Covid — omigod!

Covid Positive

Well, I suppose it had to happen sooner or later. We have been very cautious about our exposure to others during this pandemic. We were well aware that going to the New Year's Day "Hair of the Dog" song swap on Sunday with a gang in Ottawa was bound to increase our exposure and risk. Nevertheless, we did go and it was fun ....

However, we were advised the next day, Monday afternoon, on our way home, that one of the musicians at the party was not feeling well that morning, had done a covid test, and it had come back positive. So we've been exposed. We're both in pretty good health (for our age) and fully vaccinated so the hope was that we really are "safe as houses" — but we're not. Unfortunately, on the way home we stopped in Belleville for lunch with Joan and Ron, they may be exposed as well.

Tuesday we had to do some running around (we had a plumber in for a water leak in the basement and had to get my car back on the road) but we stayed masked and cautious. By the evening I was feeling a bit off, with a tickle in my throat, so we slept apart with me in the basement. I had a tough night and by Wednesday morning it was clear I had something. I had a bit of a fever, my head and eyes were aching, I was hacking, coughing, and spitting up a lot of phlegm. A rapid covid test, using some of my abundant phlegm, came back positive for me, but negative for Kate.

Given my history with asthma and bronchitis I was particularly worried as I was already having some difficulty breathing. We called in to our doctor at the Happy Valley Family Health Team hoping to get a prescription for Paxlovid (the anti-viral) and an asthma puffer. In the interim I started a regime of fluids, Tylenol and Mucinex (which is an over the counter medication for congestion and phlegm). When the doctor had not called back (we did talk the next day) we remembered that pharmacies are now able to prescribe Paxlovid on their own. So we contacted our Jackson's Guardian Pharmacy, talked to one of the druggists, and got a prescription that they kindly delivered. I started immediately on this anti-viral.

By the next day, Thursday, I felt much better and the doctor did get in touch with me. I was out of bed reading the news paper at the time. He was confident that I was going to be fine given my progress over night, health history and vaccination status. He was even a bit skeptical about Paxlovid for most cases.  But he was happy to prescribe an asthma puffer, pleased that I was coming along and happy with the treatment regime. 

Through all of this Kate had oddly not tested positive (until today, Saturday afternoon) but has been having minor symptoms. Today she surely has it. This morning she has a very scratchy voice, a cough, she is tired, her head aches, etc. She's in bed resting as I write and now on the same Rx regime. We expect her to bounce back in a few days. She writes to a friend "I'm now feeling wretched (like I've been chewing on glass) and have finally tested positive. Reg has bounced back quickly — I'm hoping for the same."

We continue to lay low. We are well supplied and can reach out to our many friends if needs be. To all who have asked for an update: thanks for checking in, we're going to be well.

Ps. Kate says she's seen me with worse "man colds" over the years where I've been laying in bed sniffling and groaning for much longer. I'm fine, she's not but will be.