The perks of having the cold for 2 weeks, your period for 1 week, falling off your bike in Pulau Ubin and getting 8 stitches and then gastric flu the week after:

Your boyfriend spends every single second with you- watches you sleep, wake, feeds you, gets you water to drink, entertains you, lets you treat him like a punching bag, accepts your shamefaced apologies, cheers you up, listens to you put yourself down- your hair looks like shit, you are breaking out all over, you are like shit and your life is like shit- and then picks you up and puts you back together and tells you to dream big and get out there and conquer the world.

Your dog cuddles into a ball and sleeps next to you on the bed. She follows you into the shower and watches you bathe and sticks out her tongue and laughs at you- your right hand is wrapped in a plastic bag (what your boyfriend terms 'the doraemon hand'), your right leg is wrapped in three plastic bags to prevent the wounds from touching water and you put your leg on the toilet bowl and do an alien dance and bathe half your body.

Your dad drives you to the hospital and to school and to home and your mum fusses over you and they take turns to ask you how you are and if you need anything and they quarrel with each other over how the other isn't taking enough care of you.

Your friends shower you with text messages telling you to get well soon and how much they love you.

The downside:

3 essays and 1 test next week.

Here we go :/