Diagnosis: Influenza A (H1N1) Positive

It turns out that I am a lot sicker than I thought. What I initially deemed as a bad cold that simply refused to go away was actually something a lot more sinister. The culprit goes by the scientific name Influenza A (H1N1), a brand-new strain of flu caused by a new subtype of the virus responsible for the infamous swine flu.

The good news is: the symptoms that I have now — dizziness and a stuffed nose — are considered mild. Hence, I don’t have to be hospitalized; I just have to be quarantined at home. The doctor has given me oseltamivir capsules (also known as “Tamiflu” in Malaysia) which I need to take twice daily for the next five days. Naturally, I’ll be taking the usual supplements, as well — Vitamin C and whatnot — to help boost my immune system and, hopefully, speed up my recovery.

The bad news is: I have to be quarantined for seven long days. It just breaks my heart to hear the children playing downstairs, knowing fully well that I can’t be with them. I can’t even allow the twins to know that I’m around because they’re not yet capable of understanding what ‘contagious’ means. If they know their Mama is in her room, they would definitely insist on sleeping with Mama and would cry and scream if not allowed to do so. Thus, with a heavy heart, I must accept that the only way for me to be on quarantine is to continue hiding from them. (NB: I’ve started my self-imposed quarantine since Sunday night.)

How ironic of me to write just two days ago that “the worst is over“. The worst, apparently, was yet to come. That night, my temperature soared to 39.4°C (103°F). The thick mucus that filled my entire nasal cavity bore down on my face like a dead weight, exerting pressure on my cheeks and forehead, giving me the worst headache imaginable and the most perplexing case of toothache I ever had in my entire life. My lymph nodes were screaming in silent protest, as though pummeling away underneath my flesh. My back was riddled with muscles that felt impossibly tied up in knots. My arms and legs lay limp and heavy, powerless against the waves of pain that coursed through them. My entire body was in pain of such unspeakable proportions that all I could think of was: if no worldly pain can equal the pain of death, why was I feeling the way I did that night?

Considering that I have such a high threshold for pain — case in point: when I was in labour with RoundBoy, I didn’t feel a thing even though CTG results already registered 35-40% contractions — when I say that I was in so much pain that night, I mean excruciating, agonising, mind-numbing P A I N, pain bad enough to convince me that, perhaps, I wasn’t just battling yet another bad cold and that maybe, just maybe, it could be H1N1. That, plus the fact that our next-door neighbour just got diagnosed with H1N1…plus the SMS exchange between me and Dr A, whose answers convinced me to go to the nearest hospital to get myself tested the very next day.

And so here I am now, locked up with my own volition in my own bedroom, with my mobile phone and MacBook Pro as my windows to the outside world and my knitting projects to keep my hands busy. The dizziness, albeit mild, is rather disturbing and I find that I cannot concentrate nor read for long periods of time. It took me forever to edit this post, for instance. Mention something random like motorhome towing and it would take me a few seconds to process what you’re saying. The best word to describe my mental state right now is blur, in the Malaysian sense of the word.

I’m still trying to figure out how and when I could have picked up the virus. Could it have been during my Philippine trip? Was it brought in by the Americans whom I met on the 21st of October at the office? Maybe it was one of the staff at the office…or perhaps even one of my friends? I may never know…

I’m just thankful that I got diagnosed before it’s too late, that my symptoms are mild enough not to necessitate hospitalisation, and that I seem to be responding to the medication — my coughing has reduced noticeably and there’s a marked decrease in my nasal congestion.

All I can advise you is to eat properly, have enough sleep and to take supplements so that your immune system won’t get easily compromised. Please make it a habit to cough or sneeze into the crook of your arm or into your sleeve (teach your children to do this as well!). Oh, and do wash your hands frequently and properly.

For the curious, here is the complete chronology of the events leading up to my ‘exotic’ illness:-

15th October: The twins and I flew to the Philippines.

18th October: The twins and I flew back to Malaysia.

19th October: I went to the office like usual, feeling perfectly fine.

21st October: I had a meeting with a group of American suppliers at the office.

22nd or 23rd October: I developed a mild cough but it didn’t affect my daily routine.

24th October: I felt fine, other than the occasional dry cough, the kind of cough that I usually attribute as an allergic reaction to dust. I had meningitis vaccination.

25th October: I had a low-grade fever, which I thought was a natural reaction to the meningitis jab. My cough has gotten worse and I also developed a cold. The doctor gave me antibiotics and the usual cough/cold medicines.

26th October: No more fever, just a cough and cold. The doctor pronounced me well enough to have pneumococcal vaccination.

27th October: I had a low-grade fever and some aches and pains, which I attributed to the previous day’s jab.

29th October: I updated my FaceBook status about my terrible cold. I had no fever but my body felt so battered all over that I didn’t manage to make a cake for RoundBoy’s birthday.

30th October: Feeling much better, I reported for work like usual. I met with two South African customers.

31st October: I had the flu jab (the normal one, not the H1N1 one), despite my stuffy nose. The attending physician said it was okay because, well…I didn’t have a fever.

1st November: I had a low-grade fever from morning but felt much better at around 4 pm. I felt well enough to drive, fetch OnlyGirl from her friend’s house (where they had a sleepover), and buy some durian for the twins. We had a belated birthday celebration for RoundBoy and his cousin. I started feeling dizzy again after the makan-makan (makan = ‘eat’) so I went to my room to rest and started my self-imposed quarantine from the kids.

2nd November: Having exhausted the previous week’s supply of medicine, I went to see our usual GP in the morning. She gave me a new set of antibiotics. I didn’t have a fever that morning but I was still feeling a bit woozy, so I dropped by the office just to sign a few cheques and documents, then went back home to rest. I went to hell and back that night. At least, it felt that way.

3rd November: I went to the emergency section of the nearest private hospital, stuck out my tongue and said “Aaaah” while the nurse swiped the deepest recesses of my throat several times with what looked like an elongated cotton bud.

4th November: The hospital told me that my test results came out positive for the Influenza A (H1N1) virus.

And to think it all started as a cold that simply wouldn’t go away.

For more information on Influenza A (H1N1), check out the FAQs at the World Health Organization’s site as well as the official website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.