Our region, as seen elsewhere is being given a heads-up that even before winter arrives, respiratory illnesses are on the rise. Not only have laboratory tests confirmed the earlier-than-normal presence of flu, but an increasing number of COVID infections, along with a third unusual appearance, that of respiratory syncytial virus, especially among young children. All hospitals are well over capacity, and are experiencing problems maintaining their emergency services, but our regional child-and-youth-centric hospitals are in a dire situation where they're asking general hospitals, themselves overworked and overcrowded, to admit child patients.

 

The public is being urgently urged to wait no longer in accessing flu shots and the COVID bivalent vaccine. Immunization is now available for children six months to two years in an effort to prevent the aggressive-spreading RSV virus from spreading even more. Vaccines are available through public health clinics on appointment, as well as doctors' offices and area pharmacies. We're just as glad we've taken action and updated all of our shots.

 

This afternoon, while we were in the ravine, we came across Nellie, whom we haven't seen in awhile. She was walking her dog Millie. Nellie was always kind of slightly built, but she's now rail-thin. Otherwise healthy, she assures us. Back in early spring of 1999 when COVID was beginning to have its worldwide impacts gaining its reputation as a pandemic, Nellie had just returned from a Florida trip with her husband when we came across them during one of our ravine hikes.

We wee already at that time seeing cases of COVID-19 all over North America. While Ontario wasn't doing too badly, Florida was being swamped with cases. I recall my unease as she enthusiastically told us about what an enjoyable time they'd had, how good it was to get away from winter  however briefly. I felt uncomfortable at her close physical proximity, as though she had no idea that prudent distances were being urged on people in their social interactions.

 

Her husband, I recall, was careful to stand back, courteously allowing us plenty of room between himself and where we stood. I worried for days afterward about that encounter, whether we might have been infected, waiting for symptoms to appear, but they never did. Eventually everyone gained more knowledge about best prevention strategies. 

The important one of course, was immunization, and Ontarians were pretty committed to being vaccinated, hoping to avoid infection, long before the entrance of the more infectious Omicron strain. Last winter, just entering the new year, we met up with Nellie. She was grim-faced as she told us her husband had died. A day after receiving his first vaccine, an Astra-Zeneca shot; she had been given Moderna, they had attended different clinics. Immediately that day he felt ill. It was known by then that reports were coming in that some people with heart problems were being adversely affected by some vaccines.

They called their doctor, he said rest was needed. A bad night followed and the morning hours had him so ill they called 911 and rushed him to hospital by ambulance. The attending doctor informed her later that her husband's heart had literally exploded. The team tending to him at the Heart Institute tried to save him but failed. This is not the kind of outcome that people anticipate can happen, trusting in science. But science can do only so much and people whose vital organs are compromised can be in dire straits when unusual things happen to place a burden of heavy strain on those organs.

 

A quiet conversation ensued between us. One of her sons still lives at  home and that's a support for her. She has always looked after herself; and she's doing that now, as well. What else can you do? she asks rhetorically. Millie no longer looks for the other half of her former companionship-trio. Whenever we come across her now and again, she appears to have retained her spirit of enthusiasm, even if muted. Nellie has done her best to absorb her loss but it's difficult. She smiles wanly, and we part.

 

It's been almost tropical-feeling today, so warm and though windy, humid. There was light overnight rain, and the cloud cover seemed determined place its lid on the sky, with occasional bursts of sun for brief intervals before the day set itself stolidly into a heavy overcast. But that's it, no more Indian Summer. Tomorrow we're back to an afternoon high of 11C. Compare that to today's 21C...

This unusual mild weather was brief but hugely appreciated. It hasn't stopped the trees from releasing their colourful foliage from bondage to their branches. Now, most of the deciduous  trees in the forest are bare or almost there. And the intense, eye-dazzling colours have given way to desiccated, dark remnants of once-glorious foliage, emptied from the crowns of  trees to the forest floor below.

 

This turned out to be a busy day with more accomplished than we realized would be the case. Yesterday we filled out all the forms required to secure appointments for each of us -- together -- to receive this flu season's vaccine. And because of our age we qualified for the 'super' vaccine. Which our own family doctor was unable to provide for us, since it was explained to us it just wasn't available; supply problems.

Strange this is. Our experience this past two years has been that the municipal health department which steadfastly urged residents to contact them to schedule for COVID vaccine appointments could give us only awkward time-place appointments and none too efficiently. Whereas, by calling our local pharmacies with far less bureaucracy we were able to secure the appropriate vaccines of our choice through the services offered by pharmacies.

 

Our appointment was for 1:40 this afternoon. Although when I was filling out all the 'paperwork' on line the question/offer arose to simultaneously receive the latest bivalent COVID/Omicron variant shots. Through Ottawa public health there was never a choice of manufacture, through the pharmacy there is. Since it's only been five months, not the required six between shots since we had our second booster, we bypassed that offer.

However, while we were awaiting our flu shot at the pharmacy, the matter of the COVID shot came up, and we were advised we could proceed with having it done as well. More paperwork, this time right at the pharmacy and in no time at all we were ushered into the little private booth used for the administration of vaccines and both were delivered to us. While we were 'waiting' afterward as requested before leaving we were given the print-out, and snuck out.

 

To another pharmacy in the same plaza which was advertising vitamins on sale; buy one, get 50% off a second. So that worked for Vitamin D3 and B12 and Aspirin. Two of each. We prefer 2500 IUs of D.

Then Irving went to the bank, and I delivered a few bags of clothing to our local Salvation Army thrift shop. Done!

The puppies were exuberant with gratitude to see us back again, and we promised them a romp through the ravine was in order, instanter. And that's where we found ourselves not long after our return home. No wasting such a magnificent weather day. The leaves down on the forest floor are fast fading to black and swiftly drying to that traditional crisp appearance that creates that crunch so familiar to us from our childhood. 

 

The acrid odour so redolent of fall, reflective of the drying leaf tannin took us back through the past where over so many years we roamed together through woodlands loving the sounds and smells and appearance of this season. We had always, together, valued any opportunity to immerse ourselves into a natural landscape, to walk at leisure and discover manifestations of 'natural' life left behind as ever more of our time graduated to an urban lifestyle.  Perhaps it's not surprising that in our elder years we gravitated to the best of all possible worlds; an urban/suburban domicile adjacent a natural forested ravine.