On Saturday night, I started to get the aches that usually signal the begining of the flu: my neck, lower back, upper arms and backs of my hands. By Sunday morning, I could hardly get out of bed, which was sort of a problem, because I was supposed to be in a wedding.
So I took it easy all morning, took a mega-dose of cold medicine right before the ceremony started, and did a nice job in an incredibly beautiful ceremony.
I spent most of the reception in a chair, which meant I was a pretty lousy date for my stunningly beautiful wife, but as usual she never wanted for a dance partner.
Sunday night, I woke up nearly suffocating on the phlegmy shit in my throat, in so much pain I couldn’t swallow. I think I slept for about 52 minutes and when I woke up I couldn’t even talk. Good times, lots of really good times. Monday morning I started running a fever, averaging about 101.5. So I gave in, admitted I was sick, and saw my doctor this morning. Holy mother of shit. I hit the trifecta:
- A severe sinus infection
- excra-something tonsillitis
- and the mother of them all: Mono.
So that sort of explains why I have felt so tired for the last two weeks, and why nothing I do seems to make this infection get any better.
My doctor has ordered me to stay in bed for at least the next week, and he said that it will take anywhere from ten days to two months to completely get over the infections, so I’m probably not going to be able to finish the ACME run, and since I can’t fly, I don’t get to go speak at the Red Hat conference on June 1.
Because this is all viral, all I can do is take stuff to help me feel not quite so bad, and because it’s mono, I have to rest for about three hours to get fifteen good minutes of anything done.
I probably won’t be updating my blog very much for the next seven or ten days. If you’re waiting for your Just A Geek from the fundraiser, I’m about half-way through. I’m doing my very best to get them all signed and shipped, but I hope everyone understands that I’m at about 30% right now. Okay, time to go sleep again.
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Oh Wil. I just groaned when I read MONO. Jeepers, rest up and get well…and if you haven’t signed my book yet, um, feel free to wait for a while….is this catching?? 😉
Seriously, take care.
Colleen
awwwww
I hope you didn’t give that to anyone at the wedding.
get feeling better soon & I won’t check as often on updates so stay in bed
Reddy
I hope you feel better dude. Rest Rest Rest!!
Hmmmm… 7 to 10 days… in my heart of hearts, I hope this means you’re setting up for a great excuse to get out of whatever is keeping you from Vegas on June 4th! 😉
We’re only about 70 poker bloggers strong right now. 71 would be perfect 😉
Good God. Sending lots of “get well” thoughts your way. I had mono in college. Beware of the nap attacks–the “outta the way, must sleep NOW” things. That’s the funny thing about mono: you can work through colds, sinus infections, some flu, after a day or two, but mono makes you sit your ass down and keep it down. But you know that already. And don’t let that first day of really feeling better fool you and get all ambitious because you’ll still probably have to nap 18 times a day.
If you haven’t already, get some steroids from the dr. for that throat. It’ll help bring down the swelling and make it easier to, you know, breathe.
Okay, enough. I’m reminding me of my dad, and that’s no good. Take it easy, Wil.
Ack… feel better, homes. We’ll go see ADITL *anyway* because you’d want it that way.
Ok, I just realized that I’m writing as if you’re dead.
You’re not dead are you?
Maybe you are and this is all a WilBot.
That would be kinda cool.
Sad at first, sure.
But after we sit shiva for you: kinda cool. Admit it.
Later,
–AJ
Hrm.. I don’t suppose it would be too much to ask for you to put my copy through one of those USPS grade sterilizer thingies, would it? I don’t mind the crinkled and brittle pages, really, I don’t. ;-D
I had Mono once. It sucked!!
You need to drink as much liquids as possible. You can dehydrate very easily. I did and ended up in the hospital for five days.
Water, Apple Juice, etc……
You’ll feel much better, trust me.
Mono… the “kissing disease”???? BAD WIL!!!
I had Mono when I was a sophomore in high school. I was in the hospital for 3 days, and out of school for a month. Lost about 25 lbs. too.
Never figured out how I got it. My german teacher had it, and so did a kid in the back of class (we never kissed)….lol.
I know how bad you feel. I really do.
You have permission to moan and groan. Pouting is ok too. Being a poo-poo head is not allowed however.
