I saw Contagion

You may recall that when I started this blog I considered naming it "confessions" or "adventures of an uninsured hypochondriac" and indeed I have a history of overreacting; when the stomach flu hit me in January, I thought I was going to die. That actually isn’t the worst case scenario because I truly believe that that is as close to death as anyone without a chronic disease like HIV or cancer can get. But let’s be honest, whatever it is they are suffering from on (insert your favorite doctor drama here) is usually the least possible diagnosis of the common symptoms the patient shows. They say things like, “this almost never happens” but that doesn’t mean, when the symptoms hit me, I don’t think, “maybe I am the .01% that does die from hiccups.


It doesn’t help that, as I mentioned in my first Washington blog, this winter literally saw me sick with something or other constantly from the beginning of January right through to the first few weeks of spring. Clearly, this was due to horrible luck or even more dreadful immunity (probably that one because from mid August until the end of September, I suffered from Ear infection turned cold turned sinus infection) but I asked my doctor the chances that the chronic cough was due to lung cancer. Just to be clear, I don’t smoke- never did- and have never lived with anyone who does, but understand that, no matter how outrageous that sounds, I truly believed that it was possible. That is how my mind operates, I can’t see medical logic in the moment, I am working on it but it is a struggle.

Seeing movies like CONTAGION probably doesn’t help. It was an amazing movie that really takes you through the struggles of what it is like to be against diseases from every angle. Kate Winslett leads the charge of characters who deal with the disease from a medical side, trying to find a cure while trying to keep the population from panicking. Jude Law shined as the “crack pot” who calmly takes to the web to expose the truth about the government covering up the true cure because of ulterior motives, played perfectly against the population in panic. And then there is Matt Damon; brilliant as a man who loses his wife and stepson to this mysterious illness and barricades his daughter inside to wait out the storm, desperate to protect his last family member.

Basically, I am saying that it was one of the best movies of the year, but why would I see that film? I take crowded public transit everyday and let’s be frank, my immunity is clearly weak lately, if the Contagion virus hit, I would so get it. Not to mention they trace the virus back to bad fruit poisoned by a bat that then was consumed by a pig that turned out to be Gweneth Paltrow’s dinner (and don’t think for one minute that stuck up vegan took on the role for any other reason than to showcase how meat will kill us all.) I had pork ribs for dinner that night.

In conclusion, we are all going to die wash your hand a lot, don’t touch your face, cough into your close, wash your hands some more, and if you feel particularly contagious stay away from society.

Thanks :)