Did I get your attention? I intended this to be a lighthearted post about Hub and me celebrating our 50th anniversary last week and all the fabulous sex we've had over the years...but this morning I tested positive for Covid again, so I'm bummed and not feeling like any sexy-time talk after all.
Remember when we all tried to guess what the "new normal" would look like post-pandemic? I think at this point in the 2-1/2 year (and counting) struggle with the pointy virus, the new normal is either having Covid, fear of getting Covid, and/or getting over Covid. Common denominator: Covid.
I know some people have completely moved on. No masks, no testing, no worries. Others still barely leave their homes, see almost no one, and fret constantly. Some get it and get super sick and die. Some get it and get sick enough to want to die, but don't. Some get it and get sick for a few days, then it passes. Some get it and never even know they had it.
The crackerjack CDC is doing its very best to stay on top of this conundrum , but lately seems to be taking at least part of its direction from a combination of scientists, politicians, and polling data. Their guidelines are confusing, ever-changing, and increasingly lax (Test positive? Isolate for 5 days, at which point go back to work or school, but wear a mask. Puhleeze!). The crisis of a collapsing health care system, ICU over-crowding, intubation equipment shortages, and tractor-trailer morgues is past. We are now just winging it, with the assumption that eventually everyone will get it and if you're vaxxed and boosted, you'll probably survive. There is no magical elixer, neither Paxlovid nor bleach, which will ward it off.
What Paxlovid does is knock the virus down so it can't overwhelm the immune system. That's a good thing. Symptoms abate rather quickly and negative tests seem to indicate the virus is gone! Done and dusted, thank you very much! But alas, even though the experts say "rebound" cases, post-Paxlovid therapy, are rare (1-2%) it seems to me, anecdotally, I'm hearing about this more and more. The virus gets knocked down but not knocked out. It can get off the mat and keep fighting, perhaps not at full strength, but not quitting either. (Prize-fight metaphor? I surprise myself...)
Dr. Anthony Fauci (Covid Guru and Voice of Reason and Expertise as well as Second Coming of Christ, OR, Paid Shill Devil Incarnate Deserving of Death Threats and Harassment to Himself and his Family, depending upon your political leanings) eventually got Covid and also a rebound after treatment. Same with our President, Joe Biden. Same with a friend of mine. Same with stories passed on social media of friends of friends and of strangers. Same with me. Today.
I don't know how long I've actually been positive. I just decided to test today as a curiosity because of my friend's rebound positive. I was shocked, angry, sad, and so frustrated to see that damn black positive line again. Especially when today I'm feeling pretty good; almost normal. Yesterday too. I actually now think that my two-in-a-row negative tests were just that the virus had been suppressed enough not to show up on a test, but still there, since a few days later I seemed to "relapse" with more lethargy again. But we chalked it up to researching that lethargy and cough can drag on for weeks and/or it could be a cold virus, and/or it could be allergies. All the symptoms are the same. My mistake was in not testing again and again. I thought the Paxlovid treatment, feeling better, and two negative tests a couple days apart meant I was over it, so I looked for other reasons for my renewed malaise. I maybe have been Covid-positive this whole time.
So, here we go again. Hub and I have been in constant (sometimes VERY close 😉) connection since my first negative test on 7/19. After my rebound positive this morning, he immediately tested: negative. He may be some medical anomaly worthy of study. Or his number just isn't up yet. But if this thing is so contagious that a mere couple of hours of breathing the same indoor air as my son gave it to me, why is Hub, so far, immune? Who knows? It's an arbitrary, wily, annoying, confounding, overwhelming, life-sucking little bugger and really wouldn't we all just prefer to talk about sex?
At least, that's the view from here...©
I'm so sorry you are having a bad time with Covid, especially since you got it for your anniversary. But look at you! 50th years is something worth celebrating.
ReplyDeleteYes! Thanks. 50 years is quite the milestone. As for Covid. Ugh! :(
DeleteSad and mad with you. Sorry to hear this news.
ReplyDeleteMy sister, who lives with us, got covid, so we all masked up, and she stayed in her room. She tested positive for 10 days, and finally yesterday, tested negative. But my husband and I haven't gotten it. Yet. We're all vaccinated, but none of us have had boosters. She only felt sick for two days, but kept testing positive, so she kept quarantining, and wore a mask. So strange.
ReplyDeleteIt is a strange virus. I'm really grateful for the vaccinations and boosters. I think that saves so many people from a worse fate if they get it. My husband is now the only one in the family who has not gotten it...in spite of being exposed to my son and then me. Go figure.
ReplyDelete