We were asked to do a short intro. I write science fiction
romance, romantic suspense, and mystery. Published in all three genres but
mostly in sfr. Since I’m retired from the “other” job and have no children at
home, I can write full time. I live in West Michigan, close enough to the lake
to visit often. If you want to know more about me and my books, visit my
website http://www.dianeburton.com
Instead of sharing my indecision about which project to
return to after the holidays, I’m doing a PSA about the flu. Influenza is not
just a bad cold turned worse—as my sister discovered. She was visiting our
other sister a five-hour drive from home and got sick. Not just a cold but
influenza that turned into pneumonia, which led to a “sick” heart, as her
cardiologist calls it. She hadn’t had heart trouble before. She was
hospitalized for four days last week and was released wearing a “life vest”
(heart monitor & defibrillator) with instructions to see a cardiologist
when she returned home and to get a pacemaker/defibrillator implanted in about
three months. On Monday the vest defibrillator went off. Had it not, she would
not be alive. Yesterday, she had the pacemaker/defib implanted.
How did this happen? My sister got the flu shot, which as we’ve
been told on TV is not totally effective. She rushed around before the holidays
trying to do everything (and more), pushed herself when she wasn’t feeling
well, made the five-hour drive to our sister’s, and did cleaning (helping) for
our sister, etc. She’s a hard worker and always has to be doing something . . .
even when she’s sick. Whether the flu caused the problem with her heart is
unknown. At the very least, it pushed a pre-existing problem over the edge.
My point in sharing this is to encourage everyone to take
the flu seriously. Know the differences between a cold and
the flu. Rest. See a doctor. Take care of yourself.
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