Thanks to everyone here!
Okay- here's the scoop... At 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 6, I came down with H1N1 Swine flu. 30 minutes later, by noon, I'd gone from feeling fine to a lump of cramped, shivering meat with a temp. of 102.2. We were smart enough to get me to the doctor within 2 hours and within 3 hours I was on my Rx. The doctor told me that it is key to get into the doctor's office within the first 6 hours.
He also told me that the guy ahead of me was a USNA football player, 200+ pounds and as the doctor said, "more muscles than I've ever seen a human body." In other words- tip-top physical condition. The doctor asked him how long ago this had hit him and the Midshipman with, great effort, lifted his watch, looked at it and replied "22 minutes ago...Sir." So... if it can take down a guy like that inside a half hour, it'll take down anyone.
I was instructed not to lay around trying to figure out where I "got it from." The doctor advised that the virus can be spread so casually that someone in the local supermarket could have it, sneeze and walk around the corner and you walk through the same location a minute later and up the nose it goes. Additionally, you can get it from a person standing as much as 10 feet away. They have no hard data on how long it can survive on surfaces- like ATM swipe machines :eyepop: for example. Once you have the virus it takes almost exactly 24 hours and then it just takes you out.
From a personal standpoint- I'm a life-long, severe, asthmatic and have been afflicted by extreme colds and such since I was six weeks old. I have NEVER been hit by anything like this. My doctor told me that the lucky ones are the smart ones who get into the doctor within hours, the ones who end up in the hospital or worse, are often those who deny that they have it and think they'll get past it in a couple of days with soup and tea. He actually told me to take the first dose of my Rx as soon as the pharmacist handed the bag to me... then he thought for a second and told me not to go into the drug store myself and have my wife go in for me (didn't matter- I could hardly walk at that point anyhow- so you bet that Teresa went in for me). My point is-and I don't wanna tell people how to live- but I would advise that YOU DON'T WANT TO GET THIS!
I had to go into isolation at my home (we have guest quarters) and wear a mask. I was there for 7 days. Finally I was able to go for 24 hours "unmedicated/without fever" and thus was released from islolation, but still am not supposed to go out in public for 10 days.
Of course EVERYTHING I'm involved in has been halted for the past week, and I have been totally out of touch. I did, however, have my DVD library- "Saturday Night Live boxed set, 1977-78 season" "WKRP" first season "Barny Miller" 1976-77 season and a ton of movies, but most important, I have nearly every Spacecraft Films DVD- kept me sane because the cough that goes along with Swine Flu does not allow you to sleep. I was not allowed access to the computer so I asked my wife to post a few messages for me.
Anyhow- I'm up and around now... weak as a kitten, but up and around. Totally ticked off that I had to miss Red Glare, however.
Wes