My personal experience with the swine flu...

[fiveallmineblog]

 

 

With all the talk in the media about the return of the swine flu this fall, I feel obligated to let you all know about my family's up close and personal visit with this dreaded illness.  The kids and I, all ended up with it, to varying degrees. I will tell you about Sabrina and I since we had it the worst.

 

Sabrina and I contracted the flu in the spring, I believe at the kid's school (there were several confirmed cases at our school at the time), while in my older daughter's classroom for Mother's Day tea.  That was a Friday afternoon.  On Monday morning, I was feeling a little headachy, but Sabrina was fine and went to school with the rest of the kids.

 

When she came home from school at 11am, she vomited once.  Then she seemed fine for the rest of the day, running around like usual.  I felt sluggish and off.

 

Tuesday morning, I sent all the kids to school.  Sabrina came home early, not feeling well.  She fell asleep on one couch, myself on the other, and poor Gregory was left to his own devices, watching a television that chose that exact moment to stop showing images, but provided sound.  By afternoon, I was sick of him climbing all over me and my pile of blankets, and just wanted to be left alone to moan in peace, but no such luck.

 

Sabrina had a high fever that wouldn't go down with Tylenol and Advil, and when she woke with a sweat saturated pillowcase, I packed her up and took off to Emerg.

 

Luckily, as soon as I told the check-in lady why we were there and that there was swine flu at the kids school, they gave us masks and whisked us off to isolation, where we stayed, for oh, 4 hours.  No waiting room for us, and thank God, because who wants to sit in there with all those sick people!  After one visit from a fully covered nurse, mask and eye shield included, and a nasty nasal swab with a 15cm long ‘Qtip', we were ignored until around 11pm when we heard a nurse and doctor rustling in the hallway putting on their protective garments.  I knew then that it wasn't good.

 

We were told that we had the flu type that could be H1N1, but would have to wait 4 days to find out if it was indeed swine flu.  I knew it was, because of course I had looked up all the symptoms, which we had, including eye pain.  Eye pain is apparently a big indicator of this illness, distinguishing it from other flu viruses.

 

Let me just say that if you are at a hospital, and see a mom and her 4 year old daughter garbed with masks, slumped in their chairs waiting for their ride home, you really should not come and sit beside them with your newborn infant.  Avoid them at all costs.  6 feet is the distance you need to stay away from someone sick with H1N1, although farther is preferable.

 

Sabrina's test came back positive, and the health department called us everyday to monitor our illnesses, even though I hadn't been tested.  By day 5, Sabrina was back to her old self, eating and playing as usual, although she had to stay away from school for a total of 10 days.

Being older, I suffered longer.  Headache, fever, eye pain, a dry cough, chills, and aches and pains are what characterised this illness for me.  I was grateful not to suffer serious respiratory issues and as I have asthma, as does Sabrina, I was worried about that, but we were lucky that way.  My mother has emphysema and really wanted to come and help us through our illness, but I refused to let her come over. I'm convinced her recovery would not have been as 'easy' as ours.  I felt at my worst for one week, lying down ill.  By week two, I began eating a little, but had no energy and incredible aches and pains.  Week three, the aches and pains were still so bad I was beginning to think I had something else wrong with me.

 

At the end of the third week, I was pretty much back to my old self, although 10 pounds lighter, and I actually began changing out of my pajamas again when I went to pick up the kids from school.

 

Obviously our experience with H1N1 was not as severe as others, but it was definitely the worst flu I have ever had.  Take good care this flu season!