January 2010, I caught swine flu at age 33. I was living alone. It started with bad stomach upset which lead to a horrible cough. I got a same day appointment, a swab of my nose, and it was confirmed. There was nothing the doctor could prescribe but I got a list of symptoms to keep an eye out for. I called my work and the protocol is that I needed to be symptom free for a week before I could return.
My bedroom was at the opposite end of the building from the bathroom. As I developed a fever and got weaker, I had to set up an air mattress in my living room so I would be closer. My mom checked in on me and brought supplies. The first couple of days were the worst. The chills felt like they were in my bones, my chest gurgled and rattled as I breathed. I had no energy and could barely stand. Then I started alternating between chills and sweats. I remember lying on the air mattress thinking this is how it felt on the frontier with ague or scarlet fever. I read a lot of Little House as a kid.
Slowly yet surely I improved. There was a concern that I had developed pneumonia as a complication because my lungs were a wreck. My time off work was extended a little bit. My breathing was ragged and bad chills lasted until March.
I was also quarantined for a week in a hospital in 2002 when they thought I had bacterial meningitis. That was a very miserable time. I was on an IV of high dose antibiotics that hurt all the time. You don’t realize how much you need to see people’s mouths to feel connected and comfortable until you can’t see them for a week. I watched Denzel and Halle win their Oscars from my hospital bed.
I’m writing this to help me and you know the scary viruses and quarantines are horrible and survivable. People need to keep calm.
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