In the Fall of 2007, I became very ill with an unknown illness. I'd had fleeting symptoms all through the preceding summer, until one week in early October it all got worse: Insomnia, flu-like feelings, headaches, abdominal and rib pain, gastrointestinal problems, body pain including pain in my hands so severe that made it hard to drive or grip a knife; pain and stiffness in my neck, constant throat infection and swollen glands, night sweats, rashes, muscle twitches, leg ache