep or the nurses who took care of them...
is this what it's going to be like to be a real nurse? if so, don't be surprised if i start drinking wine coolers.