Memory of the Flu

When I was much younger - around 25 - I caught the flu. I'd never experienced the illness as an adult, and it was a sobering experience.

I was at work one morning, when I started to have a mild headache. As the day progressed, the headache became worse. What started as a mild annoyance, turned into a distracting pounding that made the fatigue of working all day in cold weather much worse.

When I arrived home, the chills started. I was uncomfortably cold one minute, and within a few more minutes, I was burning up with fever.

As the evening progressed, the fever became worse. I tried to watch some television, but I can only describe the experience as like being delirious. I couldn't concentrate; the headache and fever were now accentuated with muscles aches.

I went to bed, after taking some cold medicine, and awoke during the night feeling worse. That's when the fear started. I had no memory of feeling as bad as I did before going to bed; feeling worse was more than just an unpleasant thought. Thoughts were jumbled, the aches were worse, and the congestion had started. I fell asleep again.

I woke in the early hours of morning, drenched with sweat; even my bed sheets were wet. The worse of the headache was gone, but the congestion was worse and my throat burned just from breathing. Added to the symptoms were diarrhea and nausea.  

I ended up staying off work for two days.  The first day was miserable, and the second wasn't much better. I needed the hours, so I went back to work on the third day; still sick, but not so much I couldn't manage with my sinuses running, a cough that sounded like my lungs were coming up, and a sore throat that made swallowing food an unpleasant task.

It took a week for the sore throat to end, and I coughed up phlegm for weeks.

So, if you haven't gone for a flu shot, you might think about doing so. Influenza kicked my young, healthy ass to the curb, and gave me a fear of a deadly illness.