Generally Sick as a Dog

If all went according to plan, I’m currently in Portland attending the final day of the Bricks Cascade 2022 LEGO fan convention.  Whoo! 

I’m sure that I’m having a blast.  Looking at MOCs, discussing LEGO, and seeing the smiling faces (well, eyes and foreheads, anyway) of my AFOL friends. 

But it is Sunday.  And I try to always post on Sundays and Wednesdays, so that means that I have to write a piece and upload it, scheduling it to auto-post while I’m gone.  (Assuming that I can figure out how… it’s something I haven’t tried yet on this particular platform.) 

I’m planning on writing about the con after the con.  Hopefully a very happy post filled with sunshine and (hypoallergenic) kittens.  So today, let’s look at the one real concern that I have for the con. 

Getting sick. 

Covid-19

According to the Bricks Cascade website, proof of vaccination (or a very, very, very recent negative Covid test) is required to enter the convention venue.  Also, all attendees are required to wear protective face coverings while in the venue. 

Because of this, I’m not really all that worried about getting Covid-19.  Yes, I’m aware that it could still happen.  I’m aware that I could contract one of the scary variants.  But it looks like all reasonable precautions are being taken, and I’m not going to hide in my apartment during Bricks Cascade, dammit! 

Con Crud

While I’m not overly concerned about getting Covid-19, I am very concerned about Con Crud.  It’s a reasonable concern of mine.  Nine times out of ten if I attend a convention I come home with a case of it. 

What is Con Crud, you ask?  Con Crud is the end result of taking (in this particular instance) hundreds of AFOLs and thousands of public attendees, and putting them into a giant petri dish called the exhibition hall for hours on end, two days in a row. 

In my experience, it generally presents as a horrible cold or the flu.  Or some mutant combination of the two. 

My hope is that the Covid precautions being taken by the convention this year will double as Con Crud prevention. 

I Get Everything

Because my immune system is all messed up (thanks, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome!), I pretty much catch anything communicable that I’m exposed to. 

Is there a cold going around?  I get it.  People getting the flu?  I get it.  I’m like a magnet for illnesses. 

I’ve had the chicken pox five times.  I’m the exact wrong kind of medical miracle. 

If I hadn’t already been nearly a complete shut-in when Covid-19 hit, fear of the disease would have driven me there.  Self-isolation?  Yes, please!

Checkmark in the Poor Box

It seems like every time I go see a doctor, someone hands me a stack of forms to fill out. 

One of the questions that these forms always ask me how I’d rate my health.  Excellent?  No.  Good?  No.  Fair?  No.  That only leaves one selection, so I end up putting a checkmark in the Poor box. 

There’s also always a long list of medical problems with empty boxes next to them that I’m supposed to put checkmarks in.  If I have them, or if I have a family history of having them.  A lot of checkmarks go in there. 

They also ask for a medication list, and then give you enough space to write down a maximum of three medications.  My doctors have me on fourteen.  What do I do?  I’m always tempted to just put down, “Yes”. 

Not Holding My Breath

My bad knee isn’t the only reason that I don’t like walking even a short distance.  In addition to all the knee pain, I also get out of breath easily.  Very easily. 

Yes, breathing is sometimes difficult for me.  I’ve got severe allergies.  I’ve got asthma.  My lungs have been ravaged by two separate pulmonary embolisms.  I’ve also got ‘obesity with hypoventilation syndrome’ (which is apparently doctor for too fat to breathe). 

And if normal everyday breathing isn’t always fun for me, you can probably imagine what it’s like if I’m sick.  With a cold or the flu, I can get out of breath by just standing perfectly still. 

Record-Setting Flu Champion

Most normal people can catch a cold, and then a week later they’re fine.  With me, it usually lasts closer to a month. 

Getting the flu?  That always seems to last forever.  Back in the early 2000s I once had the flu for two and a half months.  Two.  And.  A half.  Months. 

So the last thing that I want to do is get sick and set a new record, beating my old time.  No thank you. 

Hopeful Thinking

To summarize:  I’m hoping that I don’t get Covid.  I’m hoping that I don’t get Con Crud.  But there’s one condition that I haven’t yet mentioned, and it’s one that I’m perfectly fine coming home from the con with.  And that’s a massive case of LEGO fever.  



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