Say hello to Mr. Flu
October 12, 2007 at 14:03 Oh the viruses have come for a weekend visit to Chez V and are getting all snuggly in their human hosts, planning a long weekend of mucus and coughs and aches and pains.
It all started with E-Grrrl, who had a runny nose and sore throat on Wednesday. Seemed like a standard cold, not too severe. I kept her home Thursday, she felt better Friday, went to school and was back to normal.
Meanwhile the nasty viruses mutated and took on a new form. My son A was complaining of a sore throat and stomach ache yesterday morning, but since he tends to be a malingerer, I sent him to school and told him to call me if he really felt sick. He made it through the day OK. This morning when he got up, he complained that his knees ached and his back hurt. We blamed that on the mile run he did yesterday and a recent fall that nearly broke his wrist. Then when he came home from school, he was all droopy and his forehead was hot. He had chills and a fever of 101 degrees.
No Boy Scout Jamboree for him this weekend. No competing in the First Aid competitions. No completing three of his scouting requirements. He was crushed, complained loudly, and then fell asleep on the sofa before dinner.
Meanwhile E and I developed sore throats and swollen sinuses, just a touch of a cough yesterday. We thought we were getting E-Grrrl's cold, but today things took a turn for the worse. As the evening has worn on we've developed chills and aches. All my joints hurt, my jaw hurts, my sinuses hurt, it hurts to type, I've still got the sore throat, and my heart has been slipping out of rhythm all day.
So it will be a pajama and hot tea weekend, pass the Tylenol and Kleenex, and hope one of us is well enough to to make chicken soup. Sigh. I didn't expect to be courted by Mr. Flu this early.
October 12, 2007
Family
Reader Comments (13)
PS..another cosmic nod...My daughter and I both got a horrid case of stomach flu..and she had to miss the first day and a half of her girl scout camp out..and I was a co leader...
She was heartbroken. A kiss to A for me..poor guy.
Get well soon.
Here's to a speedy recovery!
http://www.superiortouch.com/categories.php?catid=21. Really a soup base, with paste consistency, so it's all ready to go with just the hot water stirred in. You don't have to stay upright for several minuteas as you wait for some hard cube to dissolve! A big plus when you are ill.) Take care and hugs to all!
(in English)
http://www.iph.fgov.be/flu/EN/ari_cont.pdf
At present, the number of acute respiratory infections has doubled in a couple of weeks, but has not yet reached the epidemic threshold.
Obviously, if your family got infected these figures are irrelevant: 100°F fever, muscle pain and respiratory distress are no fun ride - I hope you all get well soon.
The past few years Influenza incidence reached it peak in January (only the 2003-2004 winter was exceptional, with an early peak in mid-December):
http://www.iph.fgov.be/flu/HistGraphs.htm
I'm getting my flu shot in early November, and really, it's worth every cent. Spread the word: get that shot!
I always get a flu shot. I had The Flu in 1992 and was so weak I could barely get out of bed and shower. My chest actually burned with the infection. The coughing was extreme. I missed two weeks of work, was still not 100 percent when I went back to the office the third week. A really long recovery period.