I stand on my conviction that it isn’t war or terrorists or any destructive creation made by man that will be our demise; it will be the microscopic, one-celled guys that will do mankind in: viruses, bacteria and spores. I’ve been saying this for a long time. We continue in some un-named race of man versus bug, manipulating vaccines in hopes of eradicating as many forms of disease as we can. At the same time, those little devils continue to do just what all things in life does to survive: evolve. The more we work to ‘beat down’ these bugs, the more they morph into stronger, more resistant and damaging bugs! So, the battle continues and the beat goes on…..

With that having been put out there…..

We never really appreciate our health until it is seemingly snatched away from us in some ‘untimely’ manner. There is no time for being sick and it is indiscriminate in its choice of who to attack. We could be the healthiest living person or someone whose habits are unhealthy. It doesn’t matter. Bugs only require opportunity and a slight dip in immunity and it has you in its grips!

That’s what happened to me. I got hit with the “flavor of the year” Influenza. The flu. It hit like a freight train! Intense pain from head to toe! A raging fever! Congestion that came on so fast, my body didn’t have time to adequately respond! BAM! I went from being able to walk miles on a beach (my husband walked over two miles the day before the bug hit) to barely being able to get out of bed!!!

I know the drill: drink plenty of fluids, take fever reducers and something for the congestion and get some rest. Rest. Yeah, right. The ibuprofen takes just SOME of the pain away; just the edge of the edge. Still little needles constantly jab at joints and muscles cramp and ache. It doesn’t seem to stop. All the while, I’m either shaking from chills or profusely sweating from the fever that refuses to break. Then, the congestion sets in like a bone corset. My chest felt like I had been butterflied and then trussed into a corset so tight I couldn’t breathe!

So, after some pleading from my neighbor and husband, I call the doctor’s office and set an appointment.

At his office, he listens to my chest, asking me to breath deeply (yeah, right…it’s more a a controlled hack) to the point where I get light headed. Doc says I’ve got ‘walking pneumonia’ and writes a prescription for antibiotics, a cough suppressant and an expectorant.

“Walking Pneumonia.” That’s an odd couple of words when you think about it. I don’t care how it reads, I certainly don’t feel much like walking!!! I just know that darned bug caused a secondary infection! I’ve never had anything remotely like this! Crap!

We pick up the prescriptions and begin the regimen. I retire to bed and my husband assumes the role of cook and nurse. So, the process of regaining my health begins. It feels like a complete “do over.” All of my energy is gone. My arms become heavy on the keyboard of my laptop from just checking my social media accounts. The images I took from my trip to Seaside, Oregon, go unprocessed. So, is how the week went; in pretty much a blur of dozing, heavy and hard coughing, medication taking and water, water, water…..

I hope that one morning I’ll wake up and it will all seem like a dream.

Well, it didn’t quite happen like that. Each morning has been measured in very small improvements: fever breaking in the wee hours of one morning; I awoke with a bit of an appetite another morning; the pervasive tightness in my chest eased on yet another morning. Yes, they are all small victories. I’m grateful for each of them, too.

I feel as if I’ve gone from existing in the “Dawn of the Dead” to returning to the “Land of the Living.”

It was a nasty bug and it will take some time to heal from it.

I have an admission to make: I didn’t get my flu vaccine this year. I meant to but let other things distract me from getting it. I won’t let that happen again, and, ironically, I learned from the doctor that even folks who have gotten the vaccine are still getting the flu! It’s that nasty! The only difference is that their symptoms are far less worse and they are sick for a much shorter duration. I’m still getting the vaccine, next year.

Why am I sharing this with you? Why write about something so ordinary as the flu virus?

Because I’m a blogger and we bloggers write open and honest stuff about our lives. That’s what we do.

I wrote about the flu also because, even as mundane as it seems, that ordinary, common bug is getting stronger and more resistant. In a way, I’m sharing a warning. Take care and get that vaccine!

Finally, this is a portrayal of how easily the simplest of living can be pulled away – even if for a bit of time – and how much we take that living SO for granted! I got stuck in bed which gave me plenty of time to think about how important my health really is to me and how grateful I am to be living.

I AM grateful!