Avoiding the Inevitable

Every year, I get the flu shot.  Not so much because I want to, but more because I have to in my line of work.  I'm not sure if I would actually NOT get it if I weren't already coerced into getting it; but I'm too afraid to find out if I would get sick more often or worse during the winter season than I already do.  So, as usual, this year I got the flu shot.  Unfortunately, it was the day my trusty nurse, Linda, decided to be out of the office, and her replacement viciously attacked my deltoid with the needle.  Needless to say, it hurt to move my arm in any direction for at least 3 days.  So was it really worth it?

Before we even arrived in Michigan last week, we were hearing reports of mass illnesses.  Christmas Eve, all three of my older brothers boys and my sister-in-law got the stomach flu.  Of course, this was only after the Christmas Eve dinner everyone attended.  Subsequently, two of the boys also got a cold.  My younger brother and his wife also had bad colds including a hacking cough.  And his daughter had a double ear infection.  My parents seemed okay until our family Christmas party two days after Christmas, when my dad got the flu.  Then Matt and Ryder bit the dust two days later.  Meanwhile, back at home, it seems the plague had hit many a family, as we were hearing about multiple illnesses here too.  My sister's family seems to have escaped it all, but the jury is still out on that one.  And my mom and I went to brillant lengths trying to avoid the bugs. 

But it was all for naught, because on the flight home my nose started to itch.  At first I blamed the 2 dogs near me on the plane as I am universally allergic to them.  (Yes, I said dogs!  Should that really be allowed?  But anyway, that's another rant.)  It was only wishful thinking.  Soon the runny nose started.  Then the itchy throat.  Then the pounding headache, swollen nasal passages, and cough.  Ughhh. 

So is the flu shot working?  I guess maybe it's not meant to protect against the common cold, but if I have to get it, I expect it to protect me against everything.  And will I get it again?  I suppose so, because I hate to think of what I might get if I didn't.  So go get your flu shot!  Maybe if all the germ carriers out there got it, the rest of us wouldn't get sick too....