Because "sinusitis" is not going to be the cracker. Allergies are not going to be the thing no one ever thought of before that you can e-mail me that will make me say "I did not consider this when I wrote 'no absences are 'excused' and there are no make up quizzes" on my syllabus. Amputation, cancer, PTSD... those are worth a shot, but I need something in writing. With sinusitis, you really never had a shot.
cue the "You must never have had what I had..." chorus. I have wicked allergies and lupus and see a pulmonologist and an ENT and... I still make it to teach their fucking class. Sometimes I do it with laryngitis. When I had both hands in braces from the lupus, I taught them writing left handed for half the lecture. Get some sudafed, get some tylenol, and get the fuck to class.
Hear, Hear! I've had sinusitis and allergies for 18 years. Does that keep me from making it to class and being a grump? No! I spread my bloody ray of sunshine all over. So you can certainly get your miserable little self to class and sit there just like I do every effing day! Thanks, Wombat!
ReplyDeleteYour experience is not everybody's experience.
ReplyDeleteI had a really nasty case of sinusitis last semester that gave me a fever of 103. I didn't teach (or drive to campus) that day. Does that make me a wuss?
One of my little darlings missed class for three weeks because of mitral valve prolapse. When she finally returned, she came to office hours for a chat. I said I hoped that she was okay, what with all those weeks of testing and stuff.
ReplyDelete"Tests?" she said.
"Well, yes. I mean, if your MVP is severe, they might do a lot of tests. I assumed that's what's keeping you from class."
"Oh. No. I mean, it's a heart problem, I have to rest."
"Really?" I said. "Um, so are you resting now?"
"No, it's better," she said.
(It happens that I have MVP, and am, by American standards, "very active." I'm not sure what she meant about it being 'better,' but I did have visions of her taking to her bed for three weeks waiting for her heart to magically heal from a condition that, if serious, does have to be closely monitored by a doctor. You don't cure it by lying in bed.)