I’ve been hit hard by the flu this year. During the last two weeks where I was mostly down, I had plenty of time to think about this year’s bout with the flu and the lessons that I’ve learned from it which have made me better prepared to deal with the coronavirus which is currently traveling the globe.
Just over two weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon, my husband told me that he wasn’t feeling very well. He has two jobs – one of them is for a Healthcare Sharing Ministry and the other is as a pastor for our local church. Saturday night he threw up and by Sunday morning he was feeling really rotten. The pastor stayed home from church.
There have been plenty of times in the past where my husband has gotten sick and I didn’t get it. The rest of us packed up for church and headed out. Well late Sunday evening, I started to feel the effects of this virus (which we’re assuming was the flu). I’m honestly a pretty well-prepared person. Because of that, I wasn’t too worried until by Monday night all five of my kids were feeling pretty rotten as well.
With all seven of us down, over the course of the next five days, I learned a lot of lessons.
(1) How did we get the flu, and what do we do to keep ourselves from getting the coronavirus?
I want to start with this one because it’s the most critical to keeping my family healthy as we get ready to go into a probable lockdown in the next couple of weeks.
While my kids and I can easily sequester ourselves in our home, my husband does have to earn a living which includes going to work – go figure. Did you know they don’t pay him if he doesn’t show up? I mean really! LOL So, unfortunately, he can’t just stay home. This exposes the whole family to the potential of getting the virus. This is how we all got the flu (which my husband picked up at work).
We have a plan in place where my husband is going to swap places with my mother. My mother lives in half a duplex by herself. She is going to come live with us and my husband is going to live in my mother’s half of the duplex for as long as we are under quarantine. This week, I will start stocking my mom’s half of the duplex with items for my husband from food to medicine to toiletries. When we decide to go into lock-down, he’ll take over his clothes and probably his guitar.
Other families may be able to do something similar where mom and kids (who are homeschooled or who have decided not to send their kids to school in the midst of the virus) can live together with another mom and kids and the fathers can live together in the other house. It will take preparation and planning, but it can be done. This is one way to allow dads to still go to work while minimizing the chance that the rest of the family will get it.
(2) Plan like this is the end of the world – but it’s not. 
Let me explain. Always over plan for whatever the situation is. When you over plan, you’ll have what you need and maybe a little extra.
Why is it a big deal if you don’t over plan?
Well, I’ve NEVER had all seven of us down with a virus at one time before. It usually tends to hit some and to leave others. This one rammed us all. If one or two of us were down with upset stomachs – which were included in the version of the virus that we got – we had plenty of soda on hand.
With all of us down, we didn’t have near enough ginger ale to calm upset stomachs. We also didn’t have near enough chicken broth. “Homemade” chicken noodle soup was our go-to for several days. I had to have a friend bring me more broth because I just didn’t have enough in the house! This won’t be an option if everyone is down with this illness. If just two or three of us had come down with this, we would have had plenty to get us through.
(3) Learn how to boost your immune system naturally.
We need to come at this two ways – what should you add and what should you remove.
What should you add?
Because viruses can’t be treated with antibiotics, you need to look for ways to boost your immune system naturally. Eating fermented foods, using vitamin C, and D1, eating raw garlic, consuming chicken broth, and for the flu taking elderberry syrup all help boost your immune system.
Also, one of the most nourishing foods for when your sick is “homemade” chicken noodle soup. If you’ve never made it before, you only need chicken broth, egg noodles, a can of chicken, and spices. It’s the easiest thing to throw together. It’s very nourishing and even chicken broth is known for its immune-boosting capabilities.
What should you remove?
Whether it’s the flu or the coronavirus removing certain items from your diet will better help your body fight off an infection. You want to cut out all sugar, dairy, and red meat. These aren’t necessarily BAD for you (well maybe except sugar) during normal circumstances. These are all, however, inflammatory, which is exactly the opposite of what you need when your body is trying to fight off a virus. Your body also has to exert extra effort when it digests each of these types of foods. This, in turn, makes it harder for your body to fight off an infection. Removing these from your diet temporarily will help everyone involved.
