Influenza and Other Things

Not feeling too well lately. Thursday I slept in the afternoon and woke at seven just for my dad to check that I have a fever of 37.8 Celsius. Scary. And if you want to know what made my dad check, I was sleeping on my parents' bed wrapped in my mom's blanket. The sun was shining like hell outside but I said I was cold. Go figure.

So that night after dinner Dad took me to the clinic near my house for a check-up, what with the influenza scare these days. Since it was a clinic I've not been to before, Dad had to register me. Luckily he told me to bring my IC along. I swear, seems like I've had patient cards at practically every clinic in my vicinity already. Shows how weak my immunity system is.

Waiting for a while. Quite a lot of people. Had to use the loo. Shock, gasp, horror! The loo itself was a health hazard (is that what you call it)! Honestly. The roof was falling down in places, there were droppings all over (at least I think they were). Expected more from a doctor's clinic, really.

Went in. Doc checked me up and all. Finally figured out that it was a viral infection, normal fever and flu, nothing serious. But he said not to go to school the next day, what with the prejudices against the influenza and all. Went to the dispensary to get my meds. Fever medication - 2 tablets, 4 (!!) times a day (I have a strange feeling about this...) and cold medication - 1 tablet, twice a day, all after meals. To Dad's surprise, the meds only costed us RM21! Which was cheap. Again, another reference to how weak I am when I've even started to notice how cheap the medication is.

Anyway, stayed home Friday. Heard quite a number in class had the flu, and there was a case (not sure if it's true/confirmed) of the influenza in 3 Dahlia (was it?) Chatting with Lou the whole time. She said that there were 4 confirmed cases of influenza in her school (CHS) and her mom said (her parents are doctors: mom's a pediatrician and dad's an anaesthetist) that the influenza is like pneumonia--it can KILL.

So to you people out there who want to get the influenza for some crazy-assed reason -- skip school for a week (this was response I got from the majority) or so that you can be immune to the influenza after you recover from it (funnily enough, I got this as an excuse too, though I suppose it does make sense) please, please, please do not put your lives at risk just for one week of respite from school. It can kill, or have you not seen the death rates go up?

Take back everything you said about wanting to have the flu; don't mess with things like this. It's just too close for comfort. Besides, you'll have to take all sorts of vaccines and medication and check-ups and whatnots. Take it from someone who's been on meds most of her life for some reason or other -- after the first few days, the novelty wears off, and you'll find yourself wishing you weren't so weak instead.