Tag / shot

by Kelly Mattei

I’ve Had the Flu

I’ve had the flu.

Seriously. I haven’t had the flu since third grade, and at 56, I contract the flu. What a way to start 2024!

I went on vacation last week with a friend. We visited to Mexico City. I had visited several times in the 80s and 90s, and I was overdue for a visit. I was so excited about the trip. In fact, I was so excited about it that two weeks prior to traveling, I realized I had not gotten my flu vaccine this year, so I made an appointment and took care of that. I didn’t want to catch the flu on the way there and ruin our trip.

The trip was fantastic! We did everything we could possibly do in Mexico City over the course of a few days…and we ate everything in sight! I’m going to tell you that Mexico City is a foodie’s wonderland, and if you haven’t been, I highly recommend it! Everything went smoothly while we were there, and even the return trip was uneventful. The flight was full, and the airport was crowded, but other than that…piece of cake.

Or so I thought…

I had no idea until about 48 hours later that I had contracted Influenza A somewhere along the line. Was it from one of the flight attendants? Was it the person standing next to me in line for boarding? Maybe it was the bartender in the Admirals Club? Or the guy talking to me in the customs line? Whoever it was…someone gave me the gift that keeps on giving…the flu.

I’m over the worst of it now, but I have to tell you that the worst of it wasn’t terrible. No, it wasn’t fun. The coughing! The sniffles! The fever! Oh, the fever was the worst part…or maybe the cough…or the lack of appetite…but at least I didn’t have the body aches everyone complains about. There were no body aches at any time…no muscle aches…no joint pain. But it was definitely Influenza A. I know, because instead of dragging myself to the doctor, I ordered a test on Amazon. I suspected it was flu and not COVID. I’ve had COVID a couple of times, and neither of those times bothered me at all. The test arrived the morning after I ordered it, and I followed the directions to the letter. It’s a test that checks for COVID, Influenza A, and Influenza B. Crazy, right? A few minutes after I completed all the steps, the test “told” me I had Influenza A. If you’d like to keep one on hand for the rest of flu season or for next year, you can order it from Amazon here. At $49.99, it’s not cheap, but at least it confirmed what I had, and I didn’t have to drag my sick self to the doctor’s office! I’m sure some of you are thinking, “But you could get Tamiflu from the doctor!” I wouldn’t take it anyway. My stomach was sensitive enough. I didn’t need to risk feeling sick from the Tamiflu too. And as it turns out, my illness was pretty mild and short-lived, so did I really need Tamiflu? I think the fact that I had gotten my flu vaccine saved me from a worse case!

Well, the vaccine helped, plus the fact that my husband took great care of me while I was under the weather. He brought me coffee, cough drops, medicine, smoothies, soup; I have to give him credit.

So what’s the moral of this story? Get your flu vaccine. It’s not too late to get it this year. Reports of flu in North Carolina are on the rise right now, and they might not peak until February or March. While the vaccine might not keep you from catching it, it might lessen the severity of it. I feel pretty sure I had a mild case because I had the vaccine.

Oh, and wash your hands…often.

by Kelly Mattei

Going For My Second Vaccine

Going for my second vaccine.

I’m about to walk out the door to go get my second COVID vaccine. I had the first Moderna vaccine a few weeks ago, and now it’s time for the dreaded second dose. I have some friends who say they had no side effects and others who say they were in bed for two days after the second dose.

I’m driving to another town outside Charlotte to get mine, because when I was scheduling my first one, it was the closest one I could find. I had originally been scheduled to get it right down the street from my house, but then I got strep throat (ugh!) and had to reschedule. The only “side effect” I had with the first one was an achy arm. It wasn’t bad, and it didn’t last long. In fact, it didn’t really bother me till I got into bed that night. You know how everything hurts more when you’re still and have nothing else to think about? I got up and took some Motrin, and the aching got better pretty quickly. I’m sure I was asleep within 20 minutes after that.

I’m not really dreading it. I will deal with side effects if I get them…and I will pray they are short-lived. I would rather have short-lived side effects from a vaccine than get terribly sick from the virus itself.

I know lots of folks aren’t getting the vaccine, and whatever…that’s your choice. Everybody cannot agree on everything, and I think that is pretty darn obvious in our country these days. I’m all about “live and let live,” but in this case, I certainly hope lots of folks choose to get the vaccine. I’m choosing to be vaccinated, because I’m ready to start living again. I’m ready to stop worrying so much. I’m ready to be able to eat indoors at restaurants without worrying about every other person in the room. I’m ready to be able to travel to other countries (or Caribbean islands!) without having to endure a COVID test on the way there or on the way back. I’m ready to stop worrying every time one of my daughter’s friends comes over for a visit. Teenagers are living their lives, so we don’t really know who has been exposed to what.

So right now, I’m getting into my car to drive about an hour to get my second dose. I will report back afterward, sharing information about any symptoms or side effects I feel. Hopefully, my body will process it pretty quickly, but if I glow in the dark later, you’ll know why.

Let’s get busy living!