The Flu

I made a big mistake over the past couple of months. I, through a simple error of omission, didn't get my flu shot this year (I don't miss it when working with patients). The reality of that mistake became clear Tuesday when I was becoming more and more miserable through the day and Kerwyn finally said, "I think you're getting the flu."

As a physician I have the nice perk of being able to call in prescriptions for myself or having a friend do so. Last year when I got the swine flu I quickly realized the problem, called in for tamiflu and was back to work after 48 hours of isolation.

Things didn't go as smoothly this year (for some reason CVS couldn't process a new prescription at 12:15am due to different time zones). I don't even know how that is possible, but either way I didn't get the drugs. I woke up the next morning with a rash on my trunk that eventually spread down my legs (it was sexy). When I showed up at my doctor's office I was struggling to breathe enough that he gave me a breathing treatment (amazing effect!) and sent me to the ER. After a long day of subpar care I was diagnosed with influenza (shocking!) and sent off with an inhaler and tamiflu prescription.

I hate being sick. It's good for me as it makes me more empathetic of patients, but I seriously hate it. I can't stand having to stay home and lay around all day. Plus I missed my annual surgery in-training exam. Any other year I would have been ok with that but this year I was ready to destroy that test. We also missed our reservation for a hot date at St Elmo's Steak House which made me very sad.

Thankfully I'm back to near normal but have learned a valuable lesson: Get your flu shot!