Flu-stricken mum: ‘I was left so exhausted I quit my job’
Tiffany Sherlock, T 44 – who lives in Salisbury with her partner, Brent Woodbridge, 49, a finance worker, and their daughter, Lyra, three – says her whole family has been infected by the virus.
Tiffany explains, “I first got ill at the start of November. My mother-in-law had visited while she had flu and, within a matter of days, I had a raging temperature, headaches and was exhausted. I ached so badly that I had to get on my hands and knees before I coughed so I could cope with the searing pain in my back and ribs.
“I couldn’t even pick up Lyra because I was in too much pain. Lying in bed, I couldn’t bear the thought of going back to my job at a charity, where I’d been working for six months, because I was too exhausted – so as crazy as it sounds I actually decided to quit.
“My boss thought I was delusional, but I’d been thinking about quitting for a while – Aussie flu just made me realise that I needed to do it sooner rather than later.
“To make things worse, four days later, my little girl caught the bug and, a few weeks later, my partner, Brent, did too. Lyra was being sick all the time. We were both really worried – she’d never been like that before.
“We didn’t realise how serious it was, so we didn’t go to A&E. But, eventually, I went to see a doctor, who confirmed I had flu. After doing some research, I realised it was the Aussie strain.
“They told me that no air was reaching the bottom of my lungs and gave me two courses of antibiotics and an inhaler. However, I was left with a lung infection and it was another two weeks before I started to feel better.
“We’d booked to go on holiday to Center Parcs, but Lyra was still so poorly, we didn’t want her to mix with the other children and she spent most of the time feeling too unwell to enjoy anything.
“After seeing how many people have died from the illness, I just feel glad to be alive. It’s very sobering to think what could have happened if I hadn’t gone to the doctors when I did.
“Now my two elderly parents, aged 75 and 79, have also been infected. I’m extremely relieved they’re OK now because I know older people are at risk.
“My sympathy goes out to anyone who has Aussie flu and I’d advise them to get rest and medical advice as soon as possible.”