Swine Influenza

In the past few days, the world has been under the tense grip of a new strain of the already infamous Swine Influenza. It's not the first time this very virus has caused quite a scare; back in 1976, President Gerald Ford was faced with the very real threat of a possible Swine Flu pandemic; lucky for us, it was contained and dealt with accordingly, and few died because of it.

The current fear, though, is effecting everyone both directly and indirectly, whether through the extra dent it adds to the whole economic crisis, or through the actual sickness itself, it's causing quite a commotion. I, myself, am a good example of this; earlier today in my English class, just as the bell rang, I began to feel extremely dizzy and lightheaded, and my head felt as if it were burning up. I began to panic to a slight extent as I felt like I was going to collapse; the teacher told me to sit down and just breath deeply while someone went to get the Vice Principal to assist me in walking to the Medical Room.
Having seen that the Swine Flu itself had reached British Columbia via some returning exchange students, I jumped to the conclusion that I may have caught it somehow. This increased my anxiety, and I'm sure it contributed to some of the extra dizziness. They called my mom, and she took me to Emergency to get checked out; it turned out I didn't have Swine Flu, and it didn't seem that I had a flu of any sort, but may have a slight cold instead.
This relieved me to quite an extent, but didn't seem to cease my feeling dizzy.
As a precautionary measure, I was brought home for the rest of the day and am writing to you directly from my mothers laptop.

I'm sure it was the best thing to stay home as to be sure I wouldn't faint while on the stairs or during class, but it still goes to show how something like the Swine Flu can act as quite a scare.

Right now, Mexico is getting the absolute brunt of the possible pandemic, with over 100 people dead, schools closed down until May, and people forced to wear medical masks as to protect themselves from exposure.
In fact, a Mexican friend of mine (that big sister I told you about in the post Six Days) school has closed down until the tentative date of May 6th, and her father isn't allowing her out of the house as a precautionary measure. Probably a good idea, but it doesn't change the fact that she's going to be quite bored for awhile.

Anyways, thats all I really have to say on the subject for the time being, and I wish only the best to those who have the flu, send my condolences to the families who have lost a son or daughter to this sickness, and hope that it won't get any worse then it is right now.