Influenzaversary
Taking stock one year later
Anniversaries are funny things. It can feel arbitrary to mark the length of a life or relationship based on another trip around the sun. Do I really feel different on day 365 than on day 364? At the same time, I’ve come to appreciate “taking stock”—pausing to reflect and cultivate gratitude at moments of transition.
This week marks one such moment. It’s my influenzaversary—one year since I was admitted to the ICU with an asthma exacerbation triggered by the flu. It was an experience I don’t care to repeat. If you want, you can read more about it here and elsewhere on my Substack.
In an ironic twist from the universe, my household has been plagued by viral illness for the last two weeks. First was a GI bug, which spared only my daughter. After everyone finally seemed healthy again, my youngest son developed a cough and fever.
I asked him if I could “tickle his nose” to figure out why he was sick. Febrile and enthralled by a cartoon, he agreed. But when I returned with a nasal swab, I had to wrestle him to get the sample.
Over the next minute, I watched the liquid travel up the test strip. The “control” line turned red, as expected. Then another line appeared—faint, but unmistakable. My son had influenza A.
He has the flu.
My breath caught.
Will I get it?
The next morning, I called my doctor’s office, and they prescribed oseltamivir prophylaxis, which I hope keeps the virus at bay as it makes its way through my house.
On my influenzaversary, I feel grateful—perhaps oddly so, but it makes sense to me.
In a concrete way, I’m grateful for the medications that have kept me healthy and out of the hospital in the year since I was discharged.
My illness brought me closer to my wife and children, both out of necessity and because I took more time to foster those relationships.
Returning from being sick also deepened my appreciation for my profession. It was a privilege to go back to my meaningful and important work as a physician, serving with a team of those serve others.
Over the last year, I’ve also connected in some small way with all of you—with anyone reading this post. After I got home from the hospital, I started writing about my experiences, and I rediscovered an interest in narrative medicine that had been dormant for several years.
So on this influenzaversary, I guess I’ll thank the flu virus. I thank my family, friends, and coworkers. I thank you. And since I can’t just pick the good parts of life, I’ll take all of it—the viruses I’d rather leave behind, and the people and relationships that give life meaning.