On Tuesday morning, my doc gave me a gold star clean bill of health.... five hours later I was dreadfully sick.
The only indicator was that my blood pressure was 132/92 (I'm usually 110 over 72) and my pulse was 84.
I had him check those again because my pulse is a solid 70 when I'm just me and my blood pressure is never elevated.
FLU.
But neither of us knew it then. There were no symptoms. I had a rasp in my throat, but no more than any other dry winter morning...
FLU.
I called my doctor back the next morning... they couldn't get me in so I went to Urgent Care.
They were wonderful.
Better than wonderful.
In my doctor's office the nurses/receptionists weren't in a good mood and they were busily scolding people.... tacky, right.
And they scolded me.
Those of you who know me, know that I try very hard to be mostly on top of my game and I don't like being scolded... in particular by people who are basically working for me... but be that as it may, let me say that Urgent Care didn't scold... they were kind. They sent me to the pharmacy for Tamiflu and put me on the path to wellness when my doctor's office couldn't fit me in for 16 hours... that's an important sixteen hours for flu, so thank heavens for this new standard of care, to have urgency care on hand. That was a blessing.
The flu????
Blch. But I AM SO MUCH BETTER NOW and that's wonderful and that makes me almost feel like dancing, but not quite yet, although I am getting prepared for the next virus... Flu B or Corona....
You know they say you should have supplies on hand for a two week quarantine.
The mom in me likes having supplies on hand for at least two weeks... and longer.
I know not everyone can do that, but a lot of us can so we're never caught without.
Here are some staples to have on hand:
Flour (worst case scenario, you can cook from scratch. GASP!!!) :)
Sugar
Coffee
Tuna
Eggs (long refrigerated shelf life and high protein simple food)
Canned chicken (or frozen chicken if you have freezer space)
Frozen meat (again, if you have freezer space)
Dried sausages like salamis, thuringer, beef stick, summer sausage (A lot of these can be added to a simple pasta and diced tomato dish to make it a real meal)
Canned tomatoes
Canned vegetables (always important, even if you have frozen ones. A power outage can make opening that freezer a big no-no... so keep it closed until the power comes back on and use the canned corn.)
Pasta sauce
Pasta
Pancake mix or Bisquick
Toilet paper (if they ever re-stock, right????)
Ladies' sanitary items
Dry cereal
Oatmeal (mixes if you like them and big tubs of whole oats)
Nuts (essential source of protein, fiber and fat) and they crunch!!!
Dried fruits (these are kind of pricey, I know... but they'd be a good addition to oatmeals, to pancakes, to a lot of things.)
Candles, matches, emergency lanterns
Now that last seems contrary, doesn't it? Like why do I need those if I get quarantined???
Well, if quarantines happen in the next 8 or 10 weeks, those are stormy weeks for a lot of our country. Tornado Alley. East Coast. Midwest. PNW.
So it's good to be ready.
I've always figured when the future seems to waver, my job is to be ready to ride those waves. So what would you add to the list? What's essential at your house?
"Finding Peace in Wishing Bridge"!
You can check it out HERE ON AMAZON and she hopes you love, love, love it. And, coincidentally, Amazon has the first two Wishing Bridge stories on sale for $1.99 each for the Kindle editions, so you could own all three big, beautiful Wishing Bridge stories for $7.96. An amazing price for three amazingly delightful stories! Find Ruthy online at ruthloganherne.com or on facebook or email her at loganherne@gmail.com
So glad you are feeling better! We are doing the opposite with the move just days away. I do have a solution to spendy dried fruit! Buy bananas on sale and dry them yourself. The store bought ones are gross anyways. Rest assured when we move I will be going on a grocery spree! In the meantime I have 17 bottles of hand soap (sale shopper!) And 11 containers on Clorox wipes I didn't know I needed!! At least we should help keep germs away for now.
ReplyDeleteKatie, that's so funny... and now, necessary. :) I hope the move is a smooth one, sweet gal... and you know, bananas are about the only dried fruit I don't like because they're awful... I made the big leap for a garage sale smoker last year... now I need a dehydrator! :) But I have learned to love this smoker, so who knows????
DeleteI love my dehydrator...I turned three pounds of beef into jerky over the weekend. SO much better than Jack Links or any other store bought!
DeleteHome dried jerky is the best! One of the few ways I'll eat deer. Oh Ruthy bananas are so much better homemade. Strawberries, peaches, and believe it or not kiwi go like crazy in our house! I can't get them off soon enough. Bonus points for no added sugar!
