Swine flu victim speaks
Posted online: Jun 23rd, 2009
By Connla Young
A County Derry woman diagnosed with swine flu has told of how she thought health chiefs were “joking” when they broke the news.
Speaking exclusively to the County Derry Post, Maureen Kearney, from Gulladuff, County Derry, said she was told earlier this month she was the eighth person in the North to be diagnosed with the Swine Flu virus.
The 25-year-old was confirmed as a swine flu victim just days after returning from Florida with her husband Sean.
The pair jetted to the US a dream holiday last month to celebrate their first wedding anniversary.
But their delight turned to despair after Sean nearly drowned on Miami Beach the day before they were due to return home.
The 29-year-old spent three days on a life support machine as doctors battled to save his life.
Ina bizarre coincidence the couple live less than two miles from the first person in the North to be diagnosed with the vicious bug.
The Clady man was diagnosed with the bug last month, days after returning from honeymoon in Mexico.
Health officials last night refused to say if the two incidents of swine flu are linked.
In the first interview given by a swine flu victim in the North, Maureen told the County Derry Post she found it tough dealing with the reaction of members of the public.
“I went for a walk one evening and there was a group of women coming towards us and they walked to the other side of the road to avoid me,” she said.
“I’m not a disease, I’m not going to bite or smite you. I feel fine and I am allowed to leave the house.
“Nobody who was in close contact with me has shown any signs of the bug. People don’t have anything to worry about and it really is no worse than having the cold.”
Maureen last night said she felt no fear when she was told she had caught the bug.
“I am diabetic and my immune system is low and I catch all the infections that are going anyway,” she explained.
“And every time I go on a plane I get a chest infection. After I came back from Florida I felt a bit off. I had a runny nose and sore throat and was bit chesty.
“I thought it was just the usual after a long flight but I went to the doctors and he asked where I had been. The doctor took samples just in case and then a couple of days later I got the call to tell me I had Swine Flu.
“I thought it was a joke to be honest. I checked on the internet before we went to Florida and there were no cases of swine flu there.”
Being placed under house quarantine by health chiefs has been difficult Maureen admits.
“I didn’t really feel all that ill with it,” she said.
“I wasn’t lying on the sofa with blankets around me or anything like that. But I had to stay indoors and that was tough.
“I had to take a course of Tamiflu, as did Sean, although he was allowed to come and go. Having to stay inside wasn’t great and having to watch people place groceries at your back door step and leave wasn’t pleasant either. We had a rough time in America and to come home to this wasn’t nice.”