Robert Gale Ongley

Tag: Covid-19

  • A WAVE FROM THE OTHER SIDE (OF COVID, THAT IS)

    Well, it happened. I came down with a formidable illness and a week later I tested positive for COVID-19. I had taken a few risks since March of last year and skated through. I mostly followed quarantine protocols, though. Christmas presented a couple significant exposures, but it’s really unknown how I got it. I was definitely sick in a way that was different from anything I’d ever experienced before, so the positive test result wasn’t really a surprise, but it was nonetheless a shock. I thought I might have it, but the actual confirmation of being in the throes of the dreaded virus was a surreal development I could not easily accept.

    It All Started When…

    On or about New Year’s Day, I noticed I had chills. I was also coughing more than usual. The fact is, I’d been struggling for months with a mostly morning routine of having to clear my throat a lot and it usually culminated with a less than satisfying cough. So, the increased coughing and dry tendency of it didn’t mean that much. The fever got my attention, though. I had hardly developed a temperature in my life, so that seemed significant. I started taking my temperature at home, but for the first few days it was mainly in the 99-100 degree range. Unfortunately, it persisted and climbed up to 100.7 at one point. I started feeling pretty miserable with very low energy. It felt like influenza, but I have had the flu only a few times and I had received a flu shot as a precaution in November.

    I called the NurseLine provided by my health insurance carrier. I hadn’t really sunk into the depths yet and after a thorough conversation about my condition, the nurse didn’t think I needed further evaluation yet. My temperature was still in the 90s, the cough was still light and no other symptoms had surfaced. After a couple more days, however, my worsening condition prompted another NurseLine call. Now they recommended contacting my primary care physician’s office, who then set me up for a virtual examination the next day. The nurse practitioner there interviewed me and suggested a Covid test. I went in that day, January 8th. On the 10th, a Sunday, the nurse practitioner called me with the results. I was infected.

    Moanin’ and Groanin’

    By that time, my sickness was peaking. I didn’t know that, though. I was feeling plenty bad–that I did know. The fever was over 100. Chills and occasional sweating made me keep wrapped up almost constantly. I was moving slow and with tremendous effort, as extreme fatigue had set in. Sitting down and getting up or sometimes just changing position elicited a moan or groan. My muscles and joints ached. On top of that, my skin felt overly sensitive to the touch. It was as though the nerve endings were inflamed and touch might set my body on fire. A touch of diarrhea, a runny nose and a lack of appetite made my misery complete. Oh, and one more thing. Intermittently, I had bluish-colored hands up to the middle of my fingers.

    What I Didn’t Have

    There was good news in this ordeal. Shortness of breath never became an issue. I was worried that it would be, considering I’ve had some minor shortness of breath occasionally due to atrial fibrillation. My heart and lungs performed admirably while the virus was taking up residence in my body. I never lost my senses of taste and smell either. I was fortunate to be spared a sore throat and headaches as well.

    The Creative Well Went Dry

    Not surprisingly, my daily writing and guitar practice fell by the wayside. I had no energy for it. I gave myself permission to leave the creative work alone. My hopes to finish the first draft of my current novel by the end of January were dashed. Oh well. I did facilitate a memoir writers group zoom meeting the first weekend, but I bowed out of the one the following weekend. I was back on the job the third weekend, though.

    Feeling Blessed

    Our country’s death toll has surpassed 400,000 now and worldwide the related deaths are calculated in excess of 2,000,000. The numbers may be rising faster than ever. We may just now be peaking, so there is still much suffering ahead. Hopefully, vaccines will stem the tide this year.

    I count myself truly fortunate to have survived this virus as well as I did. Considering I am in a high-risk category due to age and prior conditions, I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. Approximately 20 days out since my first symptoms, I feel pretty much 100% recovered. May I be forever immune going forward! And may all of you in this orbit be the same. Now that would be an ideal outcome.

  • STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS UNDER QUARANTINE

    I don’t have to be anywhere. Being somewhere is dangerous, though being randomly somewhere still means the odds are in my favor. I’m reminded I’m hungry. Should I go out, take out, eat in, all in one fell swoop? Perhaps I should eat my safe food, prepared by my safe washed hands. I look in the freezer, where I find three courses deposited there in 2019. That’s the ticket, I think smugly.

    Consuming Food and Television

    With my plate of lentils and Jaipur vegetables and extra clean hands, I click on cable news to continue my preoccupation with the silently yet screamingly fast spreading virus. I hear we’re testing more than anyone else while I read on the scrolling text that we rank 41st among nations for amount of tests done per million citizens.

    I get off the news and on a talk show with a studio audience that was live a year ago. Hopefully, they’re alive to watch it today. My mind is filled with ignorant bliss. The glee of the celebrity-luminated crowd strikes me as sad. They’re like passengers on a train to nowhere. Well, on a train on a collision course with another train. Their collective future is filled with anxious uncertainty and they don’t know it.

    Life on the Internet

    My coronavirus-addled mind finds little relief in the cascade of related posts reflecting the shock, bewilderment and irony of these bizarre times. There are the political posts, the religious posts and the new weird reality posts. I take comfort in those that offer peace and love. I enjoy the occasional comic relief. Reminders of our formerly normal lives are a refreshing change until I reflect upon the loss of any normal for the time being.

