First, an update.  I’m better, thank you very much.  I’m still not feeling 100%, and I still have a little cough as I try to get rid of some lingering gunk, but I’m back to work and doing OK.

Two stories we’ve been following highlight the seriousness of contracting the Novel H1N1 Flu Virus.
A Kansas City, North woman who gave birth two weeks ago remains in a medically induced coma, suffering from a condition known as ARDS.  I wrote briefly about that in the previous post.  Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome is a dangerous condition.  Mortality rates are high.  And it’s a condition that can be brought about by the body’s fight against the H1N1 Flu, among other things.
The woman’s husband tells me, the original test for the virus wasn’t sufficient and had to be done again, but he assures me at least one of his wife’s doctors believes she contracted H1N1 while in the last days of her pregnancy.

Then, word came yesterday of a 24 year old Independence woman who died Wednesday of complications of the Novel H1N1 Flu.  According to Independence health officials, she had no pre-existing conditions, no illnesses.  She was young and healthy and the H1N1 killed her.

As I mentioned previously, that’s why there’s such concern over this flu and why health experts continue to stress going to a doctor if you begin to show symptoms beyond the normal fever, aches and cough.

They say, if you have:

-rapid or difficulty breathing
-bluish/grey skin (children)
-pain in the chest
-dizziness or confusion
-vomiting and/or diarrhea

…get thee to a doctor.

DanW

Speaking of the fight, as I’ve had some time, I’ve done some reading on the internet regarding this Novel H1N1 Flu Virus.
Here’s some of what I found.  The reason it’s now being referred to as the “Novel” virus, is that it’s a new strain, hasn’t been seen before and to differentiate between the other “H1N1″ influenza strains.  There are a few and it gets really confusing once you start trying to remember all the H’s, N’s, subclasses, strains, etc, etc…

Also, how the body fights this flu can make things worse, which is why public health experts make such a big deal about the possibilities of this flu as we go into Autumn.  And it’s due in part to some things called ARDS and a  “cytokine storm”.

ARDS stands for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. It’s a very serious condition that can be brought about by a few things, in this case a cytokine storm.  From what I’ve read ARDS is an end process where the lungs have been inflamed and filled with liquid which cuts off oxygen to the organs.  The mortality rate is high.  As I said it’s serious.

The cytokine storm is basically a person’s immune system going into hyper-drive trying to fight off disease.  Much of the death in the 1918 Pandemic is believed to have been from such a storm.  That’s where the “young and healthy” come into the equation.

According to this chart from the CDC, the majority of probable and confirmed cases are in the 5 – 49 age group.

And this chart, a more sobering view, shows the mortality rate from this novel H1N1/09 is highest among the 25-49 age group.  That’s flip-flopped from the seasonal flu, where the youngest and the eldest are at most risk.

So.  A little light reading.

DW

H1N1 Influenza Virus (courtesy CDC)

The first hint that something was up, came late last week.  Just a feeling really.  Then a random cough over the weekend.  I  worked my usual morning shift for First News Weekend, then spent the days at the Kansas City Irish Fest.  By Sunday night I was very tired, having been up since 2:30am and on my feet all day working at the Fest, but still didn’t feel “bad”.  That came in the morning.

I woke up feeling a bit blah, thinking I had a cold.  My morning ritual changed that assessment.  How does one put this delicately?  My intestinal system decided to evacuate everything.  Several times.  That will do.  And the cough had picked up.  By the time I arrived at work for an evening shift I couldn’t control it.  It was persistent and hard, doubling me over in fits and spasms.  After returning from covering a plane in a lake in Higginsville,  Mo., I knew I’d have to go home.  As I left I could feel the fever coming on.

Fortunately, my sick chamber had been prepared for me, the downstairs pull-out with medicine at the bedside.  That’s where I spent one of the worst nights.  I collapsed with a 101-degree fever after taking some generic all-powerful knock-out medicine which did indeed knock me out.  Until I coughed.  Which was every couple of minutes.  Sometimes every breath I took.  So it was deep sleep, cough, pain!, deep sleep, try to breath, cough, pain!, deep sleep, ad nauseam.  When I awoke in the morning I was exhausted and my abdomen was in great pain from all the overnight crunches. I’d been meaning to do some but not like that.  Then the fever rose and the aches began.

The last time I felt this bad I was in a hot motel room in Maracaibo, Venezuela suffering cold sweats and diarrhea from a bad empanada.

We first called the Clay Co Health Department, thinking I’d go get a test to confirm that it was H1N1, but they said they stopped doing the tests since that strain of flu went pandemic.  Plus, being that it’s not “seasonal” flu season yet, more than likely it is the H1N1.  The CDC backs that up, noting 97% of all flu reports recently are the H1N1 virus. The virus just hasn’t gone away.

Bedside Medicine Chest

When sick, I usually try to tough it out without a visit to the doctor.  Not this time.  I had to go.  The doctor confirmed what I already knew, that I didn’t look very good and sounded awful.  He sent me off with prescriptions and orders of liquids and rest.

Though I’m feeling better than that first day, the fever came back for a while, so did the cough, and fighting the virus has left me drained.  I’ve been in my isolation room for three days… wish I had cable or satellite TV.

Dan