Be sure to watch the Star Wars Saga and maybe the Aliens series while you are down. I would say watch Star Trek movies, but….
Take it easy and try to relax and get better.
-Kel
Yikes!!! Feel better, wil! If it brings a smile to your face, know that last night I flopped four aces and still lost (guy with J2 caught a royal)… augh!
AWWWW…so sorry that you cannot participate in everything that you planned. 🙁 Just take it easy, Mono is no joke, and you need alot of rest to get rid of it. I wish you the best, feel well Wil. 🙂
Q
Holy crap! You poor thing. Do all the hydrating thingies everyone else said, and know we’re all sending get-better mojo. We would send hugs, but then maybe you’d send them back and WE’D get mono!
I keed, I keed.
Get well soon!
Oh, dude, that’s the suck. I had Mono in college and ended up having to do a medical withdrawl from the entire semester it was so bad.
Rest ALOT. Make people pamper you. Take care of yourself.
Wow. Take it seriously and rest *ALOT* or else you’ll wind up like me…most people only get mono once, I’ve had it 4 or 5 times (probably just never really got over it…) And trust me, the more often it rears its ugly head the worse it is. Now is when your TV and DVD player can be your best friend…just rest and vegetate, because nothing else matters if you get so freaking sick you can’t function.
Oh Wil, I’m so sorry you’re not feeling well. As soon as I read “so much pain I couldn’t swallow,” I thought “mono.” When I had it in college, I spent a week wanting to take my throat and put it on a shelf somewhere away from myself because it hurt so much.
Take it easy. Even when you’re feeling better, it will still sap your strength and you can relapse if you push yourself too hard. Make sure to call your doc if you still have trouble breathing. Also, no rough-housing. If I recall correctly, it’s the spleen that gets enlarged and has the potential to rupture. Wow, I never thought my first comment here would be so dire-sorry ’bout that. In any case, I hope the worst of the throat pain dissipates quickly.
And on an unrelated note: I really enjoy your blog, and I laughed out loud many times while reading “Just a Geek.” I don’t know how I made it this far in life without having encountered the word “cockpunch,” and I thank you for introducing it to me.
Hey Wil, long time fan, first time commenter. I love reading your blogs on a day to day basis while I’m “working”. I hope you get well soon.
Hey Wil, long time fan, first time commenter. I love reading your blogs on a day to day basis while I’m “working”. I hope you get well soon.
Jeeez man. That is the mother of bitches. Seriously, I sincerely hope you get well soon. What a shame about the ACME run!
Talk about Deja Vu.
Summer before high school I was doing this I don’t even remember what it was, middle school acting workshop or something. We were doing this rinky dink little one act called ‘Take Five’ at the local theatre center. Even overweight, I’d still been struggling just to get through the three hour rehearsals and set builds and shit. Two weeks before show time mommy dearest finally let me see a doctor, and lo and behold, I had mono. The doc said t’was a mild case, but it still knocked me on my fat ass.
I completely know how you feel. I was lucky in that I still managed to muddle through the piddly two performances of the show that we gave, but I think I literally slept the rest of the day of each one.
I’d say lay back and let a cute house boy run errands for you, but I think watching the season premiere of ‘Queer as Folk’ is overly influencing me right now. So I’ll just say do what your body tells you to and rest.
Get well soon,
Jess
WTF, Wil. What the hell am I supposed to do without WWdN!? Tell me, hmmm? Aiieeee! *Tears hair out, wails and gnashes teeth while writhing in pain… real Biblical stuff, btw*
You need to get your ass out of bed and feed ME blog posts – please?
How can I live without WWdN?
Hehe, get better soon, or damn it I’m comin’ up from Puerto Rico to kick yer ass *G*.
Mono is a pain in tha ass. A friend caught it at school and it set him back a year. Hope you breeze through it though.
Oh, he [my friend] got severe muscle pains and found that a pain-killing gel helped a lot… it was either ibuprofen or voltarol based, I can’t remember which exactly, but I think it was the voltarol that was the best for him.
Good luck dude, I mean it. I wish you well.
