The man in this photo is not me, but it’s probably a pretty good representation of what I looked like last week.

I’ve managed to make it through 35 and a half years of my life without ever getting the flu.  My streak ended last week.  I was feeling a bit under the weather and had a fever, so I went to the doctor for an exam.  I had a feeling it might be the flu, but I was hoping that it was just a cold or something a little more minor.  I took a flu test.  It was awful!  They stuck a swab deep into my nose and it was so uncomfortable.  15 minutes later, the nurse came out and told me that I had type A influenza.  I didn’t really feel too horrible – the worst part about it was the really bad headache I was experiencing.  For the next week or so, I had to quarantine myself at home.  My head hurt so bad that I couldn’t listen to music or watch TV.  I was so bored.  Finally, when my fever went down and my headache went away, I was able to at least do some small things to occupy my time.  

Every year around this time, the flu is going around and I’ve been lucky to avoid it for this long!  Hopefully this will have been the last time I have to experience it!