That’s what I said a month ago when my family doctor tried to stick me. She insisted, but I know my body better than any doctor. Right?
Wrong.
Last Monday I became a little peeved when my head began to ache. I’m prone to migraines, so it was no biggie. Pop two Excedrin Extra Strength pills and get on with the day. At least, that’s how it normally works.
Monday night I found myself hardly able to speak. I also had to deal with the fact that my suitemates had decided to quarantine me, just in case.
But I don’t get the flu. I have too much to do. It just isn’t possible.
Well, apparently the flu doesn’t care if you have a job and an internship on top of your classes. In fact, the virus thinks it’s funny.
I spent a week in bed. To some people, this may seem a nice vacation. To me, the only thing I could think of was the mounds of homework and absences that were piling up, not to mention the dollar signs that wouldn’t be on next month’s paycheck.
It could have been much worse, however. I live in a sorority house, which means I have five surrogate mothers – our house mom and four cooks. I didn’t have to go far for food. In fact, I didn’t have to go anywhere. Throughout the day my Dallas Moms would check on me – even bringing me trays of soup, crackers and fresh cut fruit. Hey, I never said I wasn’t spoiled.
There are some good things I learned from my little flu episode.
1. Don’t drink purple Gatorade. At all. Stick to lemon-lime.
2. If you like chicken noodle soup now, you’ll hate it after the flu.
3. Remain unconscious as often as possible. If you’re awake, you don’t feel good. The flu may suck, but your body is happy to sleep 18 hours a day.
4. Don’t bother trying to go to class if you know you have the flu. You might have an embarrassing experience. Trust me.
5. Don’t stress about how far behind you are getting. It just doesn’t help.
6. Watch the complete season of “Arrested Development” or something equally as hilarious. It keeps the six hours of consciousness bearable.
7. Wash your hands.
8. No matter how badly you want sushi, don’t eat it. Enchiladas are an equally poor choice.
9. If you don’t want to eat anything, nibble on something anyway. The medicine is killer otherwise.
10. Just get the stupid shot.
Next year when my doctor asks if I would like a virtually painless flu shot I’m going to suck it up. It isn’t worth feeling like crap for a week when you don’t have to. It also isn’t worth losing your next few weekends because of the makeup work you need to do.
The moral of the story is that the flu is completely unnecessary. I lost a week to total boredom and nausea because of one thing: stubbornness. Apparently a fair chunk of the student population did also. Dumb.
-Liz Ford
Managing Editor