PS On a more light-hearted note, your CSI episode was just aired in the UK! Nice work, but are you now going to be worried about being typecast as shambling twitchfest tramps with a penchant for odd wigs?
Yes, listen to the nice, smart people Wil. I had mono in high school, missed a month of class, and it will stay with you for a good year. It’s great for a quick diet, but mostly just sucks. And good advice not to go crazy when you feel better. I felt better one day and headed to the paino to pass the time, after one line I had to get my Mom to help me back to the couch. Take care.
Get well soon Wil. Mono, DAMN! I thought we found a cure for that right after polio. I guess not. Sending you good, healthy mojo from Oregon.
I’ve actually heard that Mono can take even longer than that to work its way out and some people don’t fully get over it for years. So take it easy and work on getting yourself better!
Hey Wil,
hang in there! I’ll miss your blog updates but I totally understand. Your family rocks so I’m sure they’ll help you get through this really crappy time.
Keep your spirits high! Know that lots of people are sendin’ the monkey mojo.
Sorry dude,
Seriously NOT to rub it in, but since I spend 8 -10% of my workday reading your posts and the comments I have to note a huge number of your fan base has been trying to clue you in to your imminent collapse! [ The way to interpret that comment is me noting you have a lot of people who actually care what happens to you (or at least to WWDN)]
Unsolicited medical advice from a board-certified internist? Super-infection (ie a bacterial infection landing on top of a viral infection and going nuts) is a definite possibility, so if you remain febrile despite oral antibiotics, motrin and acetaminophen – have a low threshold to bother your doc again. Just a little sicker and you’d easily meet criteria for admission for IV antibiotics. [Caveat: advice is usually worth what you paid for it]
Live long and… well you know…
I truly hope that you will get better sooner rather than later. Having all three at once can really suck, but just take it easy, and the yucky diseases are bound to leave your body much quicker.
(offering chicken soup and a cozy blanket to you, so you can get plenty of rest)
Get Better Soon!
Oh dear, Wil!
Be very very careful! I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a thing I didn’t believe in much but there it is, and now I’m an expert. (Life gets its revenge doesn’t it.) I’ve had it for 10 years, and a bout of insomnia, cold and flu while caregiving my husband for a year may have triggered it but there’s no way to know. I didn’t listen to my body and tried to be superwife while hubby recovered. Countless doctors and money later I’m still sick with no end in sight. And now my husband has to take care of me, and everything else, too much.
We all enjoy you so much Wil, we’d rather you be there for the long haul. We’re ready and willing to be patient for the short one. Do some ‘aggressive resting’. And heed the warnings of all the previous posters!
Jeekers! That’s a lot of sick. I wish you a speedy recovery and a relaxing convalescence.
On a selfish note, I am truly bummed that you won’t be able to finish the ACME run. I hadn’t been able to make it yet and was still hoping to see you.
Wil,
I don’t know if you’ve had mono before, but it’s pretty nasty stuff. You’ll start feeling better, but rest up until you’re sure it’s gone. I had mono off and on for three months in middle school because I felt better and decided I was okay before I actually was.
Rest up, man. We’re with you.
You have been having a lot of tough luck this year. Hope you can shake this off eventually without to much suffering. Too bad we don’t quite have the nanotechnology ready to combat this for you. Everytime I hear something about that on the news or read about it I think about you. Take care, we are all very selfish and want to read your thoughts as often as possible.
Bummer Wil. Get well soon…sending you mojo. Take care of yourself. =^)
Oy, I hope you take good care of yourself and that you get better real soon!
*Sending virtual home-made chicken noodle soup and healing mojo your way*
Wil, you MUST REST. This sounds monotonous coming from all these people – but I’ve had mono _3 times_, including the Christmas when my wife and I were treated like lepers by relatives I don’t talk to anymore :/ I managed to lose 35 pounds in 2 weeks the first time I had it – you could see my spleen against the wall of my stomach – I’m 6’8″, and I was down to under 185 lbs – it nearly killed me, and took me a good two years to feel myself again – mainly because I tried to do too much too soon after the first bout. Steroids DO help with the inflammation (although my throat swelled shut anyway), but they make me grumpy (see above mention of my vertical stature – folks don’t like me being grumpy). It’s an odd illness, and you’re likely to get sick for the first six months or so after you’re diagnosed, with other niggling things – go to the docs and get treated quick.
