A A A Achooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!

Winter is always that time of year where we spend equal amounts of money and time defending ourselves against head colds, flu and pneumonia. I say equal amounts because I take vitamin tablets, multi and vitamin C. I also take garlic tablets and drink copious amounts of fresh juice as well. I was told that this all helps to build up your immune system and give one an advantage against the winter woos. Many people spend so much time fighting off colds, etc. that we are too busy to catch one and if we are not busy doing that then we are busy bouncing back from them, often for weeks at a time. When I was working in communications at the hospital, senior management decided that it was compulsory to be vaccinated against influenza. I remember coming back from the nurse’s office having been jabbed with the needle, thinking to myself that I was safer than any other individual that I knew because I now had the ultimate protection against the flu and guess what…I have never had the flu as badly as I did that year lol. Just six weeks to the day the dreaded sniffles began, followed by a rising temperature which didn’t stop rising. The infection moved in like an unwanted house guest and although I fought tooth and nail to evict it, my guess had made it self comfortable and was definitely not going any where. One characteristic of the flu is that an individual is either suffering from it or else you simply do not realize that you are dying from it and continue life as if you are living in a vortex. I remember driving to the doctor’s surgery and I drifted and changed lanes on Victoria Rd. My daughter nearly had a heart attack and yet I remained oblivious to the honking horns from everyone around me and the truck driver next to me who waved his tall finger like a bird at me. When I came out of the doctors I vaguely remember that my house key wouldn’t open the car door and that putting the gear stick into drive did not allow me to reverse backwards out onto the street. Yes…I truly was sick with the influenza. Now the doctor suggested that I had bed rest and medication for a week and in addition, I was to visit a physiotherapist and have her bash on my back to relieve the building congestion in my chest. Given that my body size deals with enough congestion around my chest area I couldn’t imagine how this could be a good idea however we headed to the therapist’s anyway. In my almost semi-delirious state I had forgotten about my health fund details, which are practically non existent in matters of rehabilitation, lol. Influenza does that to you..it makes you forget the simplest things, in the exhaustion of the heat pulsating from your body while your immune system fights off the germ, your memory retains nothing. The physiotherapist asked if I was taking medication to which I replied that I was yet to visit the pharmacy and collect my prescribed tablets. “Well” she replied sarcastically, “You should have done that first, otherwise I could catch this from you”. Now normally I would counterattack the said cynical comments however, on this particular day (and in my Disney-dazed state of indifference) I simply nodded like the proverbial circus clown and swayed to clocking of the tick on the wall lol. Yes, that's how bad I was feeling lol. God, I felt so hot that it was like I was existing in the middle of summer instead of winter, even though by now, I couldn’t even remember what season it actually was lol. I do recall the physiotherapist droning on and on about something and my daughter told me later that she appeared annoyed that the doctor had sent me to see her in such a sick state. Perhaps she didn’t like houseguests either.
She then listened to my lungs after repeatedly playing the bongo drums on my back. Can you believe that she even asked how I had caught this flu? Now I ask you….if I had known how I had caught it I would not undertake that particular activity in the first place, agreed? The thought ohhh derrrr came to mind but I was simply too sick to be able to form the words with my mouth. Nonetheless, several days later (about a week I think) after lots and lots of exhausted, sweaty, restless sleep (and many antibiotics and fluids) the temperature and the aches and pains began to subside. When ever I hear the news and a commentator talking about the upcoming winter I always remember that year. Hence, nowadays I consume vitamins and fruit juice and vegetables like the winter is my opponent and it works. Funny thing once the flu passed on from me to some other poor human, I had no trouble reversing out of the driveway or locating car keys again Amazing that lol. Stay healthy everyone!