The Alarming Rate of Deconditioning

I had been sailing along the rim of deconditioning for about a month, able to avoid acknowledging it's existence because I was able to keep physically active each day on the treadmill or by taking walks and because I was eating just enough protein to keep myself out of a serious deficit.
Then I got a systemic infection, where my blood pressure was so low they would not allow me out of bed without assistance, I was getting fluids at a rate that literally gushed into my veins, and I had enough little bags of antibiotics hanging from my IV pole that I would be hard pressed to ague that I was doing well.  Fortunately, the antibiotics did the trick, I got enough fluid to hydrate two or three people, and my blood pressure came up to a level that reassured my doctor that I did not need to go to the intensive care unit.  But what suffered in all of this was my appetite.  All the extra fluid accumulated in my abdomen, which made food extremely unappealing and pretty hard to keep down.  So for several days I went with little protein and suddenly I can barely move.  Stairs?  Are you joking?  Even going from sitting to standing can seem like a chore.  I had to break out the whey and make ultra protein smoothies in an attempt to regain my baseline level of function, and after only a few days of debilitation.  I am on the road back to strength and vitality, but now I know, it can vanish in an instant.