Two and a half years ago I wrote a whimsical story about a frantic search for toilet paper. I was living in Asheville, North Carolina in the United States of America at the time. The worldwide Covid -19 plague had just arrived in the USA and there was panic buying of toilet paper, causing a supply shortage.
At the beginning of the plague, we were led to believe that we needed to stock up on food supplies for a few weeks and that we should make it through. It would be over quickly.
Quarantines were ordered. Wearing a mask was required. Schools were closed. “Non-essential” businesses were shuttered. “Social distancing” was started along with testing to see how far up your nose a sample could be taken before the torture caused your eyes to tear up.
We were experiencing something right out of the Middle Ages… not just torture but the start of a worldwide pandemic.
A “few weeks” led to months of quarantine and isolation. People turned to technology. We ordered food over the Internet and delivery was “contactless.” Social contact required learning how to “Zoom.” Kids began taking school classes online. Like it or not, parents often became teachers. Some businesses benefitted from the quarantine like selling exercise equipment while others closed forever. I decided to move to Florida!
Vaccines were developed and received “emergency use authorization.’ That meant that the plague was so bad that it was better to authorize and use the largely untested “vaccines” rather than have people die. The vaccines were initially effective in preventing death or hospitalization but the virus had a trick up its sleeve and mutated.
Now, more than two years later and with over one million deaths in the USA alone, Covid is still with us. The virus that causes Covid has modified into new variants and like influenza will probably be a part of human existence forever.
Numerous questions remain as to the exact means that the virus developed. It is certain that it began in China. We may never know if an experiment went out of control or how exactly the plague began.
Testing for Covid became routine in the USA and much of the world. I have been tested 19 times so far during the past two and one-half years. I have received two injections of the mRNA vaccine and one booster jab. 17 of my test results were negative but test number 18 became problematic when I tested positive. I was a “breakthrough” case of Covid which meant that the virus had broken through my inoculation barrier.
Test #18 was in a hospital emergency room. Two days prior, I had been in the same ER complaining of a bad cough and dizziness. Test #17 was negative for the virus and I was sent home and told to return if I got worse. It got worse. The cough deepened and I had a fever. Because I have heart disease, I was considered to be “high risk” for very serious illness or even death from Covid complications, I was admitted to the hospital for treatment.
My treatment plan centered on receiving a daily intravenous dose of an antiviral drug called Remdesivir. I received three units in total. Many others who had Covid required more units. I was grateful that after my three units I was able to go home for further rest and recuperation and continue to spit up yellow junk. Make no mistake about it, Covid really sucked all the energy out of my body and rest was essential to recovery.
On the final day in the hospital, I began having hiccups every 3-5 seconds. This annoyance continued after I was home. Various home remedies were tried but finally eating Peppermint Patties stopped my hiccups and I was able to sleep better. My friend Janice Johnson recommended peppermint and I keep a supply handy.
In subsequent days Covid’s symptoms disappeared except I had continuing fatigue. Then one night at the end of the fourth week after all this began, I had a fever that I couldn’t bring down. Another trip to the hospital ER was warranted only to find that I had what is called “Rebound” Covid. Covid test #19 came back positive.
With a new positive test result, I was sent home to isolate for 3 to 5 days to rest and recuperate. I temporarily lost my senses of smell and taste. Scheduled appointents were rescheduled. Delivery of my furniture was once again postponed. I felt like what a ghoul must feel like. I walked like I was right out of the horror movie “Night of the Living Dead.”
Many people around the world have been praying for me. I know that my recovery is in God’s hands. Today is day 3 of my isolation. If I don’t have a fever today or for two more days, I can return to normal.
Fort Myers, Florida, is a small city in the United States of America. When I was a child, my memory of it was where the Pittsburgh Pirates conducted their professional baseball “Spring Training.” The Pirates have long gone north on the Gulf of Mexico coast to Bradenton, Florida.
Barry's Adventures Following Retirement 