http://www.care2.com/greenliving/another-view-of-the-flu.html
Another View of the Flu
The fear of the swine flu epidemic is gradually being replaced by the reality of it landing at home. I am not proud to admit that my children were the first to be diagnosed at their school in the first weeks of school and the last weeks of our Oregon Indian summer. As the final days of warm sunny weather teased, my children lay in bed too sick to notice. Thus far we have been through three versions of the swine, and the varied symptoms have taken on the colloquial “he’s swining big time” as all of their friends fall like dominoes to the illness. And although most of October is a blur of home remedies, I am relieved to not be worried about getting it anymore.
This is not to make light of the rare cases in which immune deficiency has real and frightening costs. There are enough exceptions to the typical swine course and an alarming number of secondary infections that warrant careful attention. Still, with the continuous mass media warnings and the mass of flu shots being distributed without full testing, it is easy to see how panic can build.
Treating this new illness with love, which is to say the opposite of fear, might provide some insights and maybe even make the experience a teacher. This flu infection moves fast and goes into the chest deeply. This is a time to protect and love the immune system by applying all of the standard wellness advice about eating well, sleeping enough and getting regular exercise and fresh air. Supplementing with multi-vitamins, Vitamin C and Vitamin D3 as well as herbal formulas like Echinacea is another effective way to support your immune system. My three favorite natural remedies for this flu which were really effective for all my kids included Nature’s Way Umcka (preferred flavors were cherry and berry), Boiron’s Oscillococccinum homeopathic formula, and Wellness Formula. For the record, I have never gotten any free bottles of these products for all the support I give them–they just work.
Yet, even with all the remedies I had on hand, once in the system, the flu progressed and all my kids got sicker. Their fevers spiked high for the first couple of days and our home became the center of life again in the way it is on holidays. The schedule was off, no one was going anywhere and they all wanted company and assurances. It had been years since I lay in bed for an afternoon nap with any of my children as they are all in their teens, but this week the swine flu had us in bed falling asleep in the early afternoon light of autumn.
I welled up with the tenderness of the moment, as I lay next to my son, his hand in mine, and reflected that this might well be the last time I held my adolescent son’s hand as he fell asleep beside me. Even my high school senior had all his hard edges soften as we went through several linen changes per day. He was contemplative and wanted to share his thoughts, giving me a chance to hear him as I hadn’t in months. My youngest daughter curled around me and held onto me like an anchor to life through her feverish nights.
Don’t get me wrong, the swine flu is a tenacious and lively virus. It takes days after you are well to really get over it and doing too much can easily lead to relapse, but given its proper respect, this flu can also put things in perspective.
Dealing with any illness forces you recognize that the central axis of life is health. There really is nothing else that life can give us or that we can give it, without the amazing and often taken for granted experience of well being. The day my 13-year-old son left the house again after five days of confinement, he exclaimed at the color of the trees, the bigness of the fields and skies. It was like watching him see it for the first time. Illness reorganizes our priorities and focuses our attention on the pieces of life that matter most. The tenderness of life is always right next to us. Illness sets that tenderness apart, holds it up to the light of day. If we are lucky we don’t just get well, we get fresh eyes to see how well we really are.
For more on H1N1, see the Care2 Swine Flu Project.
Wendy Strgar is a loveologist who writes and lectures on Making Love Sustainable, a green philosophy of relationships which teaches the importance of valuing the renewable resources of love and family. She helps couples tackle the questions and concerns of intimacy and relationships, providing honest answers and innovative advice. “I feel like I am inventing a language to give intimacy back to the people, take the fear away and open a space for physical love to serve as the glue that holds relationships together.” Wendy lives in Eugene, Oregon with her husband, a psychiatrist, and their four children ages 11-20.
Robyn
Melissa
Deepak
Eric
Dave
Dr. Brent
Isha
Susan
Delia
Michelle
Wendy
Megan
Hilary
Ann
Judi
Ronnie
Kelly
Lily
Terri
Betsy
Cait
Andrew
Jana
Annie B.
Veronica
17 comments
add your comment »There's no need to get testy, Jade. Something about the internet seems to give us permission to be ruder than we might be in person. I did note a few who may not quite have gotten it about the holding of hands or otherwise comforting of kids--- like her kids were dying. Not everyone took it that way!
