Bitten by the marriage (flu) bug again
The bug bit me. At the end of last month, my lovely wife came down with a very nasty cold/flu. She rarely falls victim to such ailments, this being the first time in several years that a virus actually managed to sneak up on her.
While it knocked her out for a while, I felt confident that my immune system was strong enough to ward off a similar contagion. In fact, she kept telling me, in her clogged nasal passage voice, that, “I don’t know how you are going to avoid getting this, too.’
I was sure I wouldn’t. We exercised great care, certain that anything we jointly touched was first free of germs. If she laid a hand on something in the kitchen, it was scrubbed immediately. I think she used a whole can of antiseptic spray sterilizing the bathroom. We talked, but we didn’t get too close.
Because of the illness, she didn’t sleep very well. So, instead of sharing our bed, she curled up in the recliner in the living room, watching TV through her misery.
A week went by and she began to recover, gradually resuming her normal activities.
I never considered the possibility that I’d succumb to the plague, feeling that half the battle is positive thinking.
I consume a handful of vitamins and minerals each day to strengthen my defenses. They have protected me in the past. So, unscathed, I felt the terror had passed.
Until that slight tickle in my throat, which, within less than 24 hours, evolved into a full-blown case of bronchitis.
This is not my favorite ailment. I have had it before and found it more than miserable. I’d much rather have a plain old head cold or even flu-like body aches.
Some people cough so hard with this disease it sounds as if their lungs are going to pop out. I coughed so hard, mine did (well, not literally, but it sure felt like it). At times I could barely breathe. Medicine did little to control it. I just had to suffer.
Nothing seemed to mitigate it. I tried prescription and over-the-counter medicine, even some home remedies. Despite that, it took nearly two weeks to get over the worst of it. It was, after all, a virus, which science has yet to conquer. A lingering cough continues to grab me, usually at the most unexpected of times.
I suppose I could resent my wife for bringing this bug into our home. I can’t. She was just another victim.
No matter how hard you try to avoid these communicable diseases, one always manages to get through whatever defense you have thrown up.
One person passes it on to another and so forth. So what’s the answer? Avoid all contact with people?
Hey, among my arsenal of potential preventatives, I avoided getting too close