From:	 cool@lwn.net
To:	 LWN Readers
Subject: My absence
Date:	 Wed, 15 Aug 2001 13:18:29 -0600

I wanted to take a moment to provide reassurance and information to anyone concerned about my current medical status. The situation is not life-threatening and time and rest should serve to resolve my problems.

A few of you already know that I have a mild relapsing/remitting form of Multiple Sclerosis. I generally manage this very well via acupuncture, diet, vitamin therapy and exercise. However, the fun and excitement of the past four years working in the Free Software and Open Source community has given me ample temptation to push my strength past what I can actually bear. As a result, I've simply slowly gotten worn out. This has left me vulnerable to my relatively weak immune system. A bout of Labrynthitis, an inflammation of the inner ear, increased my fatigue problems and eventually triggered a new MS exacerbation.

Neither the Labrynthitis nor the exacerbation are life-threatening, but they have waved a red flag to me and my doctors, indicating that it is time that I started taking better care of myself. As a result, I've been ordered to stop working and stay home to rest for a minimum of a month.

So, as difficult as it is to watch my colleagues take on yet more work while I sit by, that is exactly what I'll be doing for as long as it takes to make sure that I get healthy again and stay healthy.

I'll still be keeping an eye on the community (LWN.net is a good resource for that :-), and wish good luck, success and, most importantly, a lot of fun for all of you.

Take care,

Liz Coolbaugh