Our outbreak started with a recall of beef and pork suspected of being contaminated with the toxoplasmosis parasite.This toxoplasmosis epidemic hit around the same time as the flu vaccine season got started. Although live vaccines don't cause disease in the people who get them because they are made with weakened viruses and bacteria, there is always a concern that someone with a severely weakened immune system could get sick after getting a live vaccine. That is why live vaccines are not given to people who have a weakened immune system.People who were infected with the toxoplasmosis parasite displayed symptoms of the influenza virus. So almost everyone thought we had a flu epidemic going around. People getting the flu vaccine already had a weakened immune system thus pushing them further into sickness with the live flu vaccine. This somehow sent the toxoplasmosis parasite into over drive and caused it to wreak havoc.This is the story of my family and how we are surviving this epidemic. We live in the South and we like to sit on the porch and drink sweet tea. We use the word "yall" in every sentence almost. We have a dreaded high humidly and summers that feel like you are baking in an oven. We live life at a slower pace, not because we are "slow" as some people think, but because we like to enjoy life and the pleasures it gives. We wave at everyone we see regardless of if we know them or not and we love our southern cooking. This is our story of how we are dealing with our new world.