H1N1 Experience

Many of us have had the not so lucky experience with the H1N1 flu virus. I happen to be one of those people. When the media broke news with this potential threat last spring I was not very concerned, until they kept harping on the fact that it was a pandemic. I've been wavering from one side of the spectrum to the other. People die from the regular flu all the time, what is so different from this one that makes it a pandemic? I still don't have a concrete answer for that question, other than the fact that the virus is a bit more stronger.

Now that I've experienced it myself. I don't think it is that bad. I understand that it can easily get out of control especially for those that have other complications, but I do know I have been much sicker with the regular flu about 8 years ago. I thought I was on my death bed.

H1N1 brought on a nasty cough, a relentless fever of about 101.9 for about 3 days, chills and sweats. Keep in mind I caught this early and was fortunate enough to be able to afford to go to the doctor and also pay for the tamiflu which my insurance did not cover! I do believe the tamiflu helped tremendously. I wore a mask for 4 days to protect my family from the virus. It is still early to tell if it worked, but so far no one has contracted it yet. I am worried if my kids get this because they are so young. There isn't much I can do about it at this point.

You might ask about the vaccination, did I get one? The answer to that is not no, but HELL no. I never have had the flu vaccination let alone the new, rarely tested, H1N1 vaccination. I wonder how many people who have gotten the vaccination and have still gotten the flu. hmmm I haven't seen any studies on this yet and I probably won't unless I go searching for them.

So far this is my experience with the H1N1 flu. For the record Jared slept next to me every night I was sick and he insisted I not wear the mask because it freaked him out. He has not gotten sick yet, knock on wood! Hopefully this will be my last day in bed...