As of right now, I am in day 7 of the flu. Yesterday I ended up in the hospital because of an irregular heartbeat from dehydration. The muscle cramps were so bad last night that the entire bed was shaking. (Imagine a Charlie Horse ripping through your back and down the backs of your thighs) I have bruised ribs from coughing and I've developed bronchitis. I've only been able to stay awake in one or two hour snaches. Slowly I'm starting to recover, but it looks like it will be another week before I'm really fine.
There was a teenage girl in the ER at the same time I was. She had a collapsed lung from her "minor" flu and had to get a chest tube.
This morning my daughter started comming down with the first symptoms. I am so sorry that I didn't protect her. This has changed my mind on the subject of vaccinations forever. They are not perfect, but they are better than the alternative.
20,000 people die every year in the US from influenza. This disease is no joke.
Just think about how the vaccine might allow EVERYONE to get what you have..