COVID - Day Six: Returning to the World

It's day six and, according to my doctor and (apparently) the CDC, I can rejoin society as long as I wear a mask. Yay! The problem is, of course, my wife and I still have to be in separate rooms and if I sit on her sofa, which is also currently her bed, then I risk contaminating her. Also, she has now come down with what we think is a cold (she has tested negative for the 'Rona), so now SHE could get ME sick.

I tell ya, the universe, man. It really loves to kick people when they're down.

So, after a week off where very little got done, I am not supposed to return to work, but wear a mask the whole time. Which means, as I may have said in another blog post, I will actually see and be around the people at work more than I was able to be my own wife for the entire week I was sick. Can someone tell me why life never seems to make any goddamn sense?

Now comes the worry about the long-lasting symptoms. Probably a little too early, but I have heard from friends who have had this and they, within the first 90 days, have back-slid and come down with fevers and recurrence of symptoms. I have another friend who has been out of it for over a month and he still runs out of breath and gets hacking coughing attacks. I can already tell when I get stressed to work and strain too hard, I also run out of breath and get very tired.

Looks like I could also randomly spike a fever. I could also get brain fog (granted, I got that regularly BEFORE COVID, so...). I might get dizziness, headaches, stomach pains. Now I sound like one of those medication commercials where they list all of the side effects, right?

I am already diabetic and have high blood pressure, so now I have to worry about what long term COVID effects will have on any of that, too. I have to admit, when I first got sick, I did not lose my sense of taste, but I noticed my appetite was not that great. As time went on, that got better. Given that it was the holidays and I was already pissed off I wasn't able to even share it with my wife, I indulged in some sweets probably more than I would have otherwise.

Yesterday, I managed to take the dogs for long walks and get the Christmas decorations up, and got to 10,000 steps for the first time in days. Today, it's raining and I have to head out to run errands, so we'll see how I feel at the end of the day.

I guess, tomorrow, I will return to the office. I have never felt more disconnected from what is happening there the entire two-plus years I have worked there. Somehow I have to get caught up and maybe even give presentation to clients. Presentations where I talk the entire time, during a time when I might easily run out of breath or need to sit down.

It amazes me there are MAGA idiots out there who still think COVID is not real. Or they think they shouldn't ever have to wear masks. They don't believe in vaccines. These complete and utter morons think they can build "natural immunity" and would rather not believe in the science. These same morons who support the biggest idiot, racist, homophobic, white supremacist dildo this nation has ever produced, think they know better than scientists and doctors.

I would not have gotten through this as unscathed as I have without the vaccines and boosters. Had this hit me before that, I can almost guarantee I would have ended up in the ICU with a ventilator. Instead, I got locked in a bedroom for 14 days and went a little stir crazy. I also wrote a story, have planned out a few others, and kept my website updated.

I'd rather that, than believe I know better than science. Get vaxxed, people. Take it seriously. Be well.