What do bonding and the flu bug have in common?  Not much, except when you and your family members spend 24 hours looking after each other.

My son started feeling the flu bug symptoms first in this household.  Around 9 pm he complained that his stomach felt bad after an evening snack.  He started vomiting violently shortly after.

I had gone for our usual one-hour walk with my husband, but halfway through could not muster the energy to complete the usual trek.  I guess my body’s energy level was being used up trying to fight off the flu bug.

Although I did not understand why I was so tired at the time, it quickly became apparent on our return home.  If my other son, his girlfriend, and her 3-year-old daughter had not been sick with the flu the previous week, I would have attributed our illness to the salmon the members of our household ate for dinner a few hours earlier.

I went to bed exhausted around 1130 pm, and soon after the vomiting started.  My husband started vomiting around 2am.  Luckily we have enough bathrooms to accommodate three sick people at the same time; it was not a pretty site.

A kind neighbour brought (left it on the doorstep and rang the bell) over Pedialite freezies, Gatorade, and ginger ale to keep us hydrated throughout the 24-hour ordeal.

I posted a similar story a few years ago.  When I worked in the healthcare industry, the flu shot was mandatory each year.  The occupational health nurse went around the hospital I worked in, inoculating members of each department.  It was quick and convenient.  Since retiring, I see the advertisements for free flu shots at local drug stores here in Ottawa each fall but never seem to find the time to stop in to get one.

After this ordeal, I will make sure I get my flu shot next year!