[pmulcahy11b]

Honest, it just seems to be nothing more than a really bad cold that hangs on a lot longer and comes with a high fever. I'm on the tail end of it now (so far -- my doc says that it does tend to relapse before going away completely). The worst part is that you pretty much have NO energy -- I've been asleep most of the week, getting up to feed my dogs or let them out or for bathroom visits for myself. You just don't feel like doing anything. I have no appetite, and I've lost six pounds in eight days. I'm a bit dizzy, and I lose my train of thought pretty quickly. My vision is just slightly blurred, but that could be due to protein buildup on my contacts (for those who wear contacts, you know that extra protein buildup often accompanies illness). I have about 5 days' worth of beard growth. And I feel like I've been having a prolonged, severe allergy attack. Oh, and Dr Yu says I have a mild case of swine flu.

Dr Yu doesn't want me to have visitors inside my house for at least a week. When I go out, she wants me to wear a face mask. I'm taking my mother to the doctor tomorrow -- today she started to have the same symptoms I had at the start.

My nephew is back at Ft. Riley from Afghanistan. He has the swine flu too, and he's hospitalized (more to keep him from infecting his fellow barracks-mates than due to severity of illness). Apparently that's the policy -- you get swine flu, you leave the theater until you get better. He's one of eight in his battalion who have caught it.