Flu: It’s All the Rage

Flu: It’s All the Rage

It’s official, or at least as official as it’s going to get. I’ve got the flu.

I felt a bit more tired than usual last Friday night, but that didn’t seem out of the ordinary. I figured it was simply because I’d been at work at 6:00 a.m. I’d also felt a bit out of sorts for a few days before, but I figured that it was simply anticipation of the approaching weekend with its chance to rest.

On Saturday morning, I led services for my women’s prayer group, Shirat Sara. As the service progressed, I felt weaker and weaker, and when my part was done, I did something that I’ve never done the entire time I’ve been with the group: I went to the couch in the main room and lay down.

That’s when I realized that something was wrong.

I dozed off a bit, then woke up when services were over and the women came into the main room for kiddush. Then I spent some time gathering strength for the walk home. It was slow going. Later on, I took my temperature. It was 101.3.

Grrrr. Expletive deleted.

It goes without saying that I didn’t go to work yesterday (but I’m saying it anyway). I called the doctor, but the earliest appointment I could get was this morning. (To be fair, the doctor said that I should have asked to speak directly with her or insisted on an earlier appointment. But my judgment’s not too great when I have fever.) I spent the day at home, drinking tea and soup and resting, grateful to be living in a time and place where we have such a thing as sick leave.

After my doctor examined me this morning, she said, “You have a flu-like virus. It could be regular flu, or it could be swine flu.” She gave me instructions to call her tomorrow with an update, to go immediately to the emergency clinic if I should feel worse, and a prescription for Tamiflu. “You’ll have to go to the main pharmacy downtown for it,” she told me. “They only have it there. And you don’t have to pay for it; it’s free.” The wind was picking up outside, but so far there was no rain. Off I went.

When I got to the pharmacy, I saw a sign on the door stating that people who had a prescription for Tamiflu could receive it right away, without waiting in line. I went inside, walked straight to the counter and presented my prescription. I had my Tamiflu in hand and was out the door within seconds. It felt a bit weird to receive VIP treatment, but then, it had nothing to do with my own status and everything to do with protecting the other people there as much as possible.

So now I’m back home, drinking tea, having soup and taking my Tamiflu. For once in my life, I’m keeping up with current trends, and have a virus that’s all the rage.

Well, possibly, anyway. If I start rooting around for truffles and acorns, I guess I’ll know for sure.