M
midi
I've posted my story in another forum, where other people are freaking too, so... I just wanted to share my experience in hopes that it will show people that fretting and worrying and gossiping about the current flu strain "swine flu" is pointless. I see and hear people everywhere obsessing over the Swine Flu and 24/7 news feeds pushing that hysteria...
It is important to understand what a flu virus actually is - you do NOT get it from eating pig/horse/dog/humans - you get it from airborne contact or close contact with infected individuals (including humans and pigs, in this case). So, if you breathe in air that is carrying the flu, you may become infected - that's why you see people wearing masks.
I caught a deadly flu virus while living on a fly-in only rez way up north in a community of 300 people. You can't get more isolated than that. The nurse practitioner (there are no doctors up there) misdiagnosed it as bronchitis and gave me standard penicillin. The day before I flew off the rez, I was bed ridden with chills, sweats, fever, body ache, a cough.
Still, we continued to believe it was bronchitis. When I got back to the city, they mistreated it without taking x-rays (by then, the flu virus had turned into pneumonia). A couple days later I was coughing up blood and my regular doc was fortunately on staff. It took a month of staying in bed and different treatments to recover. Had I stayed on the rez, I wouldn't be around right now - and that's life.
There are questions about whether you can counter this new strain with a flu shot. It is up to you whether you get any shots, just like some vaccinations for other infections. For me, I've only got the flu shot once - and it was in the days leading up to my battle with a deadly flu virus. The city docs later told me I'd have to get the flu shot every year - but that year was my first and last. My choice, my risk.
I've already had a deadly flu virus once and escaped. Am I worried or watching the news headlines 24/7? No. Why? Because it is an airborne infection I can't see and or control. If I get this 'swine flu' or not, I can't control it, so worrying or living in fear is pointless.
It's like watching an inner city crumble - it happens around the world (your decaying city isn't unique), so instead of living in fear for your vulnerable body and fearing, do the best you can with what you have (even if it is infected lungs or broken asphalt). Live in the moment and accept that you have no control.
It is important to understand what a flu virus actually is - you do NOT get it from eating pig/horse/dog/humans - you get it from airborne contact or close contact with infected individuals (including humans and pigs, in this case). So, if you breathe in air that is carrying the flu, you may become infected - that's why you see people wearing masks.
I caught a deadly flu virus while living on a fly-in only rez way up north in a community of 300 people. You can't get more isolated than that. The nurse practitioner (there are no doctors up there) misdiagnosed it as bronchitis and gave me standard penicillin. The day before I flew off the rez, I was bed ridden with chills, sweats, fever, body ache, a cough.
Still, we continued to believe it was bronchitis. When I got back to the city, they mistreated it without taking x-rays (by then, the flu virus had turned into pneumonia). A couple days later I was coughing up blood and my regular doc was fortunately on staff. It took a month of staying in bed and different treatments to recover. Had I stayed on the rez, I wouldn't be around right now - and that's life.
There are questions about whether you can counter this new strain with a flu shot. It is up to you whether you get any shots, just like some vaccinations for other infections. For me, I've only got the flu shot once - and it was in the days leading up to my battle with a deadly flu virus. The city docs later told me I'd have to get the flu shot every year - but that year was my first and last. My choice, my risk.
I've already had a deadly flu virus once and escaped. Am I worried or watching the news headlines 24/7? No. Why? Because it is an airborne infection I can't see and or control. If I get this 'swine flu' or not, I can't control it, so worrying or living in fear is pointless.
It's like watching an inner city crumble - it happens around the world (your decaying city isn't unique), so instead of living in fear for your vulnerable body and fearing, do the best you can with what you have (even if it is infected lungs or broken asphalt). Live in the moment and accept that you have no control.
