April 29, 2005

Say Ahhhh

I had my annual medical the other day, and a booster shot against hepatitis A and today I'm getting a flu vaccination. Normally I'm not into things medical or pharmaceutical, but if you are in good health, you usually take it for granted and don't think about anything that may lurk asymptomatically.
It was also a chance to catch up on the latest medical stuff I am interested in, such as pandemics. Influenza is an obvious one. Dr Roy was not optimistic about it, he was outright concerned about it. He reckoned it will be a matter of little time before another of those gigantic flu epidemics will sweep the world and the grim reaper will visit many people sooner than they may have expected.
I remember my grandmother talking about the Spanish Flu of 1918, which killed more people than World War I. It's amazing that such things don't really stay in the popular memory or myth for long, unlike man-made disasters such as world wars (and their endless commemorations). I mean, history goes on about religious wars in the middle ages, but the really big thing was the 1348 Plague. And not much of a squeak about all that. The same thing with flu epidemics that visit us regularly(-ish).
In all, back to today, I was pleased my cholesterol levels were way down from last year, so bring on the pancakes and cream again! And being a vegetarian (of a sort), it did suprise me I was not anaemic or lacked B12 vitamin. So, rude health and I only need to do 20 minute exercises thrice weekly. Are you volunteering to help me out there? I won't hurt, unless you want me to.

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