(4) Entertainment became a must. 
When everyone is feeling cruddy – or in the case of a quarantine – bored, we need things to occupy people’s time. Movies are generally one way that we can help everyone take the focus on how poorly they feel. I’ve been raiding the $3.50 and $5 movie bins at Wal-Mart fairly regularly. While some of the movies you find in there are complete bilge, some of them are really good. I don’t like to rely on Amazon Prime or Netflix because if we’re ever without internet or power, we can’t watch those. We do have a way to watch movies even if the power is out, so I like to collect good movies for that reason.
If people are feeling well, but they are going a bit stir crazy because they are quarantined, you have a lot of other options. Make sure you have a good supply of board games, card games, and puzzles.
Have a lot of books and audiobooks on hand. We have several CD series of books including the entire Narnia series on CD as well as many of GA Henty’s books on CD. As a family, we also have an audible account that we made good use of and have most of those books downloaded to various devices so that we can all listen.
Keep coloring books on hand. Even my 13 and 17-year old daughters still love to color in adult coloring books. My 8-year-old prefers Star Wars coloring books, but no matter which one, keep some on hand. You can even pick both of those up at the dollar store.
Do your children play musical instruments? This is a great time to get them together to practice playing together.
You can find even more suggestions as well as freebies here.
(5) Mentally Prepare Yourselves
This is so hard for me. I can deal with so many things, but watching my husband or one of my kids really succumb to sickness can be so hard on me. One of the hardest things that I’ve had to watch was a daughter who ended up in the ER two years ago when she got the flu because her arms and hands started to become numb and were hard to move. I really thought I could have lost her.
Even after she recovered from the flu, she has had long-lasting side effects. She’s now on an inhaler and since that illness, she’s had some blood sugar issues that we’ve had to learn to manage.
So mentally walk yourself through the illness NOW. What are you going to do if someone comes down with it? How are you going to treat them? What steps are you going to take? Will you use essential oils or homeopathy to help aid in fighting the virus? Will you employ humidifiers and breathing aids? When will it be bad enough that you’ll go to the hospital?
Make all these decisions and any others that you can think of NOW. There are too many emotions tied up with everything if you have to make the decision in the midst of the crisis, so make those decisions now.
Other Tips on Dealing with the Corona Virus
So in my reading – which has been extensive – on the coronavirus here are other suggestions that I’ve come across. I am NOT a doctor, so make sure that you research whatever suggestions you plan to implement.
(1) Nebulize colloidal silver
This one is a bit “out there,” but it came directly from my doctor. We nebulized colloidal silver for my daughter who has had breathing issues since she last got the flu two years ago. She hasn’t had any further breathing issues. We also used this on me when my doctor said I was on the cusp of pneumonia from the flu.
(2) Use XLear
I’ve read a wonderful article from a pediatrician who said that this is the MOST important thing that she could suggest doing to help keep yourselves safe during a coronavirus epidemic. Xlear helps clean and moisturize your nasal passages and acts as a nasal decongestant.
(3) Buy a breathing machine
I have chosen an AirPhysio Natural Breathing Lung Expander. When I had a C-section, they had me using a breathing machine in the hospital to help me to do deep breathing exercises and to keep me from getting pneumonia. This breathing machine goes one step further.
Listen to a testimonial left on Amazon, “I had a 3 wk bout of pneumonia and was having a terrible time getting the mucous up, despite steam treatments, nebulizer treatments, musinex by the boatload, and continuous intense coughing fits. The first time I used this device, it allowed me to start coughing up the junk. By the end of the day, my lungs were completely clear and I have not coughed since. I am buying one of these for all my family and friends who have lung issues — it just might be a miracle device.”
(4) Eat coconut oil, raw garlic, fermented ginger, apple cider vinegar and other antiviral foods.
This comes from the article written by a pediatrician on how to keep your family safe from the coronavirus.
What About You?
Did you get hit by the flu this year? If so what lessons have you learned that will help you fight off the coronavirus? Share your experiences below in the comments so that we can all be better prepared.
Together lets Love, Learn, Practice, and Overcome!
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