"Let's keep our fingers crossed," I said to my darling daughter. "Yes, let's," she agreed.What grand goal were we wishing for? What distant dream?
That her annoying cough, which has had her hacking and wheezing all day, is actually swine flu.
No, I'm not a sadistic mother, waiting second by second until one of my children falls ill, so that I can stand over them with a gruesome grin on my face and a tumbler full of castor oil. No, I'm not a doctor wannabe, hovering day by day for one of my offspring to catch some horrible ailment that I can try my homemade remedies on.
I'm just pragmatic. If the kids get swine flu now while it's in a mild form, I won't have to worry about its later, more severe version. I won't have to decide to get them a new and untested vaccine. And if S gets it now, then perhaps she'll pass it on to H and G so that they can be over it before their trip to the Appalachian Trail next weekend.
So, all of you send us your best wishes, won't you? Wishes for fever, cough, achiness, vomiting, and diarrhea. Thanks a bunch.
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Wishes your way! Although I believe my dd had the swine flu back in May of 09, we never have had vaccines for the flu. She suffered through it for 2 weeks and let her body fight it off naturally. I believe her immune system is all the better for it. Positive thoughts sent your way..
ReplyDeleteI'm there! I'm sick (and Gavin was), and someone immediately said "Swine Flu!" as if to frighten me.
ReplyDeleteMy response?
"I hope so!"
I was feeling so laid back about swine flu (in fact, Oscar next door had it for a week and I was completely chill about it) but then our good friend Sam's coworker's five year old daughter died of it last week. With no preexisting conditions.
ReplyDeleteBut yes, hopefully S will catch, run a nice short course of it, pass along the gift to her family members, and that will be the end of the story!
Uh *scratching head nervously* I totally understand what you're saying but it just seems wierd to wish illness on a friend, so I'm going to wish that everything works out the way you want it to. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteIf the swine flu had shown up sooner, it'd have been added to the mix of strains in the regular flu vaccine. It's not prepared any differently. In 1957, when some people had the Guillian Bairre (spelling?!) syndrome after the swine flu shot, it was still not a huge #. 2 in 100000 people got it, while every year, 1 in 100000 people get that syndrome after the regular flu shot. Best luck, recovering soon, and don't forget Tamiflu (antiviral) is most effective on day 1 and day 2 of swine flu.
ReplyDelete