Location: St. Augustine, FL
About Me: A high school Biology teacher's coping with rosacea while living in the interesting and sometimes insane world of public education.
March 29, 2005
My limit has officially been reached!!
Well, last Friday I finally 'crashed and burned'. I woke up at 2 AM with colitis, a problem I have had off and on since I've been teaching. It's another one of those stress-related things, along with the acid reflux and rosacea. Anyway, the Lomotrin and Equilactin did little to help. At 6 AM I was still doubled over with cramps and bloody diarrhea (love those graphic C.S.I. phrases). I knew I was not going to be able to go in, so my wife took lesson plans in. A couple of days later a coworker called and informed me that they did not hire the requested substitute. Our school is located 20 miles out of town so many of the subs do not want to sub there. My classes were farmed out to various teachers so I doubt that any of the work I sent in was done.
More happiness came during the weekend. Due probably to my run down condition I came down with a rather severe sinus infection. I spent Monday morning at the doctor with a room full of hacking, wheezing miserable people. So today I'm just lying around with another migraine waiting for the antibiotic and Maxalt (for migraines)to work. This is our Spring Break week here so at least I don't have to miss any more school.
The ironic thing is that the rosacea flushing has all but disappeared. I'll take any good news at this point.
Regarding stress, it causes more than 1/2 of all teacher absences indirectly through initiating various health problems. I've tried all types of stress relievers to no avail in the long run. Each year I make a resolution to not let myself get into stress mode, but I think the entire school conspires against me. Some teachers and administrators seem to only be happy when everyone around them is stressed out. Last year when my principal asked what is the most important thing our school needs to work, I said stress relief. He seemed very surprised to hear this. I'm not sure what planet he has been living on, but a quick look around campus and the high stress level is obvious in the interactions between teachers and students/administrators. I still don't have a solution for this, but I'm still staggering across the finish line at the end of the year.
Posted by Ken Albin on March 29, 2005 02:13 PM