DeleteNow I say we haven't done much shopping, but rest assured if we couldn't leave the house we could still eat for a week or more and be ok. Just might not enjoy all of it.
DeleteThankful you are doing better! Your list matches what’s in our pantries and freezers. That’s a comfort. Prescription meds might be added. I filled our pill boxes yesterday so we’re good for the next week or so. Now to the hospice facility in Huntersville to see our dear Matthew and all the gathered family.
ReplyDeleteOh, Judy, that's a crucial addition, thank you! I'm not on any prescriptions, and I never thought of it. You rock!!!!
DeleteAnd I will lift you and Matthew and the family up in prayer. You know how dreadfully sorry I am about this. It just breaks my heart. :( And I'm not just saying that...
Heart heavy for Matthew and Nicole.... And Judy and the family.
So glad to hear you are on the mend from the flu, Ruthy!! I hope Farmer Dave is able to dodge that bullet!!
ReplyDeleteHey, Barb!!!!
DeleteNo, he's down and out and quarantined in the front of the house.... And I spray him with WINDEX if he comes this way!!! (Big Fat Greek Wedding) Okay, I don't really spray him, but I do shoo him right out of my area, just in case. :)
I'm so sorry Dave got hit, too!
DeleteGlad you're doing better, Ruthy!
ReplyDeleteThat flu...that's how you can tell the difference between a flu and a bad cold - the flu hits you like a truck out of nowhere.
We keep stocked with emergency supplies, so no panic buying for us. And the answer to your candles, matches, and emergency lanterns question - if everyone is quarantined, so are the workers who provide those services for us. So there could be limited electricity, water, etc.
No flu in our house yet, and we hope to keep it away!
Good! I love hearing that. I know it's because I have so many littles around me, they are BUG INFESTED CREATURES!!!! But that's just part of the territory and it will happen. But the plus side was being a Grammy to little Brody during his illness, so I got to have quarantine company. :)
DeleteI'm so glad you're feeling better, Ruthy. Our poor Taegan just tested positive for Flu A. And she had flu B last month! Poor baby.
ReplyDeleteToilet paper. I made a Walmart run--keep in mind that we have the tiny old Walmart, not the supercenter--yesterday for a birthday card and decided to look around. Toilet paper was down to maybe a few dozen packages. One worker told me they were completely out the day before and had to have an emergency truck come in. No hand sanitizer and the only disinfectant cleaner left on the shelf was the standard Walmart brand bleach spray, which is what I use on a regular basis, so I went ahead and picked one up. I won't hit the grocery store until Saturday for my regular weekly run, but I heard some of the shelves are bare. Not sure what, but fresh meats and produce will likely be available. So long as I have tea, chocolate and beef, life is good. ;)
I hear you.
DeleteWe had our first case of Corona Virus confirmed here in our county. A traveler who came back from Europe on a jet, and Rochester was his destination. So that's an interesting new development, hmm?
On a farm, I'm typically stocked for many weeks.... it's fresh stuff that we buy weekly, so we've got things on hand and two freezers...
But when I think of all the folks in cities who have tiny freezers and ovens and cupboards, their reality is so different.
I take stocked cupboards for granted.... Shame on me!
Ruthy, I appreciate your list! I've wanted to be prepared in case of quarantine. I'm practically quarantining myself anyway from larger groups already. I want to stay well and germ free for my mom's sake (elderly with medical problems that put her in high risk group).
ReplyDeleteGlad you got good care at Urgent Care. I think they were a brilliant concept and there should be more of them. Definitely takes the pressure off of ERs especially at times like this.
ReplyDeleteI only see two things missing from your list and they are at the top of mine -- books and chocolate. :-) In fact, I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies...well, the dough anyway to have in the freezer!
So, I just said yesterday that we didn't have and Coronoavirus sightings in my neck of the woods but I spoke too soon. Now the schools have decided to extend March break to three weeks starting at the end of this week!
So glad you and Brody are feeling better.
ReplyDeleteI'm okay with stocking up in the city, but I've been thinking how tough it would be if it wasn't just me and the dog. I did just order advance refills of Fenway's medicines.
We had a seminar today on running school from home via Google Hangouts. Should be interesting to run a webinar with anywhere from 20 - 40 students at a time from home. I told them Fenway would likely chime in. ;)
As of now we're still open, but a lot of schools in our area have planned shutdowns for next week.
Cate we were just talking to a teacher in our area who said the state is talking about shutting down schools and doing at home work. The kids who don't have internet will have to have work mailed to them. That just makes me sad.
Delete