Sunday, October 04, 2009

Quarantined

My extended absence can be summed up with two words: swine flu.  Those of you who follow me on Twitter caught the real-time play-by-play of my past two weeks: the 104+ fever, the aches, the chills followed by sweating like a pig (very appropriate for the swine flu), the coughing, the vomiting, the vomiting, the even more vomiting, and finally, the very slow road to recovery which started on Friday.imageI have spent the past two weeks stuck on the couch (aside from two Tuesday’s ago, when I had to go into lab, and this past Monday, when I spent Yom Kippur not in synagogue, but at the doctor’s office discovering that my flu turned into secondary pneumonia), too tired, worn out, and miserable to do anything aside from follow Twitter from my iPhone.  I am totally behind on e-mails, all but my very favorite blogs, the 2043 papers my PI sent to me telling me to read immediately to discuss upon my return (sorry Boss, but I have not looked at a single one), and apparently the drastic change in seasons – before I fell ill, it was warm and summery; rumor has it that it is now in the 60s and the leaves are already starting to change color.

I will be making my triumphant return to society this week (I am only feeling about 50% right now, but I am pretty sure if I don’t show up in lab meeting first thing Monday morning, my PI will drag me off the couch kicking and screaming) and slowly returning to the blogiverse.  Don’t worry, I’ll wash my hands well before leaving comments on any of your blogs.

18 comments:

Alyssa said...

I'm so sorry to hear that you were so sick. That sounds absolutely awful :( Looking forward to having you around more though!

a. said...

I could tell from Twitter that it's been a very long two weeks for you and I'm glad to hear that you are finally feeling somewhat human again.

withoutadornment said...

Brutal! I do hope that you continue on your path of healing and are back to 100% (or at least 75%), so you can tackle your proteins head on and win! :)

ScientistMother said...

Oh I'm soo sorry you went through that! I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. don't push yourself too hard.

emilyandjeff said...

Oh no, feel better soon!!

Julie said...

UGH, how terrible! I am so glad that you are on the way back to the healthy world. Hopefully your winning package helped a bit? :)

Suburban Sweetheart said...

Can't believe you're still so sick! Glad you're feeling a wee bit better...good luck return to health & normality, and may the rest of 5770 be sweeter than its first few weeks1

History Enthusiast said...

I am so sorry you are sick! I would've said something sooner but I have been completely absent from twitter for the last couple of weeks.

Neuropharma said...

Sorry to know you were sick. Hope you a speeeeeeeedy recovery :)

Kait said...

My goodness, I've followed your tweets yet I'm still shocked by the scope of your illness. Now I don't feel so guilty for disinfecting every.single.surface at my cubicle before I'll sit down in it.

I hope the other 50% comes very quickly-- feel better ASAP Julie!

chall said...

Happy to hear you are better! Secondary pneumo isn't to play around with. You need to be taking it slow when you are back. Lungs are still in recovery. (and in this case I know what I am talking about... research field and all)

thesciencegirl said...

Oh no! I'm sorry to hear how sick you were. I can't wait for the swine flu vaccine to arrive here.

Rina the Mama Bear said...

I hope you are feeling better!!! I'm getting some sort of flue/cold thing as we speak. YAY yeah right.

Jenn said...

Uggh that sucks!!! Hope you feel better soon!!

Amelie said...

oh, I'm sorry, that sounds awful. Hope the recovery goes well, and quickly.

PhizzleDizzle said...

Oh EB!!! I am sorry you have been feeling so crummy!!!

My best wishes for a complete and full recovery, soon.

TwoWishes Tara said...

Poor darling! Hope you are back to 100%.

The swine flu epidemic has turned me into a germophobe for the first time. (Mostly on account of my terror over the chance our baby could pick it up.) Every time we go into public, I'm convinced that germs are poisoning the very air we breathe..... (So thanks for the bloggy precautions, wink.)

Unbalanced Reaction said...

Wow, am I behind or WHAT? Good grief! Glad you are back in the kitchen (and blogosphere) again.