As I dealt with email Friday morning this heading on a Government of Saskatchewan press release caught my eye, "Public reminded to take steps to avoid flu."
I coughed, blew my nose for the 100th time that hour and said, "Yeah, go hide in your basement under the bed."
One of the basic tenants of the flu season is "if you are sick, stay home!" Great advice, but who actually believes that is possible? In this crazy business, at this time of year it just isn't. The deadlines get crunched together in a crazy fashion that forces us to put up a flow chart on the newsroom whiteboard to keep us on track. And, we still spend most of the month of December in a muddled state of confusion.
It's the same for every department in the building. Everyone from the front office staff to the production crew has to keep those deadlines front and centre. In short, there is no time for anyone to be sick. In fact, the newsroom has a rule that members of the crew can be sick only on a Thursday afternoon or Friday at any time of the year. Illness must be suppressed by a super human effort of denial any other day of the week.
This just isn't a job you can put off until next week. The phone system would have a nuclear meltdown taking calls about "where's the paper?" if we just took a couple of weeks off to accommodate those who stayed home to protect their coworkers from the flu. That's what would have to happen, because when one cog drops out, the whole machine breaks down.
So, someone came to work sick. I won't name any names, Joyce, but and the sharing began. And into denial we went, crunching deadlines, getting the job done, so we could collapse and then spend a couple days with our families before doing it all over again.
And if there weren't enough days in that stretch to fully recover, we go back to sharing the Battlefords Publishing Super Virus with those who may have dodged it so far. It is a season for sharing.
Turns out the only advice the government press release was sharing was to get a flu shot, so here are some helpful hints from Centres for Disease Control and Prevention:
Avoid close contact (no New Year's Eve smooching) with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick. too.
If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. You will help prevent others from catching your illness.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick.
Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at home, work or school, especially when someone is ill. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids and eat nutritious food.
Good luck. Stay healthy.
