Swine Flu (H1N1 Virus)
Posted in Porch News and tagged with camp, CDC, contagious, doctor, fever, flu.gov, group, h1n1, homeschool, influenza, negative, positive, swine flu, test, virus, wikipedia on 08/01/2009 10:51 am by Tammy McConnell
I am not an uneducated person. I think I’m “up” on most current events; and (sometimes unfortunately) I usually have an opinion on most everything. So, when the topic of H1N1 hits close to home…I already know what to do.
My kids enjoyed separate weeks at a Christian camp this summer. I’m still hearing about how much fun they had and how much they learned while they were there. Because we are homeschoolers, this was a unique instance of group activity. Oh, we go to church, the library and the YMCA frequently, but during their weeks at camp, my kids were LIVING with other kids 24/7. So, naturally, they’ll be more exposed to anything that’s “going around” than they usually are.
Hannah came home from camp on Thursday morning…to a very unfortunate incident. Her pet hamster, Norton, had escaped from his cage sometime during the night before. I stayed up ’til 3:30am looking for him. Pete stayed home from work that morning to continue the search…to no avail. Norton is gone! He will be missed immensely by all of us. Anyway, back to life as normal. Hannah was the last kid to attend camp for the summer.
On Sunday, she wasn’t feeling well, so she stayed home from church. Just overall feelings of “blah” don’t warrant a doctor visit in this household. On Tuesday morning, I was startled out of my sleep at 6:30am. “Mom. Is 103.5 bad?” I probably would have just nursed her through this little bout with the flu had it not been for the phone call I received from Hannah’s camp director on Thursday afternoon. Several of the campers from that particular week of camp had tested positive for H1N1!
This is where I run to the computer to get my crash course on the swine flu. OK. I’ll just take her to the doctor and get her tested. There’s really nothing else I can do. Most serious cases involve the usual elderly, infants or people with weakened immune systems; we don’t fall into any of those categories. Off we go!
I am NOT a panicky person. Sometimes that bothers people. I’ve been through a lot of stuff in my lifetime…so, I figure “This too shall pass”. I believe it IS and ALWAYS HAS BEEN God who takes care of me (and my family). I believe my FAITH will carry me through this too; and it did! Hannah tested NEGATIVE for H1N1. Even if she had tested positive, I knew her case was not serious. Her temp was high for one day. By the time we went to the doctor, it was low-grade.
I’m not trying to minimize the severity of this “new” virus, but I think alot of hype makes people nervous and they panic. Your best defense against any unknown is education. Find out what it is and what you can do about it. Then, leave the rest up to God. He has everything under control.
Here are some links to help you get informed:
