#obvs that's limited by being contagious & not wanting your loved ones to get sick ofc

[princessnijireiki]

The notes on that Henson post are all either like, "oh it was the cult he was raised in" (he seems to have left it decades prior but, yk, stuff lingers), "he just like me fr" (??? don't do that), or "if only he knew and went to the doctor sooner :("

But truly, if anything, the commentary I added is UNDERSTATING how streptococcus operates— like unless some other grievous torso injury had happened to Henson early on in the illness that required BOTH blood cultures AND X-rays, AND the infection and lung abscesses had been caught, AND they proceeded with heavy medication AND likely surgical intervention, AND the timing and execution of all that were perfect + he didn't pick up any additional bugs at the hospital... there was & even nowadays would be no other route to survival. It would have taken extreme & sheer dumb luck, it would have been excruciating, and it still would have only been a "maybe."

And any bacteria that escaped purging could still "detonate" and kill him decades later.

All after, by medical standards of the time, not doing anything "wrong."

Like, follow medical recommendations re: antibiotic usage to the letter with "regular" strep because otherwise, you may die, AND you will make new germs that are harder to kill so OTHER people will also die. But Henson did not have "regular" strep— and my point is, regular strep bacteria FROM 1990 could tear you apart brutally, and the strep of the 2020s is already stronger, faster, and scarier.

I'm not saying, "save yourself the way Henson should have," he was already doomed before ever flying back to NYC, which is tragic, but that was not an issue in his or your or any of our control— I'm saying we're in a losing war against bacteria, so save yourself if and when you can, AND don't give the germ another fucking gun, because it's already strong enough that there are ways you can get sick and no one can save you, and we haven't medically been able to move the needle on that, but the germ sure has.

Same as polio vaccination. The herd immunity and the armor needs to be strong, because if enough people get sick enough for it or one of its cousin viruses to MUTATE and then spread again, we cannot save you. The vaccines of the past will not protect you. There is no "if only." There are not enough iron lungs left in the world. Get vaccinated and follow medical best practices so you don't fill a graveyard.

We live in a scary world where we are not the determinors of our own health and safety. And sometimes there are no life jackets.