In sickness, and in health

Sometimes, you've committed to something, and then you get sick.

Maybe your health takes a turn for the worse; maybe you catch a cold; maybe your mental health gets rocky; maybe you end up in hospital.
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And when we get sick, society tells us to get over ourselves; take a sudafed & deal; get back to work.

Society has continually taught us that our health isn't worth more than our labour.

And in these covid19 times, I think it's becoming clearer & clearer that that's not true.
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Your health IS important - and it's more important than going to work at your job; it's more important than trying to battle through mental health issues on unstable footing; it's more important than running yourself into the ground trying to meet that fandom deadline.
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If you're not well, you're not well. Is it disappointing if you're not able to post something when you wanted to? Absolutely. Is it upsetting if you have to message an event chat and say you're not going to be able to finish something in time? Of course it is.
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But I think we - as work colleagues, as members of communities, both IRL and online, as co-moderators, as event participants - I think we, as friends, need to normalise accepting that someone's health is simply more important.
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When I was 21, I got a DVT. (To this day we don't know how, or why - 30% of DVTs are unexplained.) I was in hospital twice over a period of two weeks. At the time, I was at university - I ended up withdrawing from two units, and arranging for changes in assessment for a third.
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And that sucked, absolutely - I ended up having to repeat the units the next year, once I'd recovered.

It sucked, but it had to be done.

Sometimes, things happen. Life gets in the way; someone you love goes into hospital; your mental health takes a sharp turn for the worse.
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It's reasonable for us - you, me, someone, anyone - to prioritise their health.

Make sure you keep hydrated. Give your body time to rest. Get enough sleep. Whatever you need to do, for the situation you find yourself in.
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I've seen a fair number of people on TL recently struggling with health issues & also participating in fandom events and IDK, I just feel like there's a lot of pressure on ppl to finish & post things? And when they're also battling major health issues, that feels really unfair.
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It's an unstable and difficult time out there for everyone. Please be kinder to your friends; please be kinder to yourself.

...And please... prioritise your health.