Rant #1,371: Well, Flu Me Down ...

Enough about snow, at least for now ...

Not only have we received enough snow this winter for my taste, but now my family has to deal with something else, something, like the snow, that will go away within time.

My wife officially has the flu.

She has been sick for about a week, but it really hit her this past weekend.

She felt achy all over, had little to no appetite, had a rough cough, and just was physically miserable.

So last night she finally got to see a doctor, and lo and behold, my original diagnosis was correct: she has the flu.

I think that even though she has what one can call a "mild" case of it, she still has it.

She called out sick twice in the past week from work, and somehow, she worked yesterday, but now, since the doctor made his diagnosis, she will be away from work for at least the next two days, if not until next week.

We will take it day by day.

The interesting thing is that the doctor said that her strain of flu probably wouldn't have been stopped by taking the current flu shot, simply because the current shot really doesn't work against the current strain of flu.

He told us that maybe 22 or 23 percent of people who have taken the shot have actually been protected against the flu this season, much like last season, so even if she took the shot--which neither she nor I took this year, or any year in my recollection--she might have still gotten sick.

Now, my wife is going to have to take it easy for several days before she gets back to full strength, because once the flu has progressed in one's body for a few days, there really isn't anything one can do to ward it off.

She can take Advil for body pain if she likes, but all told, at this point, there really isn't much she can do, except wait for the virus to run its course.

I had the flu probably about 10 years ago, right after New Year's if I recall, and it was horrible. It knocked me out for at least a week. It saps all of your body strength, and pretty much all you can do is sit there and wait for it to leave.

So, we are basically in a waiting game with this virus. My wife is a very active person, watches herself and what she eats religiously, goes to the gym on a regular basis, but at least for the next several days, her main activity will be to rest up. Netflix will be her best friend during this period.

And what of myself and our son? How do we protect ourselves against picking up with what she has?

Well, it is in our house. We have contact with her. Heck, our sleeping arrangements haven't changed.

The doctor said just wash our hands regularly, which we do anyway, and well, hope that the virus doesn't hop onto us.

So between the snow and the flu, it has really been a lousy winter. By the way, my wife was also sick with a sinus infection at the start of the year, so she is in a cycle where she perhaps isn't warding off these things as well as she once did.

I wish her well, and I hope that she has a quick recovery, I really do.

Love can fix anything, but I don't think it can help her get rid of what she has any quicker ...