Sick
I've never had the flu.
That's a statement I've said many times. I've had people describe what the flu feels like, and I usually end up staring blankly at them, unable to relate. They sometimes get a little irritated and give up. Most of the time the response is "Really!?!?".
This week has been flanked by illness. On Monday, I had a nasty migraine that knocked me out for the evening. I was walking around with a hot pack on my head (the only thing that seemed to make the pain manageable that night) and went to bed early, hoping it would go away with sleep; it did. At the end of the week, I got a cold (and still have it). I've been blowing my nose and filling trash cans with Kleenex.
I don't really get sick, at least that's what I tell myself. I've never missed work due to illness, and even went to a meeting on Friday that I didn't need to go to, even though I felt crappy. I've sung in choirs while having a sore throat, taught with a throbbing head, even went to pilates class yesterday, when I probably should have stayed at home. I do this because I'm stubborn; I refuse to be sick.
I've still never had the flu.
When I was about one, I apparently was very ill. The way my mother tells it, she was worried I was going to die. Of course, I have no memory of this illness. My parents also had a cat at that time, I believe they named it Stupid, for obvious reasons (my dad will correct me, if I'm wrong). About the time of my near-death, Stupid cat went missing, or died (my dad will correct me, if I'm wrong). After Stupid was gone, I got better. On more than one occasion, my mom has said the cat gave its life so that I could live. I like to say the cat gave me nine lives, so I never get sick, except for the occasional hairball.
That's the superhero cat-man version of why I never get get sick.
I've never had the flu, but I have had malaria - multiple times.
Growing up in Nigeria, everyone got malaria. I know there are these stats that a child dies every 30 minutes from the disease, and I do recommend you go here to help out, but those are the serious cases. Everyone I knew as a kid had malaria, but I didn't know anyone that died of the illness.
My dad once said (and he will correct me, if I'm wrong) that malaria has a 5-day life cycle: Day 1- you feel sick, Day 2 - you feel really sick, Day 3 - you feel so sick you think you're going to die, Day 4 - you feel so sick you wish you were dead, Day 5 - you get better. To top it off, I had a strange reaction to the medication; I acted out my dreams, including once wielding a knife at a cupboard until several people had to hold me down.
Getting through malaria really builds up the immune system. This is the non-superhero, sciency version of why I think I've never had the flu.
I spend this Sunday sneezing and hoping I get over this cold soon, hoping that I can teach tomorrow without feeling the least bit ill, hoping this is not the end of my cat-like immune system and this doesn't turn into the flu, because I'd like to keep saying....
I've never had the flu.
That's a statement I've said many times. I've had people describe what the flu feels like, and I usually end up staring blankly at them, unable to relate. They sometimes get a little irritated and give up. Most of the time the response is "Really!?!?".
This week has been flanked by illness. On Monday, I had a nasty migraine that knocked me out for the evening. I was walking around with a hot pack on my head (the only thing that seemed to make the pain manageable that night) and went to bed early, hoping it would go away with sleep; it did. At the end of the week, I got a cold (and still have it). I've been blowing my nose and filling trash cans with Kleenex.
I don't really get sick, at least that's what I tell myself. I've never missed work due to illness, and even went to a meeting on Friday that I didn't need to go to, even though I felt crappy. I've sung in choirs while having a sore throat, taught with a throbbing head, even went to pilates class yesterday, when I probably should have stayed at home. I do this because I'm stubborn; I refuse to be sick.
I've still never had the flu.
When I was about one, I apparently was very ill. The way my mother tells it, she was worried I was going to die. Of course, I have no memory of this illness. My parents also had a cat at that time, I believe they named it Stupid, for obvious reasons (my dad will correct me, if I'm wrong). About the time of my near-death, Stupid cat went missing, or died (my dad will correct me, if I'm wrong). After Stupid was gone, I got better. On more than one occasion, my mom has said the cat gave its life so that I could live. I like to say the cat gave me nine lives, so I never get sick, except for the occasional hairball.
That's the superhero cat-man version of why I never get get sick.
I've never had the flu, but I have had malaria - multiple times.
Growing up in Nigeria, everyone got malaria. I know there are these stats that a child dies every 30 minutes from the disease, and I do recommend you go here to help out, but those are the serious cases. Everyone I knew as a kid had malaria, but I didn't know anyone that died of the illness.
My dad once said (and he will correct me, if I'm wrong) that malaria has a 5-day life cycle: Day 1- you feel sick, Day 2 - you feel really sick, Day 3 - you feel so sick you think you're going to die, Day 4 - you feel so sick you wish you were dead, Day 5 - you get better. To top it off, I had a strange reaction to the medication; I acted out my dreams, including once wielding a knife at a cupboard until several people had to hold me down.
Getting through malaria really builds up the immune system. This is the non-superhero, sciency version of why I think I've never had the flu.
I spend this Sunday sneezing and hoping I get over this cold soon, hoping that I can teach tomorrow without feeling the least bit ill, hoping this is not the end of my cat-like immune system and this doesn't turn into the flu, because I'd like to keep saying....
I've never had the flu.
posted by Jefferson at 5:48 PM
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