Dancing with the Swine

We knew the odds were good we'd encounter the publicity-crazed beast, but I guess I didn't expect we'd become so intimate so soon! It became clear over the weekend that that which sent Kira and I to our beds in utter exhaustion was none other than H1N1. Soon Brian was knocked out with the same exhaustion and finally, a couple of days ago, Heather succumbed. As I write this, Kira and Brian seem to have come out the other end of this dark tunnel. Heather and I are still maneuvering our way through. The trick with this beast is to meet its expectations with lots and lots of rest, lots and lots of fluids (especially those containing ample amounts of fresh ginger, garlic and lemon juice), and whatever one has on hand in the way of immune boosters and infection fighters (oil of oregano, Vitamin C and D, etc.).

Another characteristic of this beast is its sneakiness. Twice I was fooled into thinking I was getting better. It was then that the beast came back stronger than before. I tend towards great caution as soon as I'm in the grip of a bad flu, and believe me, I was not doing much with that burst of energy. On one occasion, I dashed out to the grocery store. On the other, I thought I might actually manage to do a little work from home (and I mean a little). Nothin' doing, as my mother used to say. I'd let my guard down.

Of the four of us, it would appear at this point that I've been the big winner, as so often is the case. We have heard all the dire warnings about the susceptibility of the younger set, and this may be true, but it hasn't (thus far, touch wood) been the case here. Kira's symptoms were so mild and for such a short duration that we might have thought she was just a little more tired than usual. Stomach upsets for her are common enough, so that would not have seemed strange.
Brian got off probably the lightest. He is rarely floored by these things. And Heather is manifesting it in her usual way, with more emphasis on cold-like symptoms. I expect she will recover in her usual way.

As for me, a chunk of ginger and a bulb of garlic have taken up residence on the kitchen counter. The bathroom counter is littered with multiple bottles of my arsenal of choice. The pattern, for over a week now, has looked something like this:

Get up. Take first doses of arsenal. Have breakfast. Check email, etc. Sip ginger tea. Go to bed. Sleep until lunchtime. Get up. Have lunch. Check email. Restock arsenal. Go to bed. Sleep until mid-afternoon. Get up. Sip more ginger tea. Take more arsenal. Go to bed. Sleep until just before supper. Make supper, if up to it. Eat. Drink ginger tea. Watch 1/2 hour program on TV. Take arsenal. Go to bed.

It would be so boring if I weren't too tired to notice. My greatest amusement has been finding kindred spirits on Facebook, also down with the flu, and cracking sick, black jokes with them about the nasty pigs that have invaded our lives. They say humour is the best medicine, and it has certainly been a part of our arsenal here!

On the up side, the nice thing about having it now is that we are getting it over with. The alternatives would have been hearing more and more stories of people down for 2-3 weeks with this nasty flu, dreading that our turn would be coming, and debating the merits, or lack thereof, of the H1N1 shot. Although the official line is that we should still have our H1N1 shot, because we were not officially tested to see if we do indeed have it, the broad consensus is that the only flu around these parts right now is H1N1. Kira and I visited a clinic yesterday in Ottawa - one specially set up to assess suspected H1N1 cases - and we both received a positive diagnosis, albeit with the caveat that it is "suspected". That's good enough for me. We'll consider ourselves as having completed this particular nasty round, and there will be no H1N1 shots taken in our family.

The other fortunate to this whole saga is that the timing has been okay. For Heather, of course, there is never a good time. Her schedule this year is wild. However, because so many people are sick at this very moment, classes have been canceled (the ones she was most concerned about missing) from Wednesday through to today. And she just happened to clear her calendar for the entire weekend, with plans to go to Montreal to the university open-houses. Attending them is not critical. We can take a trip another time and she'll achieve similar results. She can, in other words, afford to be sick right now. My employers are wonderfully understanding and have given me whatever time I need to recover, so there is no pressure whatsoever. Furthermore, there is nothing going on right now that I'm regretting missing. It is not the Christmas season yet. We are not missing out on the multitude of festivities of that time of year. If we had to wrestle this beast, now seems to be as good a time as any.

For months now, our society has become increasingly paranoid in its behaviour - afraid to shake hands, looking aghast should anyone cough or sneeze (even if appropriately into a kleenex or sleeve), engaging in obsessive hand-washing until the skin is dry and raw, and exhausting supplies of disinfectant from local grocers. I hope that we have taken a more moderate approach, but I know that we'll be less concerned when someone coughs or sneezes. Been there, done that. On the other hand, maybe this has been an excellent opportunity for all of us to become habitual about common-sense hygiene and illness-prevention. It's been a bit of "trial by fire" for some, but at the same time, I hope that we are all learning valuable lessons individually and collectively.