Ruptured appendix shuts me down; changes my ways

I’ve been away from this space. In fact, I’ve totally missed a series of meetings and commitments over the past week. But for a reason better than “the dog ate my homework.”

My appendix burst. Painful and nasty.

And in hospitals in Canada, the nursing staff sure makes short work of your BlackBerry when you tell them you’re trying to Twitter your emergency surgery. So, no WiFi. No Internet. No BlackBerry. No nothing for several days.

These things never come at a good time. It forced me to miss several important meetings without notice. As for my trip to Vancouver this week, not a chance. So, I’ll miss ThirdTuesdayVancouver and Web Directions North, two events that I was really looking forward to.

Without doubt, it will take me some time to get back up to full speed.

And as I consider the 358 new emails in my office inbox and the 207 unread emails in my gmail box, not to mention the unanswered telephone calls, I realize that I should really look on this as an opportunity to pare back on some of my commitments. So, while I’m going to try to get back up to full speed as quickly as possible, I’ll try to focus on doing fewer things that really require my attention and keeping out of the things that can be done better by others (this will make the people I work with very, very happy).

That’s enough sitting up for now. Time to rest and get stronger.

Not sure when I’ll post again, but hopefully it won’t be too long.

  • http://hyku.com/blog/ Josh Hallett

    Hopes for a speedy recovery. I had a kidney stone last year and that’ wasn’t fun either.

  • http://trafcom.typepad.com/blog Donna Papacosta

    Oh no, Joe. Hope you’re up to speed soon. We missed you at Third Tuesday Toronto.

    (As bad as I feel for you, I am laughing at the image of a big beefy nurse grabbing the Blackberry out of your hands.)

  • Ian Ketcheson

    Get well soon! Take care of yourself. Scary thing, but glad to hear that you are coming through okay.

    Take care,
    Ian.

  • http://www.canuckflack.com Colin McKay

    Take your time, Joe. Make sure you get fully better.

  • http://studentpr.com/blog Chris Clarke

    Sorry to hear, Joe. Get well soon!

  • http://www.consolationchamps.com/ James McNally

    Glad to hear you’re on the mend. Get well soon!

  • http://www.ryananderson.ca Ryan Anderson

    Get well soon, Joe. You’re lucky to have a lot of talented people around you who can keep the ship sailing straight while you’re recovering.

  • http://www.socialmediagroup.ca maggie fox

    So sorry to hear that – get better soon, Joe!

  • http://www.bobgoyetche.com Bob Goyetche

    Get well! and give yourself enough time to get well! A well rested body heals better!

  • http://overtonecomm.blogspot.com Kami Huyse

    Glad you are feeling better.

    My appendix nearly burst about 7 years ago. I can still remember telling the doctor, “But I can’t take two weeks off.” He said, it’s either that or take forever off. That was perspective. Looks like you got some too.

    Welcome to the the club of those without an appendix but with a better focus on life.

  • http://www.theclientsideblog.com Michael Seaton

    Get well soon Joe!

  • http://xfep.com David

    Get better soon! Take it easy, and offload your work onto those 76design folks… they have nothing better to do. :)

  • http://www.Bryper.com Bryan Person, Bryper.com

    Oh my goodness, Joe, so sorry to hear about your appendix, but relieved that you seemed to be OK?

    Rest up, Joe. The work will always be there when you back. For now, just take care of you!

  • http://conniecrosby.blogspot.com connie

    Sorry to hear you’ve had to go through this, Joseph! Wondered why we hadn’t seen you around. Hope you are better soon. In the meantime, relax and let the mind as well as the body rest.

    Take care,
    Connie

  • http://everydotconnects.com Connie Reece

    Owweeee! So sorry to hear about the burst appendix. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

  • http://eminencegrisemontreal.blogspot.com Michelle Sullivan

    Ouch!! Joe! I trust that if you’re blogging, it’s that you’re ok. Hope the worse is over.

    Take care

    Michelle

  • http://philgomes.com/blog/ Phil Gomes

    OMG… Found out through @bryper on twitter. Get well soon, m’man.

  • http://susanreynolds.blogs.com/boobsonice Susan Reynolds

    Hope this finds you well on the road to recovery; until your tweet earlier I didn’t know you’d gone MIA and think we should have had an emergency team of tweeters at the hospital doing a play by play if we’d been doing our job as the twitter village.

    So glad you’re taking some needed down time, but really sorry it had to come at this expense.

  • http://blog.holtz.com Shel Holtz

    Good heavens, Joe; you seem to be in good spirits for such a painful and potentially dangerous experience! I’ve had appendicitis (when I was 10; just vague memories of the surgery) and my father is in the medical books as the first burst-appendix patient to be treated with penicillin. I hope you’re feeling a lot better. Take care!

  • http://www.twistimage.com/blog Mitch Joel – Twist Image

    A sick Joe is not a helpful Joe, so take all the time you need to heal, reflect and get back to your 100% fighting shape :)

    You’ll be missed while you heal, but rest assured everything (and every one) will be here when you’re ready to return (including twitter).

    All the best Joe! I’m pulling for ya!

  • http://www.ontherecordpodcast.com Eric Schwartzman

    Get well soon!

  • http://www.markblevis.com Mark

    Get well soon, Joe. Drop me a note when you’re back in production and we’ll catch up.

  • http://www.jointheconversation.us Joseph Jaffe

    Joe – a speedy recovery and glad you’re ok!!!

    Joe

  • http://michaelocc.com Michael O’Connor Clarke

    Get well soon, Joe. It’s too quiet around here without you :-)

    Seriously though: rest, relax, and recharge. We’ll all try to make sure things keep ticking in your absence.

  • http://www.zoeysworld.com Zoey Castelino

    Glad to hear that you’re okay. Best wishes on a speedy recovery from both your appendicitis – and your Blackberry withdrawal! ;)

  • http://www.mynameiskate.ca Kate Trgovac

    We’ll miss seeing you in Vancouver, Joe – but so glad you’re on the mend! Try to relax and resist the urge to Twitter :) Be well!

  • http://prnation.wordpress.com Paul Zanettos

    Holy sh*t. Hope you’re feeling better. Get well soon. PZ

  • http://allanjenkins.typepad.com Allan Jenkins

    Hope you recover quickly, Joe!

    If they had had WiFi, would you have liveblogged it?

    All the best, Allan

  • http://www.wlister.com Francis Wooby

    Holy smokes; what a frightening ordeal! I’m glad that you’re back and send best wishes for a quick recovery.

  • Alex Milroy

    Joe – Rest up, get better, and read lots of books. We at the office miss you, but need you back healthy and happy. So take time.
    And while you are away we promise to keep the terrible email traffic to a minimum!

  • Robin Browne

    Hi Joe,
    I wish you a speedy recovery. Enjoy these “Joe Thornley Unplugged” moment in history!

  • http://www.propr.ca Joseph Thornley

    Thanks everyone for your kind words and good wishes. In the sleep/exercise/rest routine that’s part of recovery, I’m making infrequent stops at the computer screen. Your comments have cheered me up immensely!

    Thank you.

  • http://pr.typepad.com John Cass

    Concentrate on getting well, we will all be here when you recover. My thoughts are with you.

  • http://www.rbcp2p.com Michel Savoie

    Glad to hear that you’re on the road to recovery. (For some reason, that sounds like you’re fighting an addiction or something…)

    Good luck and get well soon!!