Brad and Sarah's H1N1 Story

photo: two hands holding

Brad came home on Sunday afternoon not feeling well. He had a sore throat, tightness in his chest, and was feeling achy. I had been reading about and preparing for H1N1 as part of my job, so I knew the symptoms. I immediately suspected that he had H1N1. Brad went to bed early on Sunday, and woke up very early Monday morning feeling much worse. His throat was even sorer; he had started coughing and was extremely achy. We took his temperature and it was 104.1. At that point, we decided we should be very cautious and take all the necessary precautions not to spread it.

My office had already set a policy for H1N1 so I knew what to do. I called my boss to let him know that my husband was sick and that we suspected it was H1N1. Our policy stated that we should stay home if we or someone in our family started to show signs of H1N1. We were asked to prepare our households for the possibility of someone getting sick—things like stocking up on water, non-perishable foods, medicines, etc... We were also reminded of the normal precautions we should use to fight the flu; things like social distancing, hand washing, alcohol gel, etc... Because we suspected that Brad had H1N1, I went to my office before everyone arrived and picked up my laptop and plenty of projects so I could work from home for the rest of the week.

We called Brad's doctor as soon as they opened on Monday morning and they were able to see him that afternoon. He was tested for Influenza A, and it came back positive. At that time, they were no longer testing for H1N1 because the majority of the positive Influenza A cases were testing positive for H1N1. His doctor explained that no matter what type of flu it was, the treatment would be the same. He gave him a prescription for Tamiflu and told him to stay home from work for the rest of the week. He also reminded us of the precautions to take to fight the flu.

Once we arrived home, we were very careful to follow the recommendations—I did not want to get sick! I set Brad up in the bedroom with everything he would need and moved my things to the living room so I could sleep on the couch for the rest of the week. I placed alcohol gel in the main areas of the house and reminded him to wash his hands and use the gel as often as possible. We didn't want to spread the virus, so we didn't leave the house the entire week. Because of all the precautions we took, I never got sick and neither did any of our family, friends or coworkers.