Please noooooo!

You know how your scalp would start to phantom itch when one of your kids got nits?

Well I’m hoping that’s why my throat is feeling funny. The youngest came down with some sort of flu on Monday. She has returned two negative RAT tests, but I don’t trust those things, they can be very unreliable.

My throat feels slightly scratchy, but I am hoping it’s just because I mouth breathe and not because something sinister is percolating inside me.

I really, really don’t want to get COVID-19 again. The memories of my feverish trip home from Fiji in January are still far too fresh in my mind.

I don’t want the flu again either, as it is even fresher in my mind. I only recovered a few weeks ago from my last bout.

Yes, yes, I should have taken myself off for a flu shot and a fourth COVID-19 booster, but life got busy and I didn’t get around to it.

I had the best intentions for the youngest. I booked her in for a flu shot and third COVID-19 shot during the school holidays, but my ex cancelled the appointment because it clashed with a physio visit he’d booked for nerve pain the youngest was having in her leg.

And, of course, he didn’t rebook it.

Blimey we spend a lot of money on paying health bills for the youngest. She’s also supposed to start allergy desensitising treatment on Thursday. Fingers crossed she’s flu symptom free by then as it took ages to get that appointment.

The youngest was deeply offended last night when I cooked us homemade meat pies and mash for dinner, then sat as far away from her as possible to eat mine.

While I am fairly sure those extra centimetres won’t protect me, I am still desperately hoping to keep the germs at bay.

It’s going to be quite the duck and weave. I know so many people with COVID-19 right now and the flu is rampant.

There were a total of 187,431 cases of the flu reported to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) in Australia up until July 3.

A whopping 100,851 of them have been recorded in NSW – three times the amount recorded in any other state.

Poor NSW can’t take a trick right now. Time to restock my surgical mask supplies …

Song of the day: Pink “Just like a pill”