The sick days were needed because the toxicity of the school environment, of the district expectations which do not at all seem fitting with what I observed at all state or national level. So, the sick days are real because creativity is atrophying at lightning speed for teachers in our schools. My soldering on ended up getting the better of me, however because I was not taking time off from an environment that was becoming increasingly toxic. When the work environment is toxic, it is trickle down.