HIATUS REPORT...FROM HELL...

Okay, so everybody was telling me I needed to take a vacation. So I invited my sister Alison and my nephew John Thomas to come out from CT and do fun Southern California things with me. They got here last Tuesday... And then Alison started coughing. We did Disneyland and the La Brea Tar Pits, all the while with Alison coughing. By Friday morning, I had a sore throat and Alison was wheezing and dragging. But we still went to Sea World, and then left early because, well, John Thomas wanted to hang around the hotel pool instead of watching dolphins jump. (Don't get that.) On Sunday, Alison was clearly feverish, and I was feeling bad too, so we finally broke through our family suspicion of the medical profession and went to the Emergency Room back in L.A.

So, then the doctor takes one quick look at Alison's chest x-ray and admits her to the hospital. She had a 102 fever and advanced pneumonia. She seems to have three different strains of bacteria in her system - each of which requires a different specialist.

I have a severe viral infection, so they put me on penicillin and sent me home to entertain my four year old nephew, who is, oh so, NOT low maintenance. But, thank God, he hasn't come down with the viral demons.

Today is Tuesday, and we get the word from the doctors that Alison needs to stay in the hospital until at least Friday. I called American Airlines, and of course, they will not let us change the ticket because we got a cheap non-refundable fare, but they assure me that for a mere $2048 they will be happy to book new flights for my sister and my nephew sometime next week.

Meanwhile, I'm still sick and I have to teach a college course on Thursday, with a four year old in tow, and my sister lonely and bored in the hospital.

Feel free to send some prayer our way... And, can I please go back to work now?