My Bout With The Swine (H1N1) Flu

I may have the swine flu! I can't be sure since my symptoms (sore throat, fever, cough, body aches) are not that severe, so I won't be heading to the emergency room to get it tested. Yes, I follow what the authorities, Mr Bloomberg, ask of its citizens. Why do I think I have the swine (H1N1) flu? The same reason every parent in NYC is worried that their kids have swine flu, we live in one of the epicenters of H1N1.

My symptoms (yes I try to keep a good log of my medical history, as well as those for the rest of my family) started with sore throat Friday night, and as of this afternoon, I started getting a fever (over 100 F), headache, cough and body aches. The thing that is different for me is the fact that I took tylenol (generic acetaminophen to be exact) over two hours ago and I don't feel much relief, though slightly better.

I'm not too concerned about myself at this point since I have a two year old who has been sick since Thursday, with high fever. We gave her children's tylenol, but it wears off after a couple of hours. So we repeat. Last night she said her ear hurts, so my wife and I got a little concerned she may have an ear infection. So today, we went to the doctor's office.

We wanted to avoid the doctor's office since so many kids are sick, possibly with Swine Flu, and she may end up getting it after a visit. We had to pay $50 for the doctor's visit and $15 for the anti-biotics since we currently don't have medical insurance. I lost my job in March due to a company layoff, and I signed up for COBRA. However, the premium is pretty expensive even with the government picking up 65% of the tab. The price we paid for the doctor's visit isn't so bad, considering I would be able to pay for over 10 doctor visits for every month of COBRA premium WITH President Obama's COBRA assistance. I would rather put that money to use for housing and food, since the employment outlook isn't that great currently.

So what about an unforseen medical emergency? Yesterday I saw a representative with Health Plus - thanks to my wife's persistance. It seems we qualify for free health insurance for the kids, since I'm considered "low-income" with the unemployment payments. Wish me luck in getting this done. Since I missed the deadline for June, we have to wait till July before our kids are covered.

All in all, my family's health is good. So I'm not too worried. I'll keep you posted on my bout with "Swine Flu" tomorrow. Yes, this post is more personal than my usual posts. Perhaps the fever is affecting me.

If you want to help me deal with the flu, keep me in your prayers, my nyquil supply should now come in handy. If you want to help me financially through this little dip, you can donate through paypal - I'm not sure that button works, so if you have problems with it, let me know in the comments or email. If you know of a good job in tech support (I'm experienced in tech support) send me an email :) If you want to just help spread the word about this post or this blog, please tweet, email, comment, link or do any of the social media things that you are comfortable doing.

Thanks for reading. An if you are having some problems, and need an ear, just let me know.

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