That said – you’ll be OK if you rest up. Sleep a lot. Life will be there when you get back.
Take care and get well, Wil.
I think that all of the people here will still be here waiting for you when you get better.
On a positive note for all of us, though…a week or so of not having to hear about poker! (Said with a laugh).
Just wanted to send you some good mojo. Feel better, man.
dude . . . . seriously, dude! lots of rest and liquids. poor, poor man. lots of serious get well mojo heading your way.
peace,
enderFP
This just in: In a sudden burst, many geeks around the US seem to have contracted mono. It’s unknown at this time where they may have all obtained it from, but we’re warning everyone to stay indoors and read ‘Just a Geek’. 🙂
Hope you feel better! Mono sucks!
Oh Wil, you have my utmost empathy. I had that exact trifecta, and it took out my entire second semester of college. My throat was so bad I was in the campus infirmary for almost a week, during which time at one point I surfaced from one of my 23-hour naps to find a bunch of med students from UConn hovering over my bed, being told by a doctor “take a good look kids, you’ll probably never see a throat this bad again!” (At that point I decided that since death was obviously imminent, I might as well get some more sleep. :})
As many others here have said, the key is not to overdo it too soon. Pace yourself, and force yourself to get back into life slowly.
Get well soon!!!
Hey Wil,
I know that it’s very exhausting! I had it 9 years ago. I was living with my parents then and my room was in the basement. The washroom and the kitchen were upstairs. I would have to stop and rest at the top of the stairs every morning; I couldn’t just continue on to where I was headed. It gives you a new found respect for people with serious illnesses. I have never experienced something so draining. Your mind is there, but your body will not comply. I got better though and so will you!
Rest, rest, and rest some more!!
Heather
Dude……That Bites. I Was going to hear you speak in New Oleans. Was I the only person to not to get Mono in College; but there was a girl in my College art Class got it. She missed some classes then i missed some,the class thought she gave it to me. The class thought this because we joke and hit on each other. How stuff starts….
Will Dude get better….slow down some
(must be planing wireless right NOW)
MetalHealth
Being sick is hard enough, but having to rest for a long while just to get a few minutes of anything done is the worse. Laying around gets boring, but getting up takes its toll.
Hope you feel better soon.
Shannon (new to your blog)
ahhhh, mono – the high school graduation gift I wish I could’ve returned! I was diagnosed with mono and strep just before I left for college, and the situation improved once I got on the meds – steroids for the strep and amoxicillin for the mono (or is that the other way around?) Turns out the ‘roids can mask drug allergies, but I went off them before the ‘cillin, so I was able to discover that I have a nasty reaction to that.
stay relaxed, ppl will be understanding about the books, just so long as you don’t lick them or spit in them at least…
We Christians will pray you live to complete your test here.
Wow, man, that sucks. I hope you feel better really soon. I’ve had a bad sinus infection, and I’ve had mono, but both at the same time?! I can only imagine how bad you must feel. Take it easy and get yourself well.
Go to sleep. Come back when you are better. Really. If you try to do anything right now, you may regret what you thought was just fine at the time.
take care of yourself wil…get well soon.
Wil’
I am so sorry to hear you have that mono crap. My aunt had that about two or so years ago, and she had sleep attacks every second of the day. When you have that stuff sleep is one of the key steps to getting over it. DO not worry about the books or this blog ar anything else! Getting yourself well and back up again is all that is important!! None of us want you to be sick! Get better soon!! I be keeping you in my prayers and thoughts!! Again, take your mind off of everything because All that matters is your health. You are way too important to all of us, and no matter how long it takes we(I) will still be here!!
Egads, Wil, that sucks! Its never fun being sick. Thankfully, I’ve somehow managed to dodge the mono bullet. It sounds yucky. But you’ll make it… you’re tough. Just take it easy, be good to yourself, and everything will be ok. I’ll be thinking about you! Get well soon!
Well Wil it all comes down to this
If you were a car you got screwed with a bad service warnenty,its time for ethe wife/nurse to change the fluids,check the filters and lube the points and if that don’t work and make you better she could always trade you in for a newer model
Good luck