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Note that he was treated at onset of symptoms
Source: http://durangoherald.com/sections/F...o_man_tells_story_of_his_bout_with_swine_flu/
Durango man tells story of his bout with swine flu
by Dale Rodebaugh
Herald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated; Monday, August 31, 2009
Given the circumstances, things could have gone much worse for Durango resident Harvey Parker.
I don't know why I survived. Sometimes I ask, 'Why me.?'
- Harvey Parker, Durango
Parker, 73, who has diabetes, uses oxygen at night and has a long history of upper respiratory and coronary-vascular disease, spent several days at Mercy Regional Medical Center in July and more days later in isolation when he contracted the novel H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.
"I don't know why I survived," Parker said in an interview Thursday. "Sometimes I ask, 'Why me?'"
Parker, retired from a career in biological sciences and health-risk management, doesn't know how he contracted the H1N1 virus. But he hazarded a guess.
"I was grabbing a bite at the airport lunch counter after visiting my children in Melbourne Beach (Fla.)," Parker said. "A guy sitting next to me was coughing profusely."
Parker is one of two La Plata County residents who the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment lists as having tested positive for swine flu. The department records only cases that require hospitalization. The state had 62 such cases from April 27 through Aug. 22.
Four youngsters or staff members at Camp Kanakuk north of Bayfield who tested positive for H1N1 in July weren't sent to the hospital, so their cases don't figure in state health department statistics. The counties with the most H1N1 cases are Denver, 14; El Paso, 12; Arapahoe, eight; and Jefferson and Boulder, five each.
Parker arrived in Durango late July 20 feeling fine and felt nothing amiss the next day. But he woke up at 1:30 a.m. July 22 shaking uncontrollably.
"I was extremely cold, so my wife, Sharon, put blankets on me, but I couldn't stop shaking," Parker said. "She took my temperature. It was 105, so she called 911 and they took me to the Mercy (Regional Medical Center) emergency room."
The first couple of days were a blur, Parker said. When he relates his early treatment with anti-viral medication and life in isolation, Parker is repeating what he learned secondhand from his wife or hospital personnel. When he was discharged, he was counseled to remain in self-isolation until the symptoms, including his fever, were gone.
Self-isolation at home lasted about 10 days, and then he wore a surgical-like mask for several days when he went out. Sharon Parker remains free of flu symptoms.
"She's been right there with me in the trenches," Parker said. "But she hasn't come down with any flu."
Parker, who continues to see his primary-care physician, doesn't speak a lot publicly of his bout with swine flu because he doesn't want to scare people.
"We know swine flu is coming, but the majority of us are going to get through it," Parker said. "I hope people look at the big picture, stay alert, don't panic and follow the recommendations of health officials."
daler@durangoherald.com
Source: http://durangoherald.com/sections/F...o_man_tells_story_of_his_bout_with_swine_flu/
Durango man tells story of his bout with swine flu
by Dale Rodebaugh
Herald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated; Monday, August 31, 2009
Given the circumstances, things could have gone much worse for Durango resident Harvey Parker.
I don't know why I survived. Sometimes I ask, 'Why me.?'
- Harvey Parker, Durango
Parker, 73, who has diabetes, uses oxygen at night and has a long history of upper respiratory and coronary-vascular disease, spent several days at Mercy Regional Medical Center in July and more days later in isolation when he contracted the novel H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.
"I don't know why I survived," Parker said in an interview Thursday. "Sometimes I ask, 'Why me?'"
Parker, retired from a career in biological sciences and health-risk management, doesn't know how he contracted the H1N1 virus. But he hazarded a guess.
"I was grabbing a bite at the airport lunch counter after visiting my children in Melbourne Beach (Fla.)," Parker said. "A guy sitting next to me was coughing profusely."
Parker is one of two La Plata County residents who the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment lists as having tested positive for swine flu. The department records only cases that require hospitalization. The state had 62 such cases from April 27 through Aug. 22.
Four youngsters or staff members at Camp Kanakuk north of Bayfield who tested positive for H1N1 in July weren't sent to the hospital, so their cases don't figure in state health department statistics. The counties with the most H1N1 cases are Denver, 14; El Paso, 12; Arapahoe, eight; and Jefferson and Boulder, five each.
Parker arrived in Durango late July 20 feeling fine and felt nothing amiss the next day. But he woke up at 1:30 a.m. July 22 shaking uncontrollably.
"I was extremely cold, so my wife, Sharon, put blankets on me, but I couldn't stop shaking," Parker said. "She took my temperature. It was 105, so she called 911 and they took me to the Mercy (Regional Medical Center) emergency room."
The first couple of days were a blur, Parker said. When he relates his early treatment with anti-viral medication and life in isolation, Parker is repeating what he learned secondhand from his wife or hospital personnel. When he was discharged, he was counseled to remain in self-isolation until the symptoms, including his fever, were gone.
Self-isolation at home lasted about 10 days, and then he wore a surgical-like mask for several days when he went out. Sharon Parker remains free of flu symptoms.
"She's been right there with me in the trenches," Parker said. "But she hasn't come down with any flu."
Parker, who continues to see his primary-care physician, doesn't speak a lot publicly of his bout with swine flu because he doesn't want to scare people.
"We know swine flu is coming, but the majority of us are going to get through it," Parker said. "I hope people look at the big picture, stay alert, don't panic and follow the recommendations of health officials."
daler@durangoherald.com