Wednesday, January 19, 2022

The Nile…

 is more than a long rive in Africa. 

Recently I had a dose of Covid breakthrough de-nial. 

I hadn’t been feeling right.

Here were my symptoms:

  1. Occasional dry cough and wet sneeze. This created instant social distancing and personal space.
  2. Raspy voice. No,I don’t sound sexier.
  3. Congestion  minus the green slime.
  4. Incredible thirst. I’m drinking two gallons of water per day instead of one. 
  5. Fatigue, but not enough to slow me down much.
  6. Increased tinnitus. There’s an orchestra of clanging cymbals inside my head.
  7. Chills 
 


At first I attributed these maladies to going from the dry warmth of Snobsdale back to Durango winter to toasty and humid Florida. All this motion within 72 hours. When I arrived in Florida to see brother Mike and sister-in-law Robin I was ill. (They both had breakthrough Covid and were past the contagious stage). 



In a day or two, I said to Mike, “I think I have Covid. There’s no allergens in the air and this isn’t acting like a typical cold.” 

Mike reassured me, “Jeff you would know it if it were Covid. It really hit us.”

After a sleepless night due to being nervous, very nervous the best brother in the world administered an at-home test for me. The results were negative. I was relieved but still felt unsure. No cold ever treated me this way.



The above symptoms continued. 

When I returned to Durango, I discovered four of my neighbors had come down with breakthrough Covid. Sort of like “Bang! Zoom! To the moon Moderna, Pfizer and J&J vaccines!” (Apologies to Ralph Kramden for the semi-quote.) The trifecta of vaccines were no match for the Oooooommmmmicrom variant. 

I happened upon Molly out walking her dogs. She’s a nurse, neighbor and one of the afflicted. 

I asked her what her symptoms for breakthrough Covid were. She nearly repeated all of mine including the unquenchable thirst. I told her about my negative Vid test. “The tests aren’t perfect for Omicron. There’s lots of false negatives.” 

BINGO! 

My breakthrough Covid hasn’t been debilitating. It’s been more annoying than anything . I’m now in Organ Pipe National Monument on the border of AZ/Mexico. I’m camping and hiking.I’m indulging in Happy Hour. I’m doing what I usually do. It’s been a hassle but it’s better than being attached to a ventilator in an ICU.




I’ll survive. 

Last photo: I’m not ready to be buzzard bait yet. Once again, I dodged the great inevitable.
I still trust the science behind the vaccines. The one thing we seem to be certain of is the uncertainty of Covid. Don’t be a long river in Africa. 

Our parents were right. Health is our greatest wealth. 
Jeff 












2 comments:

  1. Sounds like you definitely may have had Covid. I had a friend, who tested negative twice and positive on the third. Due to similar symptoms of yours, I went to urgent care and received a rapid COVID-19/FLU A&B/RSV PCR Test. It came back negative and I was told the tests were 98% accurate. Whew, whew, whew! I read in the news (hmmm, fact or fiction?) that data is being collected to find out if people can have a repeat infection of Omicron. It appears there's a possibility and the body doesn't necessarily build up enough anti-bodies from the first infection. With that, stay safe, continue to feel better, enjoy deep breaths of fresh desert air and enjoy the covid-free vastness.

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  2. Amazing how you still could travel that long distances !
    My whole family had a breakthrough while they were on a sailing trip…and it wasn’t reason enough to return earlier.And their hometests were negative.After they had their test results from an official place it was positive.Hopefully the new test that are being sent to our addresses include Omicron,so we all can more rely on it!
    Hopefully you feel like well again and can enjoy your travels!!!

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