My Turn for Covid
After spending a long time working on covid statistics and analyzing where it is all headed, it finally came to me. Unfortunately, not the answer as to when this pandemic will finally end. Not at all. Oh, how I wish.
What came to me was a positive covid test. It is finally my turn for covid.
Of course, until now I’ve been fortunate and lucky. Or as my friends and family have said – I’m just too stubborn to get sick.
I have taken care of my wife who had covid and didn’t get it. I was around different family members who had covid and didn’t get it. And I have survived too many others wandering around with covid in general. After all, I have known quite a few who went out into the world even when they knew they were positive.
So with the numbers down from earlier this year and being able to be vaccinated, I had become a little less cautious. I have not worn a mask in a long time, even when I venture out into the crowds of crazies I’ll call shoppers. They are everywhere. Not my favorite thing when things are all well in the world. But that’s another story. But for just a few moments, I joined the crowd and pretended that all was well in the world and might just stay that way. I even did this as my own data continues to show that how good things seem is just an illusion at best.
Because of this, yesterday we joined my wife’s sister and her husband for a meal at a local restaurant. It was the first time we had been able to get together in a long time. It was enjoyable and nice. And we pledged to get on with our lives soon and make dining out the norm it used to be.
But of course, the reality of the continued pandemic had not revealed itself. We cut the meal a little shorter than anyone wanted. Not because of covid or anything. Not even to accommodate those waiting for a table. I just needed to head over to my local Walgreens to get a covid screening test. See, I needed it to prove I was negative before a scheduled colonoscopy the next day. After shoving the swab up my nose for what seemed like the hundredth time, my wife and I did a little more shopping before we headed home.
About an hour later I got an email saying that the efficient people at Walgreens had finished my test. I could get online and print out my ticket to allow me to get my colonoscopy. Oh, joy. From one object shoved up my nose to another shoved where the sun don’t shine.
Surprise. Surprise. It read that I was positive. And given the type of test it was, the probability of it being a false positive was pretty remote.
So here it is the next day. I have started to have some mild symptoms – body aches, nasal drainage, a little lung congestion, etc. Hey, but at least I was able to delay my colonoscopy. So a silver lining. Except for one thing. I need that test because of some other serious issues I’m having.
For now, I am just thankful that it is mild. I am also thankful that everyone else I’ve been in close contact with have tested negative – at least for now. Ironically that list was long since we had the first good family Thanksgiving in years. I’m also thankful that my wife and I live in a house that allows me to isolate and protect her. I am also thankful that I have good health care available to me – a blessing too few have in a country that is this bountiful.
But we will see how the next few days progress. But for now, yes, I’m thankful.
By the way, I am fully vaccinated and boosted. However, I am immunocompromised. So my reliance on the vaccines has always been less than optimistic. I have to rely on those around me being willing to take one for the team and get the vaccines too. The same is true for the flu shot – one vaccine my doctors won’t let me get. So for my own safety, I also have to rely on others to be gracious enough to get their own vaccines to prevent the spread to me. Now I will get to find out my own reality of covid. But on the plus side, if I get through this, I can add a little natural immunity to the vaccines. A little extra protection. But who knows. We’ll see what I can write tomorrow.
Choose joy.
Also posted at Covid With Lime.