Have you gotten your flu shot? Forgive me for asking so bluntly, but it's an issue that has become pretty important to me the last few years.

I have rheumatoid arthritis, which is an autoimmune disorder. My immune system, for reasons I don't understand, has decided to attack me. Maybe it's angry at the way I treated it in my youth or maybe it's some sneaky agent of karma for bad decisions I am yet to make. Maybe it's because my grandmother had it. Maybe it's just confused and got lost on its way to ... no, I don't actually think anyone deserves illness. But no matter why it has chosen to do it, I choose to fight back.

I'm on a variety of medications, one of which is a weekly injection of an immunosuppressant (it's actually a low-dose chemo drug) that has really made a difference in my quality of life. But it puts me at risk for every bug going around. While there's not much I can do about the cold or stomach bugs or the occasional infection, I can do something about the flu.

I get the flu shot.

And I'm asking you to get it too. I look healthy. So do people with lupus, HIV, many kinds of cancer, preemie babies -- anyone with a compromised immune system.
Your health is a gift you can give to all of us with jacked immune systems (and there are more of us than you likely know). So I'm asking. Straight up. Please, get a flu shot. #getvaccinated #fightflu
Feel free to message me any questions, and I'll be happy to answer. Or check out Immunize Nevada for info from actual medical professionals. I only play one on the Internet. (-;