Island Med Student

I am going on day 4 of my swine flu journey. What does it feel like? Well, for me, pretty much the same as other flu viruses I guess, but it’s been so long since I had the flu that I had forgotten how horrible it feels.

It all started on Wednesday around 5:00 p.m. I swear it was the most sudden thing. I had felt 100% fine the whole day. One moment I was chillin like a villian, and then I went to swallow some water and it felt like I was swallowing razor blades. My throat was so exquisitely tender. I got up to make myself some hot tea and I realized my legs felt like they had been pummeled on by a heavyweight boxer. Minutes later the diarrhea began. I don’t even want to talk about the horror that occurred in my bathroom. Shortly after that the fever started. I couldn’t find my thermometer so I don’t know how high it was, but I’d guess it was well over 102 degrees fahrenheit. That night was absolute hell. I tossed and turned and barely slept. I was soaking wet with sweat but covered with chills and my skin looked like a freshly plucked goose. I was trembling and shaking but burning and melting at the same time. I had nightmares all night long.

The next morning was the worst. The nausea and vomiting started to kick in. I could barely swallow water because it hurt so bad, but once I did, my body immediately wanted me to expel it. I felt as though I was going to die. I begged Micah to kill me, but he would not. My head throbbed and pounded and my brain turned into hot goo. I only left the bed to go to the bathroom, and that was torture. I had zero energy, and Micah had to help drag me to the toilet. Every time I lifted my head, I felt so dizzy that I wanted to vomit. Every muscle in my body ached. And just when things couldn’t have gotten worse, I started coughing. The cough irritated my throat, and hurt so bad that it felt as though my chest would cave in. I started feeling as though I couldn’t breathe. I warned Micah that if I started turning blue or quit breathing that I needed him to call 911. There were moments where I truly believed that I was going to die, and it didn’t sound like a horrible thing at that point.

After discovering the wonders of Theraflu, the fever started to slowly break late Thursday night. Friday morning I felt much better. I was still sick as hell, but the horrible fever and chills had eased up. I was able to eat food and hold down liquids.

Today is Saturday and I feel a little better still. Pretty much everything has gotten better, except for the cough, which has gotten worse.

I guess I should just be thankful that I am alive, but this was one of those experiences that I’d have preferred not to have. Although I guess I can now empathize with patients who get the H1N1 flu. But this kind of empathy is really not all it’s cracked up to be.