Anne Marie Tiernon/Eyewitness News
Greenwood - An Indiana family has first-hand knowledge of how devastating H1N1 flu can be to a family.
The Matis family watched over their son in a hospital bed. They were shocked how quickly the virus set in.
"I consider myself a normal person and would, prior to our son getting swine flu, kind of dismissed it as something happening somewhere else," said Joe Matis.
This summer, sickness settled in at the Matis home.
"I'm positive I caught it on the airplane on the way home from Canada," Matis said.
"I had a fever I had never experienced before. I had probably three comforters on me and was freezing until 7, until 2 in the morning, woke up and the fever was gone," said Matis' wife, Leah.
"It kicked me in the butt, really. Took me about a day and it was a 24-hour thing," Joe Matis said.
But for the couple's then 12-month-old son, Joey, it was much worse.
"He got exactly what my wife and I had, I am positive of that," Joe Matis said. "Just being so little, he couldn't fight it off as well."
"His fever was so bad, it wasn't any other symptoms. It was just a high fever," Leah Matis said.
The couple rotated giving Joey Tylenol and Motrin at doctor's orders, but then their son stopped eating and drinking and had a fever of 103 degrees.
"No tears when he was crying and that is when the doctor said this is more serious than we can handle, let's go ahead and Lifeline him to Riley," Leah Matis said. "So as far as they were all concerned, we all had it, but my son was the only one diagnosed."
Joey is better now, but his parents want to warn others to pay attention to a fever over 100 degrees and act quickly. If in 24 hours if the fever doesn't subside, get a nasal flu swab. If you are positive for influenza Type A, doctors can start anti-virals immediately.
"It's going around, but people handle it differently than others. Some people can kick it and others can't," Leah Matis said.
You can get the first seasonal flu shots in Indiana starting Tuesday, September 1.