Spanish Flu

Well, the matriarch was alive during the Spanish Flu; she remembers Dresden, a small town in Southwestern Ontario, being put into quarantine.  Her family ran a farm near Christina, Ontario and they brought produce into Dresden; they stopped at the barricades, pushed food under the barriers and waited while someone got a new list of wanted items.  No one touched hands and no money was exchanged.  My mother-in-law remembers peering under the fence to look at the people who couldn't leave the town.  She doesn't remember how many times they went into town in this manner but she does have a distinct recollection of at least one visit.  Strange to think N1H1 doesn't scare her; she's probably had it already; but, the paranoia that is developing around the 'flu does threaten her.

My mother-in-law cannot go to her Doctor's; she doesn't need to see him, doesn't need a blood test or anything, but the fact she cannot visit her Doctor deeply worries her.  What if she got sick?  As two of my children are already in bed with colds, I understand her worry.  But, what?  Unless, the 'flu is really bad, there isn't much to be done; the situation is much better than 1918: better sanitation, indoor plumbing, central heating.  Strange how things I take for granted can make a world of difference to someone else.  The mother-in-law has been up in her room most of the day; I think she is trying to stay away from the children and not share their colds.  I don't know if it will help.  Colds and 'flues sound so threatening now--what with line-ups, fears, privileging of sports teams...Unless, the cold or 'flu is bad, it is still just a cold or 'flu; we can't get vaccinated, yet, and Doctors' offices are nightmares.  I guess staying in bed is the best thing.  I wonder if the matriarch will stay upstairs tomorrow, too?