I got something done that I have not always been on top of
in years past: I got my flu shot EARLY this flu season! Have you gotten yours?
In the past, I put off getting a flu shot and paid dearly
for procrastinating.
I’ve had my fair share of bad experiences with the flu. The
most recent was when I was moving across the country from Kansas City, Missouri
to Phoenix in the beginning of winter. I didn’t get a flu shot that year. I put
it off and it came back to bite me.
I remember the cold Midwest wind, snow falling, frozen ice
on the ground and my breath being visible. And I got the flu…at the worst time.
My wife and I were in the middle of packing up our stuff in
our apartment. I experienced chills, aches, pains, a high fever, sore throat,
and a cough that was miserable. The worst part was my poor wife was left to
pack up all of our stuff in boxes, plastic wrap and old newspaper. She did most
of the moving herself.
My biggest contribution to that moving experience remains
vivid in my mind. Some of the more difficult things to pack were our outdoor chairs,
table and fire pit, which were on the heavier side. I had to go onto our
balcony to retrieve them.
My wife and I had the Kansas City Chiefs game on the television
inside. I remember the sports commentators having their faces covered up to
their noses with scarves because it was zero degrees in the city.
Wrapped up in winter gear, flu and all, I grabbed each piece
of outdoor furniture with my aching hands (probably in discomfort from the flu
as well as the cold temperature), shook and dusted the snow off of each piece,
and hauled them inside. It took all the energy I had at the time just to move
that furniture inside. And it still was just a drop in the bucket compared to
all the hard work my wife put in to get us moved.
We had to wait a couple of days for the weather to improve
before we hit the road. An ice storm had come through the night before and the
roads were very slick. We lived in the middle of the city, and the last thing I
wanted to attempt was driving a moving truck through Kansas City traffic.
On the last days of fighting off my illness, the ice had begun
to melt in the city. There was a lull before the next storm was supposed to
roll in. We decided to make our move.
At 4 a.m., I got behind the wheel of the movers truck we
rented and drove out of KCMO to hit the open roads of Kansas. A couple of days
later, we made it to Arizona. I couldn’t help but think of how much easier
things could have been if I’d just gotten my flu shot.
I used to think that it was inconvenient to take time to get
one. But today, more than ever before, there are a number of places where flu
shots are available.
Many walk-in care clinics can be found in pharmacies or
retail stores. Immunizations are widely available. You can find immunization
clinics state-wide and use
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website to find a clinic
in your area. Your local pharmacy can administer vaccines. Most county
health departments carry the flu vaccine.
I got my flu shot at an Emergency Preparedness Fair at the local mall in
September.
Looking back, I would have much rather had a normal, uneventful
move than end up having a flu story to tell about the experience. Getting a flu shot is worth not getting the
headache. And the chills. And the fever. And everything that comes with having
the flu.
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