Down With The Flu

The last couple of years, I've gotten a flu shot every year (I've caught the flu before, and I'll take the minor discomfort of a shot to that any day). Unfortunately, a good number of flu cases this year were from a strain that wasn't covered by the vaccine. The Unknown Family had four of those cases. They're now mostly over it, but I've developed my yearly case of bronchitis as a result. It's funny how the timing worked out - Unknown Son started spiking a fever of 103 Thursday night. Since fevers over 100.5 are cause for concern for cancer patients (with a surgical port and a possibly compromised immune system, infections are a constant concern - if he gets one, it's serious). So, we went to the ER at about 10:00 Thursday night. It turned out to be the flu, which, while not trivial, is far better than infection. In any event, they gave him fluids and antibiotics, and we were back home by 11:00.

Unfortunately, I had to get up the next day at 5:00 to get to the CFA Level 2 accounting review I was taking (it was several hours' drive to the hotel where it was being held). Let's just say that it was a bit difficult focusing in accounting for 16 hours over two days with a sleep deficit and the onset of the flu. Having said that, John Harris' workshop was outstanding. He may well be one of the best instructors I've seen in my life. For anyone with concerns about their grasp of the accounting material, I'd highly recommend him.

After that, I had to fly out of town Monday morning to attend the dissertation defense of one of my students from my previous school (they passed, by the way). After the defense, I spend the afternoon working on a paper with my coauthor (who's also the aforementioned student's major professor). It's always easier to write with both authors in the room, since the give and take is critical.

In any event, I managed to survive the week. The Unknown Family is pretty much over the flu. Unknown Son had low white blood cell counts on Wednesday, so we postponed his weekly chemo until next week. It was likely just an aftereffect of the flu rather than from the chemo, but it's better to be safe in these cases. I still have the bronchitis, which will take another week or two to completely recover from. But on the plus side, the frequent violent coughing spasms have stopped anyone from asking me to volunteer for any new assignments (no one wants to get close enough to ask). So even bronchitis has its upside.

In any event, that's about enough. Unknown Son is watching a movie with a friend, and a friend of Unknown Wife is coming over tonight to babysit. So, we get a rare night out. Woo Hoo!