Recovering at home with Ed the dog.

So I caught the flu last week and I have been pretty miserably sick for going on 7 days; fever, achy, cough.  Also cranky, peevish, and insufferable.  My hair hurts!  Is that even possible?

I usually get a flu shot, but I didn’t get one this year.  Why not?  I just didn’t get around to it.  It would have been easy.  All I had to do is ask one of the nurses to give me one back in the fall when we were doing them.  Duh.

The CDC announced the official onset of influenza season a couple of weeks ago.  Flu season is extraordinarily late, probably due to the mild winter most of us (me included) have experienced this year.

Coincidentally, around the same time as this announcement (and before I myself caught the dreaded bug), I ran across a couple of thought-provoking articles dealing with the flu that are relevant to our institutionalized patients. Continue reading →