I'm back, I'm alive . . .
Miraculously, though I spent early Saturday morning at the ER in Kalamazoo, Michigan, after a night of physical rebellion I would not wish on my fiercest of enemies, I am back home, and feeling, well, really well-rested.
Thank you, so much, to everybody who e-mailed or texted me over the past few days. The scariest thing about the experience was that I was alone, in many ways, and in the sleep/food-deprived irrationality, the clammy sweated chill, the fetid nausea that makes one be okay (relieved, even) with lying on the cold and filthy floor of a windowless cinderblock dorm bathroom at 2:00 AM, having some kind of connection to others was what I missed most. So thank you, again -- I really appreciated it.
Going to the ER was exactly the right thing to have don, no matter what the out of provider crap is going to cost me -- the viral tapeworm shredding my insides was dealt with straightaway -- rehydration and anti-nausea meds did wonders -- I slept all day Saturday, and actually managed to give my paper on Saturday afternoon -- something I had all but written off. I also slept better on Saturday night (after a quiet dinner with friends and an even quieter night in my dorm room -- no Saturday night dance for me this time) than I have in many months. My 9-hour drive back to B'more fuelled by Phillip Pullman's The Subtle Knife was completely chill -- I'm also not used to making that drive without a serious hangover . .
So, even though I spent more at this conference in the bathroom than sitting in sessions, I feel better now than I have for some time. Go figure.
~j.z.
Thank you, so much, to everybody who e-mailed or texted me over the past few days. The scariest thing about the experience was that I was alone, in many ways, and in the sleep/food-deprived irrationality, the clammy sweated chill, the fetid nausea that makes one be okay (relieved, even) with lying on the cold and filthy floor of a windowless cinderblock dorm bathroom at 2:00 AM, having some kind of connection to others was what I missed most. So thank you, again -- I really appreciated it.
Going to the ER was exactly the right thing to have don, no matter what the out of provider crap is going to cost me -- the viral tapeworm shredding my insides was dealt with straightaway -- rehydration and anti-nausea meds did wonders -- I slept all day Saturday, and actually managed to give my paper on Saturday afternoon -- something I had all but written off. I also slept better on Saturday night (after a quiet dinner with friends and an even quieter night in my dorm room -- no Saturday night dance for me this time) than I have in many months. My 9-hour drive back to B'more fuelled by Phillip Pullman's The Subtle Knife was completely chill -- I'm also not used to making that drive without a serious hangover . .
So, even though I spent more at this conference in the bathroom than sitting in sessions, I feel better now than I have for some time. Go figure.
~j.z.