Flu Is Debilitating; Get Your Flu Shot!

Captions: 1. Maria Conzemius on the High Trestle Trail near the Raccoon River; 2. Jim Conzemius on the High Trestle Trail with the Raccoon River behind him.

When I went in for a follow-up doctor appointment 10/28/15 after more bloodwork the week before, my doctor told me I hadn’t had the flu and asked the nurse to give me a flu shot. I know I had the flu. I was validated a few days later when the 10/31/15 Gazette said, “The flu season is officially underway. The Iowa Department of Public Health reports numerous cases have been confirmed by the State Hygienic Laboratory.”

I used to work for the hygienic laboratory, then known as the University Hygienic Laboratory through some coup d’etat by the University of Iowa. In fact, my husband and I met there in 1979.

My flu began unusually early. It was Friday, September 18, 2015. That weekend I rode 57 miles on my bicycle, figuring I might as well enjoy the last of the nice weather (not knowing how long the nice weather would last!). My symptoms started out with a severe sore throat followed by an earache. I thought it was just an ear infection, but malaise, headache, body aches, joint pain, nausea, tiredness, and congestion followed over the next two to three weeks. I couldn’t stop sneezing and blowing my nose. Then I developed a cough. Without the body aches and joint pain, I might have thought it was a cold. Even now, when I go to RPM (spin) class at Core Fitness, I sweat more than usual. My energy level was slow to return.

I wish I’d had an early flu shot. My husband had gotten an early flu shot through work, so he didn’t catch the crud that was bothering me. The shot is supposed to cover the strains it missed last year, so please avail yourself of the shot.