OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- An Oceanside woman has been through two bouts with a dangerous flu decades apart, 10News reported.

Gwen Lee considers herself a healthy person. She said she rarely gets sick, but whenever she does it seems like she's caught in a pandemic.

Recently, when Lee isn't grabbing for a tissue, she's grabbing a glass of water to stay hydrated.

"Miserable, just miserable," said Lee.

For the last month, Lee has been camped out in front of her TV, barely able to move.

Lee's first symptoms were fever, chills, body aches and pains. When she relayed all the symptoms to a doctor by phone, she was told it was likely she had the swine flu.

For Lee, who is uninsured, it was a feeling of disbelief.

It was in 1968 when Lee, then a 16-year-old high school student in Orange County, was anxious because she said, "A good third of the class was missing."

The last flu pandemic was the part bird flu, part swine flu combination known as the Hong Kong flu. It killed 1 million worldwide and swept through California. Lee was one of the many Californians who became ill.

"I had never been that sick for that long," said Lee.

Decades later, she is experiencing a familiar misery.

"The flu twice? No, that's crazy," said Lee.

Medical experts said catching the same flu strain in a year is tough, but it is not so tough when it is years apart.

"Influence proteins change every year, that's why we need a different vaccine every year," said Dr. Donald Herip of Palomar Pomerado Health.

Lee pointed out that she has been able to survive both battles, and some doctors 10News spoke to said they believe her exposure to the first flu may have made the swine flu milder, but that has not been scientifically proven.