I am into the 5th day of a bout of flu

I did get the flu shot but this variant of the virus snuck through anyway

Its not been a smooth ride but I am now seeing the light on the other side

I have been reflecting on the worst moments and how my wife helped mitigate them

The joint and muscle pain was very uncomfortable but Tylenol took the edge off it

My wife has a huge supply which she dispensed every 6 hours like clockwork

There were no issues in taking that medication

Next was the fever which started mild on day 1

But seemed to be more severe on Day 2

My trusty digital thermometer was pulled from the bathroom drawer

I lay back with the probe under my tongue for ages waiting for the beep

No beep sound and the display indicated low battery

My darling wife rushed out to buy a new battery

She came back with a new thermometer

Saying it was about the same price as a pack of batteries

She left the thermometer by my bed for me to use

It was still in the thick clear plastic packaging

I looked for a way to open it with a hinge or door

It appeared to be welded shut all around

I had to cut open the thick plastic with scissors

Not an easy task when you are feeling like crap with a fever

I eventually got the packaging to release its prisoner

My temperature reading was 101.4F

I may have gone up a degree while struggling with that stupid packaging

On day 2 I had an annoying chesty cough which got progressively worse

I started taking cough syrup every 12 hours from a part used bottle

I finished that bottle on Day 3 but my darling wife came to the rescue again

She had already bought back up supplies 

I tried to open the new bottle but the cap would not turn

It was covered in a sort of shrink wrapped tamper proof cover

With no visible tear off strip to open it

After 5 minutes of fumbling and broken fingernails I reached for the scissors

That shrink wrap was so tight it was a struggle to find an edge 

Eventually I got the scissor blade to cut through it without lacerating my finger

Only to find the cap spun freely and would only open when pushed down hard

Not an easy task when you are not on your top form

Imagine how difficult this packaging saga would be for somebody with arthritis 

Why do they make it so difficult the get into these products

Sick people should not need to solve Rubik cubes and escape room clues to open medication