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| Musk's aversion to vacations may be the reason he rarely takes time away from work and his companies (Creative Commons License). |
Before Elon Musk burst into the global spotlight as the entrepreneur bent on colonizing mars, the billionaire spent some time literally fighting for his life. Thanks to a severe bout of malaria, Musk claimed he came hours close to death.
Elon Musk doesn’t take vacations. While you may understand his plight because of his many commitments to his companies, Musk actually does not like taking time off because one attempt to do so left him nearly dead.
Traveling with his then-wife Justina to Brazil and South Africa, Musk got infected with falciparum, a severe form of malaria. Musk said he was misdiagnosed twice. First, Stanford Hospital told him he had meningitis, even though he asked to be checked for the malaria parasite, and he was later given the wrong diagnosis again at Sequoia Hospital.
This mistake nearly cost Musk his life, but a visiting doctor from San Jose reviewed his case and promptly dispatched him to the ICU. At that point, Musk said he was about 36 hours away from being unrecoverable.
The wonder drug that gave his life back was chloroquine. This made Musk a believer in the medicine and recommended it for people infected with Coronavirus. The efficacy of malaria treatment with chloroquine has never been officially confirmed but it sure seemed to work and save Musk from peril.
Apart from respect for Chloroquine, Musk developed an aversion to vacations. In his book, he claimed holidays would kill people. The episode also taught Musk to take expert advice with a grain of salt.
Elon Musk doesn’t take vacations. While you may understand his plight because of his many commitments to his companies, Musk actually does not like taking time off because one attempt to do so left him nearly dead.
Traveling with his then-wife Justina to Brazil and South Africa, Musk got infected with falciparum, a severe form of malaria. Musk said he was misdiagnosed twice. First, Stanford Hospital told him he had meningitis, even though he asked to be checked for the malaria parasite, and he was later given the wrong diagnosis again at Sequoia Hospital.
I was first misdiagnosed at Stanford Hospital with viral meningitis, then again misdiagnosed at Sequoia. A visiting doc from San Jose General saw my charts & sent me to ICU immediately. I was ~36 hours from being unrecoverable. So, I take expert advice with a grain of salt …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 16, 2020
This mistake nearly cost Musk his life, but a visiting doctor from San Jose reviewed his case and promptly dispatched him to the ICU. At that point, Musk said he was about 36 hours away from being unrecoverable.
The wonder drug that gave his life back was chloroquine. This made Musk a believer in the medicine and recommended it for people infected with Coronavirus. The efficacy of malaria treatment with chloroquine has never been officially confirmed but it sure seemed to work and save Musk from peril.
At that point, Musk said he was about 36 hours away from being unrecoverable.
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| Chloroquine phosphate (also known as chloroquine) is an antimalarial medicine used for the prevention or treatment of certain types of malaria and for the treatment of extraintestinal parasites. (Creative Commons License). |
Apart from respect for Chloroquine, Musk developed an aversion to vacations. In his book, he claimed holidays would kill people. The episode also taught Musk to take expert advice with a grain of salt.
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Elon Musk