Swine Flu H1N1 - Son at UNC Chapel Hill Sent Home

Posted by Cyndi Allison Sep 5, 2009

I've been following the news about Swine Influenza Virus or SIV. H1N1 caught my attention, because I did a county history research project several years back and worked on the Spanish or Avian Flu of 1918 story. That was a really wicked flu, and very few people are old enough to remember how the Flu of 1918 swept the globe. I was able to get some firsthand information before some of the elderly folks in our town passed on.

I started doing resarch on the Swine Flu at the Center for Disease Control CDC (and at various news outlets) and put together some information and tips about swine flu and also an interview with a swine flu victim including swine flu symptoms, since I teach at a college and the younger population is getting hit hard by the new flu. It seemed like a good idea to be prepared, because I felt sure some of my students would be dealing with this pandemic.

As fate would have it, my son called home from UNC Chapel Hill the day after I posted my flu tips. He'd been to the Health Center on campus and had swine flu. The college gave him a surgical map and him call me to pick him up. I'm glad they did, because I know it's hard to be away from home and sick. Also, sending him home hopefully prevented further cases on campus.

Fortunately, my son only had one bad day with H1N1 flu. The main H1N1 symptoms he had were congestion and fluid on his ears. His fever broke after three days. He was much sicker with seasonal flu a few years back than he has been with swine flu.