What would YOU do?
Don’t worry, it’s not one of those fraught moral dilemmas. No, this question’s far more practical:
- You’ve nursed two kids through a 24 hour stomach bug over the past six days
- You wake up this morning feeling hot and out of sorts
- You notice yourself burping a bit biliously as you return home to mark assignments
- You have a class tonight that meets once a week, has already missed one session due to a snowstorm and has already worked hard to make up that lost time — no one else can teach it for you and the students have a midterm scheduled for the next class meeting
What do I do? I can either cancel class pre-emptively NOW (i.e. within the next two hours) and try to deal with the consequences or see if I’m not really sick, just feeling a bit lousy, and soldier on, hoping that I don’t have to cancel or bail out at the last minute. Gah! This is why I hate meeting classes once a week!
ETA: Cancelled class at 1pm. Realized at 3pm that was a very wise choice.
February 14th, 2006 at 12:41 pm
Judging by the fact that I had the exact same situation 2 weeks ago (minus the kids), and I ended up postponing class by an hour but going in for the last 2 hours despite recovering from a raging stomach flu, well, I guess I know what I would do…
May not be the RIGHT choice, but you just asked what we would do.
February 14th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
Not go in? Well, since I just had graphic evidence of exactly how ill I am and class would start in three and a half hours, I’m glad I cancelled. Going to log into WebCT to alert them there before collapsing again.
February 14th, 2006 at 3:57 pm
I was in your position a few hours ago. I was feeling shaky and sickly, but being a tough guy, I went ahead and taught my morning class…and came very close to tossing my cookies near the end of the hour.
Now I’m trapped in my office, alternating between bouts of chills and running to the bathroom for ten minutes of dry heaves.
It’s not worth it. Stay home and take care of yourself.
February 14th, 2006 at 5:47 pm
Oh, PZ! My heart goes out to you. I’m just huddled up under a bath sheet on my couch, alternating between hot and cold and the only thing that makes me happy is that my stomach is complete, entirely, definitely empty!
Here’s hoping you get home safely and rest!
February 14th, 2006 at 6:27 pm
I am SOOOO sorry to hear it hit you and on a Tuesday to add insult to injury. Kick that nasty flu bug out of your system. And don’t give it to my favorite brother-in-law.
February 14th, 2006 at 9:34 pm
Hope you feel better soon!