Even if you are not one of the millions expected to catch swine flu, a member of your family or a friend may. If you’re called on to help care for them, as I was my daughter and granddaughter, here are some helpful hints and guidelines you’ll want to read.
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Even if you do everything possible to avoid getting swine flu, you may still find yourself feeling, as my daughter described it, as if you had been hit by a truck. Here are some things you can do if you begin feeling the symptoms of this pandemic flu. In the first two weeks of classes at Washington State University, about 10% of students came down with swine flu. For most people, swine flu means three to five days of discomfort. But for some groups of people, it can be very serious and lead to a stay in the hospital or even death. Who are these high-risk patients? Even if you’re not in a high risk group, how can you prepare in case the pandemic gets as bad as some think it will be – affecting up to half the population and putting millions into hospitals? Late on a Tuesday afternoon in June, I received an e-mail saying a granddaughter had tested positive for swine flu and that her mother, my pregnant daughter, was also ill. Hearing the words ’swine flu’ in the same breath with the name of two family members caused a pang of anxiety and concern – perhaps even a bit of fear. This is the story of my journey into the “belly of the beast” in the hours and days following that e-mail. As the media frenzy again suggests an impending crisis, perhaps some of what I learned may benefit you and your family. Recent news about swine flu made me realize that we had not rotated our emergency water supply recently. So, this past weekend, with the weather forecast calling for 90 degree heat we invited grandchildren over for some Slip ‘N Slide. The water came from the 55-gallon water barrels that make up our emergency water supply. [...] |
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Copyright © 2010 Walter Bristow - All Rights Reserved
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