And so it begins...

By: Jeremy Schwartzman

Posted: 10/29/09

I may or may not be the first, but I am certainly far from last to get swine flu at the College. On Thursday night the doctors at St. Luke's hospital told me I had swine flu, and I've been making the best I can of it. I've been enjoying tracking how fast the virus could potentially be spreading, for example (this is all true): I was hanging out with person A who gave a hug to person B, person B hooked up with person C later that night, and person C is on the soccer team and shares a locker room with persons D, E, F, G, and H. All in all, the College is already an infectious hotbed. As I'm writing this, the guy next door has a fever of 101, and his roommate is well on the way. It is inevitable that everyone in this college is exposed to H1N1 and more likely than not it is already incubating in the majority already.

The good news? I feel better and my symptoms are almost all gone. The bad news? Everyone else is going to start feeling a lot worse, so to ease your pain. Here are some tips:

1. The masks the health center provides you with are uncomfortable, so get some high quality ones at any Rite Aid or CVS.

2. If you feel dizzy and can't walk in a straight line, it's time to call EMS.

3. Stock up on tissues.

4. You're going to sweat…a lot. Have laundry saved up.

5. Have stuff to do in your room to keep you busy for hours.

6. Make sure you have your health insurance card on you and that you know your social security number (this is important if you go to the hospital).

7. MOST IMPORTANTLY: if you visit the Health Center, specifically ask to be tested for the flu, as they won't do it automatically.

I would like to thank the EMS team, Campus Safety, the Health Center staff, and everyone at St. Luke's for taking care of me in this less than pleasant state.