We've just made it through the first round of the holidaze. It starts with Thanksgiving (technically the Halloween pumpkin-carving-palooza in our family). Thanksgiving means relaxing and enjoying good times with family/friends; eating, imbibing, and overextending - which also includes: generally lots of work for certain members of every family, late-nights and long-overdue re-connections. Everyone tries extra hard to make it for the festivities, and some may come with a cold or flu - unintentionally or unknowingly, but nonetheless sickly.
Then for those tough enough to weather the slings and arrows of bricks and mortar shopping, Black Friday brings a day-long gala of bargains, coupons, and discounts, along with sniffling, coughing, and sneezing (usually by the person right behind you in that 45-minute line to check-out). There's Christmas/Hanuka, New Year's, and a host of work, friend and family parties in between. You get where I'm going with this: the season of celebration can also be a petri dish of maladies - particularly for those with MM or any similar immuno-suppressing form of cancer.
Pneumonia can be as mild as a rather bad cold (popularly known as "Walking Pneumonia"). Or a more aggressive and persistent strain could catch you such as community-acquired pneumonia (CAP): the newer moniker for a tougher strain that can potentially result in hospitalization. Or the most serious circumstance indeed: full-blown pneumonia. My recent brush with CAP reminds me that I'm still somewhat more susceptible to everything that's floating around out there (more susceptible than I even realize my-own-bad-self). I don't necessarily need to hide or cower at home in a bubble (or not kiss Aunt Betty respectfully on the cheek - though, maybe she would go for a more sanitary fist-bump), but I do need to be extra careful when so much love and celebration and germs are being passed around. And my recent brush with CAP also enlightened me to the fact that my immune-system (almost two years young) is still growing and developing. So I'm way stronger than I was when diagnosed, but still not 100% at my goal yet.
Speaking from personal experience already, no matter what category our health status falls into, it's important to be health-wise and enjoy the holidays hygienically.
PS: Hopefully all of my beloved readers out there have gotten their flu shot. I have, and strongly encourage everyone to take the plung-er as well.
