The Whole Sordid Tale

So, remember my last post in which  I resolved to post more?  Between class load, teaching--read as grading--responsibilities I was pretty swamped.  Then there was the mystery and potentially life threatening illness which overwhelmed me.  Which one was that?  Well, starting in the beginning of the quarter, I would have these spells where my skin would turn red and peel off in sheets.  That's all my skin, folks.  This looks like a severe allergic reaction to foods; something I'm very familiar with.  So, round of prednisone fixes it.  No prob.  Only problem was that I'd have a few days respite before it all happened again.  And, I might have an intermission with boils on my face if I was lucky.  I was in the ER three times thinking I had been supremely unfortunate to be getting to foods which set off my severe allergies.  Then my allergist, smart and experienced doc he is, noticed an un-allergic pattern.  He ordered tests and found my white blood cells were way, way elevated and staph. aureus everywhere in my blood.  Friday, he grabbed me in a bum's rush and marched me into the emergency room once again.  I was admitted to the hospital where I still am.  I've had...  Oh, I've lost count now...  I've had a lot of IV antibiotics and one round of surgery so far.  I may go home tomorrow.  The infection was really nasty in that it provoked something called Scalded Skin Syndrome and it's something adults don't normally get.  The hospital took this so seriously that they had me in isolation part of the time.  I'm only now appreciating how sick I've been these past two and more months now that the antibiotics have kicked the infection down.  It's  amazing how quickly I can get used to a bad situation and that I try to work through it while  believing it's normal.  This whole situation has played havoc with my course work and I don't know that I'll be in the PhD program going forward.  That's a minor concern given the fact that I've survived and am regaining my health.  I have to wonder what my fellow students and professors  thought of my behavior and work this quarter.  Looking back, my judgment was obviously impaired.  The problem, of course, with impaired judgment is that one's ability to know this fact is degraded.