For someone with such a bad immune system, it's illogical how healthy I am. Only when Mother Nature interferes with my life in the form of seasonal shifts do I get sick. (Her and my chronic Strep Throat that pops up if I don't get enough sleep.) Each school year I have gotten sick only once, and it was either in the Fall around November or it was in the Spring, right around now, March.
My first year I didn't take a single day off. I came to school with a nasty sinus infection because I was worried the children would eat my co-teacher if given the opportunity. What actually happened was the kids forced me to sit the entire day, at my desk, and watch them learn. They took turns babysitting me, plopping themselves in the desk right next to mine, and if I tried to get up and teach they sat me back down and told me to "chill out" because I was "doin' too much." It was a warped version of a sick day.
My second year, I was getting sick and couldn't afford to miss a day later in the week, so decided to take a preemptive sick day to try and beat the sinus infection out of me before it got too bad. Well, that didn't quite go to plan as I received a phone call around 1pm from Ms. C. "I wouldn't call you on a sick day unless it were a real emergency... and this is a real emergency." It turns out that JB got into a fight and was handcuffed by the police. He was hysterically crying, asking for me to come to him, and Ms. C decided that was the time to call me. I went and picked up JB's mother, who the school had not contacted, and brought her in for our parent-dean conference with JB. When I walked in the front door the staff looked at me and I just repeated, "I'm not here, you don't see me." And they laughed, telling me they knew it couldn't be true that I would take a sick day.
This year, I got a real sick day. I have a sinus infection that could kill a small child. I went to work yesterday, threatening to leave in the middle of the day, but waited it out until 3:15p so I could drive DO home. I came home and went to bed at 7pm. When my alarm went off at 5:00a, I just knew I wasn't going to make it. Remaining optimistic, I reset my alarm for 6am and went back to sleep, except I couldn't. The pain in my throat made me think I had knives for dinner instead of soup, my ears felt as though they were stuffed with cotton balls, and opening my eyes felt like I was pushing balloons around my skull. When my alarm went off at 6am, I cried uncle, and gave in to the sinus infection.
I texted Ms. C letting her know that I wasn't coming in and I would email her plans. I texted DO and asked if he could call Ms. L for a ride. (I then texted Ms. L to make sure that she got his message... DO can be a little absent minded in the mornings.) I emailed my administration that I would be out that day. I sent the other after school staff the print outs they needed and instructions for where to get various supplies. I then emailed groups of people for the meetings I had scheduled for that day. Lastly, I called DT, AR, and MD to let them know they will need to walk/take the bus to/from school. 35 minutes after I had gotten up, I took some more medicine and went back to sleep for 8 more hours.
When I woke up I had a small panic attack. I had slept through the entire school day. How was the day? Did everything go ok? Did they find everything?
About 10 minutes later I get a text from Mr. W, the teacher who's room after school takes place in...
Mr. W: Is there study hall today? Or SAT prep? I've got kids here for both
I called him and explained I was out and that the other staff should be there, they must be running a little late. Just as I was talking to him, they appeared, and he told me to go back to sleep because I sounded awful... "Thanks... you're so kind." "But really, you sound disgusting. Do something about that." What a great friend :) I knew the entire day couldn't go through without some type of school contact. Thankfully it wasn't another phone call about a student being arrested, as I would not have been able to get out of bed for that...
I went in and out of consciousness for a while, tried eating a little bit of soup, and then decided I would go for a walk and get some fresh air while running an errand. By the time I got back, I was exhausted - panting, sweating, and now dizzy. The walk had failed, miserably.
As the evening passed I slowly got texts and messages from various students, asking how I was doing. Interestingly enough, none of them are students that I teach, but all my kids from after school. They wanted to see if I was feeling better. Some wanted to let me know they missed me. All of them wanted to make sure that I was coming back tomorrow. I reassured them I was trying my best to be well for tomorrow, but I wouldn't make any promises.
At this rate, next year's sick day won't have any interruptions at all, except maybe some more love notes from kids. Those types of interruptions are always welcome.
My first year I didn't take a single day off. I came to school with a nasty sinus infection because I was worried the children would eat my co-teacher if given the opportunity. What actually happened was the kids forced me to sit the entire day, at my desk, and watch them learn. They took turns babysitting me, plopping themselves in the desk right next to mine, and if I tried to get up and teach they sat me back down and told me to "chill out" because I was "doin' too much." It was a warped version of a sick day.
My second year, I was getting sick and couldn't afford to miss a day later in the week, so decided to take a preemptive sick day to try and beat the sinus infection out of me before it got too bad. Well, that didn't quite go to plan as I received a phone call around 1pm from Ms. C. "I wouldn't call you on a sick day unless it were a real emergency... and this is a real emergency." It turns out that JB got into a fight and was handcuffed by the police. He was hysterically crying, asking for me to come to him, and Ms. C decided that was the time to call me. I went and picked up JB's mother, who the school had not contacted, and brought her in for our parent-dean conference with JB. When I walked in the front door the staff looked at me and I just repeated, "I'm not here, you don't see me." And they laughed, telling me they knew it couldn't be true that I would take a sick day.
This year, I got a real sick day. I have a sinus infection that could kill a small child. I went to work yesterday, threatening to leave in the middle of the day, but waited it out until 3:15p so I could drive DO home. I came home and went to bed at 7pm. When my alarm went off at 5:00a, I just knew I wasn't going to make it. Remaining optimistic, I reset my alarm for 6am and went back to sleep, except I couldn't. The pain in my throat made me think I had knives for dinner instead of soup, my ears felt as though they were stuffed with cotton balls, and opening my eyes felt like I was pushing balloons around my skull. When my alarm went off at 6am, I cried uncle, and gave in to the sinus infection.
I texted Ms. C letting her know that I wasn't coming in and I would email her plans. I texted DO and asked if he could call Ms. L for a ride. (I then texted Ms. L to make sure that she got his message... DO can be a little absent minded in the mornings.) I emailed my administration that I would be out that day. I sent the other after school staff the print outs they needed and instructions for where to get various supplies. I then emailed groups of people for the meetings I had scheduled for that day. Lastly, I called DT, AR, and MD to let them know they will need to walk/take the bus to/from school. 35 minutes after I had gotten up, I took some more medicine and went back to sleep for 8 more hours.
When I woke up I had a small panic attack. I had slept through the entire school day. How was the day? Did everything go ok? Did they find everything?
About 10 minutes later I get a text from Mr. W, the teacher who's room after school takes place in...
Mr. W: Is there study hall today? Or SAT prep? I've got kids here for both
I called him and explained I was out and that the other staff should be there, they must be running a little late. Just as I was talking to him, they appeared, and he told me to go back to sleep because I sounded awful... "Thanks... you're so kind." "But really, you sound disgusting. Do something about that." What a great friend :) I knew the entire day couldn't go through without some type of school contact. Thankfully it wasn't another phone call about a student being arrested, as I would not have been able to get out of bed for that...
I went in and out of consciousness for a while, tried eating a little bit of soup, and then decided I would go for a walk and get some fresh air while running an errand. By the time I got back, I was exhausted - panting, sweating, and now dizzy. The walk had failed, miserably.
As the evening passed I slowly got texts and messages from various students, asking how I was doing. Interestingly enough, none of them are students that I teach, but all my kids from after school. They wanted to see if I was feeling better. Some wanted to let me know they missed me. All of them wanted to make sure that I was coming back tomorrow. I reassured them I was trying my best to be well for tomorrow, but I wouldn't make any promises.
At this rate, next year's sick day won't have any interruptions at all, except maybe some more love notes from kids. Those types of interruptions are always welcome.
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