If we come out of this month unscathed, then we have immunity to swine, bird, and any alpha illness going. 10 short days ago, Mark and I ventured into hundreds of germ incubators between here and Toronto! The Ottawa airport was our launching point - where it became apparent that we weren't the only airborne passengers. Sneezing, wheezing people of all ages were generously spraying their infectious spores, while we stood, shoulder to shoulder in the terminal. It's great that we educate folks to cough into their sleeves, but not so appealing when they are rubbing those mucous-filled sleeves against my new winter coat! The boarding area was a breeding ground for viruses - as hundreds shared a few square feet of breathing room. And if it's not enough to have your breakfast bagel coughed into by the Timmy's guy, then how about herding into a vacuum-sealed tube, with the only air in circulation feeling and smelling as though it had been exhaled a hundred times over.
Fast forward to Toronto's Pearson, and miles of rubber handrails harvesting the viral flavor of the week as millions slide their hands across the surface. Public health was never a huge concern of mine - coming from a fairly uneventful childhood and not having lived through any real pandemics, I was quite shocked to find myself wanting to lysol the rental car steering wheel (yes lysol has become a verb in my vocabulary), and bury the comforter from the hotel room deep in the closet! Everywhere I turned, I recognized the germ potential - from the highly suspicious airport washrooms to the supposedly-sterile medical building - our ultimate destination.
I've never viewed the world through this lens - I tend to prefer rose colored glasses, not lab goggles! Yet, when credible nursing friends discuss how ICU units are overflowing with H1N1 patients, and when the majority of victims are healthy, active young folks - (ok - a little bit out of my risk category)I get a little edgy and infinitely more aware.
No one in my home has been vaccinated yet. Typically, we would decide against the vaccine and slam the media for all of the hype. After all, the big news agencies dictate what issues merit public attention. Which war story deserves our grief, what politician needs to be scorned and, whether we should be noticing how many folks are sick or dying from this season's flu strain. Typically, I would chalk up the H1N1 "press" as sensationalism. People die every year from influenza...But, the reality is - an unprecedented number of young people really are battling this bug right across the nation - and many of the strong, healthy ones are losing the fight. So, if the clinics re-open, my gang will be high tailing it down there! If they don't re-open, or of we can't get immunized, we can hope that the exposure of the past 10 days has forced our bodies to build up their own immunities...But I will still want my young, healthy hockey playing boys and crazy tumbling girl, who spend their lives in gyms and arenas to be the among first ones in line! Call me crazy, call me paranoid - or just call me mom - but I've been noticing that, as beautiful as this world can be...it's a petri dish for infection...and I don't think the spotlight on this year's pandemic is pure media hype. While everything about H1N1 makes up the perfect profile for front page news, it's not interests in Purel sales driving the focus. This is the real deal - PURE, simple, and a little scary!
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