Being sick @ MIT for a week sucks
Forget about freshman flu, let me tell you about sophomore sickness
Brandy Romine – The Tech
Brandy Romine – The Tech
Brandy Romine – The Tech
Brandy Romine – The Tech
Who dun it?
Note to reader: Please enjoy a short, dramatic retelling of when I first became sick.
Characters
BRANDY, a girl with a banana for an immune system
UNIDENTIFIED VIRUS, which strikes a murder attempt on Brandy
Scene 1. The Tech Office.
On Sept. 15 at 9 p.m., Brandy meets with her classmates to practice a play scene for their theater class. Her character, Virgil, attempts to make a makeshift bomb. Little did she know, there was a ticking time bomb inside of her. After a speedy rehearsal, she makes the long trek back to her dorm as 0:00 grows nearer.
Scene 2. New House.
Brandy diligently works on her Chinese homework in a floor lounge. Tick… The characters begin to blur out of focus. Tick… The room feels a little hotter than before. Tick… She lifts her hand to her burning forehead.
Boom!
UNIDENTIFIED VIRUS
(As an aside) Mwahahahaha.
BRANDY
(Shuts the laptop closed) I should sleep…
Scene 3. Dorm Room.
It is early in the morning. Brandy wakes up in bed, startled. She flings her Snoopy blanket to the side, profusely sweating, and stumbles out the room. The world dizzies around her.
BRANDY
What’s happening…
Unidentified Virus looms behind.
[Fade out]
The four stages of sickness
Denial: Initially, I didn’t believe I had gotten sick. My classmates were dropping like flies, but maybe I had just wrapped myself in my blanket too tightly that night. Right?
Anger: Not long after, I developed the “canon event” of a sore throat. Noooo. I chugged as much water as I could, hoping, pleading, begging that it would suddenly disappear. Unfortunately, the soreness remained, while my trips to the bathroom increased tenfold… What a cruel world.
Depression: My condition only worsened, as I pulled out every symptom “trick” from the magician’s hat: fever, headache, runny nose, congestion, coughing, and hearing loss. I only wished for the weekend to come faster.
Bargaining: On Thursday, one of my professors noticed “violent coughs” from students in class and suggested two options: Stay home, or at least wear a mask. To go or to not go to school? That is the question.
Although I made it through Friday, I couldn’t foresee myself getting any better by the next week. Skipping school is a bad idea, right? Whatever, it’s fine. From Sept. 21 to 25, I did not attend a single day of class.
Acceptance: Acceptance? There was none. Instead, I cycled through a series of anger, depression, and bargaining. Having tested negative for the flu and COVID-19, I was diagnosed with a “flu-adjacent virus.” The days blurred by as I attempted to sleep away my misery, only to be interrupted by bouts of coughs. I ate only because I knew I had to; I didn’t feel hunger, only pain. It’s brutal out here.
Post-sickness-ish clarity
At MIT, or any college really, sickness spreads like wildfire. I hear about classmates getting sick all the time, but they usually still go to class. It’s better to get attendance points for being “physically there” even if you’re not “mentally there.” Perhaps they miss a day or two. But a week? Only a crazy person would…
And as that crazy person, I have a few insights to share:
1. You are (likely) not immune
I thought the “freshman flu” was called “freshman flu” because mostly freshmen would get sick during “those times of the year” (flu seasons). After all, they were still adjusting to all of the germs in a new college environment. As a freshman, I had survived two bouts of the freshman flu. Surely, as a sophomore, I couldn’t get sick again… I was quickly proven wrong. And to date, I have (allegedly) passed my illness to at least three individuals.
2. Medications can be helpful
As a lazy-leaning person, I tend to “tough out" my illnesses rather than treating them. Fortunately, my super-duper friends came to the rescue as my local “drug dealers.” I now present to you my drugs (medications/remedies) tier list:
S tier
Homemade cinnamon pear broth: generously gifted to me by a friend; filled my stomach and soothed my throat, 11/10.
Tylenol: holy crap, this actually made the constant head throbbing go away.
A tier
No A’s at MIT :(
B tier
Robitussin (day/night cough syrup): very yucky, reminded me of when I was sick as a child.
C tier
Eye drops: I somehow got a bacterial eye infection, and to my dismay, could not get a full drop in my eyes for the life of me.
D tier
Ricola cough drops: I swear I coughed more after eating one.
Corcidin HBP (pills): these pills are FAT and I almost choked twice and died.
*Results are a bit skewed in the sense that I sometimes forget to take my meds regularly and on time.
3. Minimize outside (touching grass) time
As a student studying computer science, I totally already do this, right?
On the Friday of the week I got sick, I went to Concord Market to buy ingredients for a club recruitment event. I tried to make milk bread! It turned out a bit too dense, and I ended up not being able to attend due to being very sick and getting my sickly germs all over it and having lost my voice.
On Saturday, I went to the Johnson Ice Rink for HackMIT. I pulled out also due to being sick but still wanted to visit my friends who were participating (and grab free food and merch, such as the iconic hoodie I’ve yet to stop wearing since then). However, I had to become mute due to completely losing my voice from yapping too much the day before.
The next week, I dragged myself to MIT Health from my dorm not once, but twice!! It was a treacherous journey, lasting for about two to three hours total from New House and back. The second time, I had to trek to CVS Health (Central side, unfortunately) afterward to pick up my eyedrops.
That Friday, I popped into the Johnson Ice Rink, once again, for the career fair in my fancy blue… you guessed it, HackMIT hoodie. Who needs an elevator pitch when I can just say “Give me a job, or I’ll cough on you” (for legal reasons, this is a joke). To nobody’s surprise, I am still unemployed.
Finally, I thought it was a great idea to walk to campus several times in the rain during the Nor’easter (a storm along the east coast that brings a lot of rain and wind, sometimes snow, and did I mention rain?).
All that to say, I probably should’ve stayed in bed and slept more times than not.
4. MIT Health is okay…
Honestly, especially for the flu and flu-ish things, MIT Health can’t tell you to do much other than 1) drink water, 2) sleep, and 3) do drugs. But, they do have free yellow masks that are hands down better than the campus vending machines ones. Perhaps they also make being sick slightly less depressing, as yellow makes you think of happiness and sunshine and all things good!
5. But S3 comes through!
It feels weird to have to go on Zoom and plead with an adult at 10:30 in the morning that I’m sick to the point that I can’t come to class. The first day, I had to explain my situation in detail, go over course policies, and chart out a plan of action. The second time, the staff member had no questions — I guess I looked and/or sounded really out of it — and just told me to CC her on emails requesting absence excuses, as I did before. The process was simple though.
6. You might want to read, like, actually read, the syllabus
Course policies might be more or less forgiving than you think in written text AND in practice. I had two problem sets due the week I missed classes but having no physical or mental capacity to finish them, I pleaded for extensions. Surprisingly, my professors/TAs were very understanding.
The syllabi for 6.1200 Mathematics for Computer Science and 18.C06 Linear Algebra and Optimization don’t specifically address pset extensions, but if you were dealing with a “medical issue” affecting your ability to work, they would refer you to S3. So with S3 CC’d, I requested a two-day extension for 6.1200 and a one-day extension for 18.C06. I received an unlimited extension (though I was suggested to submit ASAP) and two-day extension, respectively.
For 21G.103 Chinese III, I had missed two quizzes. While the syllabus states quizzes cannot be made up, the policy isn’t enforced. I was able to speedrun them (as well as three missed class sessions) during office hours.
I saved the most devious one for last: 6.1010 Fundamentals of Programming. Every week, there are two mandatory sections with check-ins, a pset, and a reading. The syllabus makes it sound like you can only receive extensions/excusals if you are on your deathbed, even with S3’s help:
“With [S3’s] support, we can consider additional extensions or alternative arrangements, but generally only for serious situations that are impacting you for more than one week.”
“In the case of serious extenuating personal circumstances (not minor illnesses…), late checkoffs may be considered for full credit by emailing 6.101-personal@mit.edu with written support from a Dean at [S3].”
“[T]he only accommodations… considered for [readings or recitations] is for serious personal or medical issues lasting more than a week… (in either case, we need a supportive note from S3). Please do not email us, nor S3, for one-off situations that cause you to miss a recitation; if you… feel unwell…, it is fine to miss the occasional recitation.”
With the amount of class time I missed, I wasn’t able to catch up and ultimately ended up dropping the class.
The finale
Now, a little over a month later, I am still (technically) sick and wearing the goofy HackMIT hoodie; all my symptoms have died off except the lingering cough. In fact, my cough has been worsening as the weather has become increasingly chilly.
In terms of whether it was worth missing school or not… probably? I don’t exactly regret it, but it was quite painful to face the repercussions. There are ways in which I can never fully academically recover from having missed so much school. But, I know if I did go to class, I would have been barely functioning.
In any case, always prioritize what is best for your health and wellbeing. And sometimes, that means skipping classes and sleeping and chudding out for a week!