I only added my own bit about the periodic long sieges of weather that call upon families here in rural Maine to hunker in for a few days; despite the many inconveniences, it's not such a bad thing. And despite my age (57) and the age of my son (21) we've never dropped the ability to comfort one another in bad times. I only queried about the sheets, Jade, because it was beginning to sound like another or more complicated disease and I was asking only for information. Last I checked, influenzas are upper respiratory viruses. Some people tell me this one is different. (?)It IS OK to ask.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Rather than comment on the assinine remarks about home remedies, changing sheets, and missing the point (you were not thinking your child was dying! Sheesh!!), I thank you for writing such a beautiful description of seeing what's really important in our lives (and it's not the material stuff! LOL) as far as our relationships with each other and life itself. Like Jessica, I'm going to copy and print it out as a reminder of just what a terrific reminder it is of a "powerful perspective on healing and humanity" Kudos to you, Wendy, for giving us such terrific insight!
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Go to www.perelandra-ltd.com . This is a nature research center. They make flower essence formulas that deal specifically with H1N1. I have been useing their products for over 20 years and would not be without them. For those of you who are not familier with or quite ready for energy medicine, you'll just have to make a leap of faith. and try it for yourself. Their prices are very reasonable and they ship fast. Essences will not harm you or interfer with what ever else you're taking. They will move you thru an illness quickly, or prevent you from getting it in the first place, though I don't know if they make that statement. At least check out their website. They are probably different that anything you've ever encountered in the alturnative field. They do not deal in herbs or aroma therapy. Flower essences are the healing patterns from plants that impact your electrical system. You feel the effects within minutes. Please, do check this out..
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Lynx, I think what she meant by "the last time she held her adolescent's hand" has more to do with the fact that some teens don't like being treated like kids and will not accept stuff like going to bed early, not being allowed to stay out late, or holding hands. Heck, I'm 20 and I rarely let my family touch me. Hugs are for birthdays, New Year's and Christmas - but that's it. I love them, I just don't want them touching me. Mind you, we live all on top of each other, that might have to do with it.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
This comment system is really aggravating sometimes. It said I was within the character limit on my last post, but then it cut off my last sentence partway through anyway. That last phrase was supposed to be "children's lives".
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
I have mixed feelings about this article - there are some parts I very much agree with, like trying to maintain health and support your immune system, and valuing the positive things that can come out of an otherwise negative experience.
But claiming that your favourite remedies for the flu "just work" - and then saying that when you gave them to your children, they just got sicker - is a major lapse in logic. If you give someone a remedy and it doesn't help, then clearly it DIDN'T work, and it's time to try something different.
I'm not opposed to alternative remedies - they're usually my first choice for most everyday health issues. But it's crucial to keep an open mind, pay attention to results, and be willing to try something else if they aren't working.
This is especially true with a potentially life-threatening illness! It is NOT just people with immune deficiency who are at risk. Many of the people who've died, or had to spend days or weeks in the iCU on a respirator, have been previously healthy children or young adults with no high-risk factors. It can happen to ANYONE.
But the worst part, for me, was reading about how you "reflected that this might well be the last time I held my adolescent son’s hand". If you thought he was dying, why on earth did you not get him to a hospital? I know some people are philosophically opposed to western medicine, but as a parent, I find it horrifying that anyone would value that belief more than they value their chil
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Nice perspecive on something that is also like weathering a long storm here in Maine, with signs of spring not yet showing, but which we know will come, some day, some way. One must look for the good to come out of any of life's adversities.
But several changes of linen? What really are we dealing with here? I thought this was a respiratory influenza, with all the aches which I remember from a session in winter of 1993. It sounds different to me. And I'm more concerned with those with any compromised immune systems, than for most of us who are in reasonable health.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
great article. thank you for sharing it.
i had the swine flu the first time it came out -- in the mid-70s. i can attest to the high fever and chest problems. it was a miserable 5 days.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
I am printing this out and posting a link to this on my blog. Thank you so much for your powerful perspective on healing and humanity.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Nice message. Our kids and families are number one. Please take the time to read the recent flu report on mercola.com before considering vaccination. Thanks. God bless!
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Facebook account: