Galveston, TX., Sept. 29, 2009~

Howdy from the Gulf Coast!  It's me, Teeka!

Hope this finds y'all in fine fettle, as they say 'round here; I'm doing okay.  Not great, but I'm hanging in there.  Things around our house aren't that good. 

The reason I say that is this:  My littlest brother, G-Man, is in the hospital; he has the swine flu.  He is very sick.  It's the kind that affects the lungs; he's in the Intensive Care.  Mama and daddy have been at the hospital with him while I take care of Tyler, who is my other little brother.  Emrika and Hydeiah, my older sisters, help me, which I appreciate. 

G-Man was fine until the other day:  he started having trouble breathing and coughing up blood, so mama took him to the E.R.  They admitted him, ran tests on him.  They thought he had pneumonia; tests came back negative, so they did a swine flu test instead.  Turns out that's exactly what he has.  He is in isolation; nobody can see him unless they put on special gowns, gloves, surgical masks and wash their hands thoroughly. 

If people come sick, they cannot enter or go to the hospital (unless it's to the Emergency Room for treatment).  Period. 

I have been praying like there is no tomorrow.  I pray G-Man recovers; this swine flu business is scary stuff!!

I pray we don't get it.  So far we haven't, but you never know.  Until then, we can't go to school; we're under quarentine, as a family member had swine flu, and we were all exposed to it.

While my friends go to school, my sisters, brother, and myself have to find ways to entertain ourselves.  Mama and daddy have been staying at the hospital with G-Man, calling us every day with an update on his condition. So far, he's holding his own; however, they don't know how he will come through. 

He could still die.  It's that serious.

I don't know how G-Man got the swine flu.  He hasn't been around any pigs! 

Maybe a kid at their school had it and he got exposed to it; they say this flu is highly contagious.  Doctors are advising everyone to get a flu shot (preferably the one with the medicine called Tamiflu; they say that works against this type of flu), and no coughing into your hands without washing them immediately thereafter/no rubbing the eyes/stay away from people who are coughing, etc., because it could be the swine flu.

I see people walking around town wearing surgical masks.  It's really eerie; it's like something out of a science fiction movie.  It's very terrifying, especially since my little brother happens to be those who have it and is now very sick in the hospital.

I try to keep my mind busy or to stay positive; it's hard, though, because we don't know if G-Man is going to live or die as a result of this flu.  The last time we talked to mama (yesterday evening), she said he was still in critical condition and breathing with a respirator.  She said that the doctors put him in a coma so he could rest.  It really sounded bad; when I heard that I cried.

I still cry whenever I think of my little brother lying there, needles and tubes in him, not knowing a thing, because they have him knocked out cold.  I'm sure he's hooked up to all kinds of machines and wires; he probably looks like some of the people I've seen on those medical programs like "House" or "E.R."

I would write more, but the phone's ringing.  Maybe it's mama or daddy calling with another update on G-Man.  I hope it's much better news; I hate this waiting and not knowing what's going to happen in the future!  Please be praying for our family, but especially for G-Man; he really needs a miracle!  I'd greatly appreciate it!

(((HUGS))) and much love, your friend in Galveston, Teeka Da'Shae'.  :(  *tears*