Andrea Willingham

It’s here. It’s there. It’s everywhere. It’s… the Swine Flu. And it’s spreading like wildfire. Despite new policies, procedures, and attempts to educate students on preventative practices, illness seems to be spreading across Eckerd at an impressive rate.

Emails went out at the beginning of the school year to remind students to wash their hands, cover their coughs, and self-isolate in the case of sickness. At the Eckerd library where I work, we’ve been instructed to disinfect computers and door handles periodically throughout the day. But all that seems to have done little to hold off the impending outbreak.

And it’s certainly nothing against Eckerd – schools all over the nation are encountering the same problem – when you have so many students living in close quarters, disease is bound to spread.

Over the weekend, easily half of my dorm came down with flu-like-symptoms (whether or not it’s H1N1, per se, is somewhat irrelevant at this point). Even with all my attempts not to get sick, on Monday my throat started to get sore, and by Tuesday I was feeling slightly flu-ish.

I called the Eckerd Health Center, and was told that they were booked for Tuesday, closed on Wednesday, but I could make an appointment on Thursday. Um… how about no. If what I knew was correct, the flu is only treatable within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms.

I was a little miffed that the Health Center wasn’t more competent. Considering it is the only place to get medical help on campus, it is personally my opinion that they should be open more than 4 days a week and be able to provide proper care when it is most needed.

Fortunately, one of my dormmates was kind enough to drive me and my also sick roommate to the local walk-in clinic. There were at least 4 other Eckerd students there, and once I got in to the exam room, the nurse told me they had seen 20 Eckerd students the day before!

Long story short, I was diagnosed with the flu, prescribed medication, and sent home with instructions to monitor my temperature and drink lots of fluids. By late afternoon, the flu hit full-force and I spent several feverish hours in a zombie-like state of half-sleep.

Supposedly the flu gets better and worse a couple times before it completely goes away, but this morning I feel pretty good, relatively speaking. I was instructed by the school not to return to class until I’m fever-free for 24 hours, so at least I have the day off.

Well, until next time,

Stay healthy and peace out!