Melissa Lockwood of Mansfield says the flu virus hit her family quick and hard this year.
"It's like everyone says, 'you feel like you got hit by a bus.'"
Lockwood says she went to sleep with what she thought was just a sore throat and woke up with the flu.
"I woke up the next morning with 100-degree temperature, started feeling really bad, by 2 o’clock, [it] was at a 103.9 fever and [I] could barely function. I was misearable," said Lockwood.
Lockwood's not alone. Dallas County Health officials say there's an increase of flu cases this week.
"We’re seeing an uptick in flu cases. We’re seeing an uptick in people going to emergency rooms due to flu complications," said Zach Thompson, Dallas County Health Director.
Thompson says that's not unusual for this time of the year since late February is the middle of the flu season.
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"Those who have taken flu shots have done very well," said Thompson.
Getting a flu shot is something Lockwood has made it a point to do every year, until this one.
"I always get the flu shot and this year, didn’t have a reason to go to the doctor and forgot to do it," she said.
Lockwood's husband and 20-year-old daughter also came down with a bad case of the virus. Her 16-year-old daughter was the only one who was spared.
"Three out of four of us at our house," said Lockwood.
Three weeks after her diagnosis, Lockwood says she is finally feeling better. She says she will never, ever miss getting a flu shot again.
"Now I’m a believer, because I don’t ever want to feel that way, again. It knocked me out," said Lockwood.
While the number of flu cases is increasing, Dallas County health officials say the number of flu-related deaths is at a dramatic low. Last year, Dallas County had nineteen flu-related deaths. This year they only report having one.