    My daily foray into the ESPN website takes me down a rabbit hole into a whole other version of outlandish. I routinely feed on scores, standings and unfolding seasons across the sports landscape. No playoffs…no Opening Day…one big horse race in Florida with no one in attendance.

    I’m getting no stats from the games, so I go for the pandemic results. How are we doing locally? More cases and the rate of cases is increasing daily now. How are we looking statewide? Deaths are mounting. The national case numbers are now charging in on 200,000 and deaths are over 4000. The graphs are shooting skyward. It’s a good thing anxiety isn’t one of the symptoms or we’d all have to be tested now.

    Meditation

    I need to clear my mind, slow down the thought parade, get present and find a little peace in my heart. I sit, start my breathing technique, still unfocused. Thoughts pass through, such as…it’s chilly in here…my legs feel good…the dogs want out, wife’s got it…still anxious…what are my latest odds of dying from the virus…yeah, but I’m very resistant to viruses my whole life…dogs barking, wanting in…wife let the dogs in, but I didn’t hear the door shut…song in my head, I Scare Myself…“I scare myself, and I don’t mean lightly…I scare myself, and it can get frightening”…concentrate…breathing…breathing…feeling peace…bliss…and so it is.

    Hope

    I need to work on my to-do list. I pull it up on my screen. I hadn’t noticed in the last year how long that list is getting. Nearing two full pages, single-spaced for the most part. It’s loosely organized into sections, starting with the oldest tasks and working toward the newest. There are auto repairs, home repairs, book marketing ideas, self-improvement techniques. The last section is the only one I’ve worked recently. There are repeats because I forget I listed them years ago. Hey, I find one that’s done. I’m down to 75 things left to do! I see I’m making progress on some other things.

    So many people I communicate with show genuine concern for the basic health of others…there’s a palpable feeling among us all that we’re in this fix together…I see it in their eyes, hear it in their voices…I notice I haven’t heard any complaining from those brave people in the essential businesses who are serving the rest of us…I find hope in our humanity, which always rises to the top in times of crisis.

    Most importantly, we need to reach out while we’re sheltering. Phone calls, emails, texts and postings are all good. Even better would be helping those organizations that have a solid history of helping others in need. They will be out there doing what needs to be done. One of those is Project Hope, a 60-year old non-profit that works on the front lines of health challenges around the world. It has earned the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance’s highest ranking. Supporting them and others as we can generates hope in a very real physical sense.

    We’ll get through this. Excellent health to you all!

  • NOBODY TOLD ME THERE’D BE DAYS LIKE THESE

    Covid-19

    That’s a quote from a John Lennon song written in 1976. The title is actually Nobody Told Me. The first refrain of the song goes:

    Nobody told me there’d be days like these. Nobody told me there’d be days like these. Nobody told me there’d be days like these. Strange days indeed. Most peculiar Mama.

    Prophetic words by Mr. Lennon, seen from our 2020 perspective. What was so strange in 1976 that inspired these lyrics? Nixon was gone, the Vietnam War was over–both good things. A look back at the top stories of the year gives us little information as to why those were strange days.

    The Year That Was

    The civil war ended in Lebanon. The United States celebrated its bicentennial. Jimmy Carter was elected President. Viking landed on Mars. String theory was first postulated by Thomas Kibble. A mysterious disease struck an American Legion convention in Philadelphia, eventually killing 29 people. There it is–the connection to 2020 and truly strange times.

    The Virus Nightmare

    There have been many virus outbreak movies and TV series. They have effectively shown us how deadly these viruses can be. One such film is Outbreak, made in 1995. Many since give us a look at a future when a pandemic has destroyed life as we know it. An apocalypse is something we’re getting accustomed to witnessing on our screens. It can really happen! And we know it. The potential that it could be happening now has taken hold throughout our country and across the globe.

    How bizarre to have entire sections of our grocery stores taking on the look of the bleak markets in the U.S.S.R. Who would have guessed we couldn’t get toilet paper, dish soap, or vinegar at a major supermarket? The mere threat of exposure to a virus that has a high recovery rate and had infected less than one-tenth of one percent of the United States population was enough to shut down major events, professional sports leagues and March Madness! We have hunkered down, closed restaurants and bars and the doors of our churches. The global economy is apparently in recession and it could be severe.

    I’ve seen video of people brawling over hand sanitizer. Price gouging has begun on the products we most need. The government is working on a two-trillion dollar bail-out for workers and companies who’ve seen major business disruption. And we’ve only just begun. The predictions are that this is going to get much worse before it gets better. I heard that our social distancing will likely last another 10-12 weeks. What if people in our neighborhoods start dropping like flies? What if shortages continue or even get significantly worse? It could be a true nightmare beyond the scope of movies and TV shows.

    Panic of 1857

    What Not to Do

    Don’t panic…under any circumstances. Others suffer when you panic and you will suffer if others panic. While it makes sense for people to stock up on life’s necessities in preparation for a self-quarantine, it doesn’t make sense to hoard huge supplies that result in others’ shortages.

    Don’t practice denial when you have real symptoms of COVID-19. It may be scary, but pretending you’re not having signs of the illness will leave you open to the ultimate cost.

    Don’t use your President as a source of medical information. When he says a drug may be an effective treatment, don’t end up like the couple in Arizona that drank a solution with that compound in it. One died and the other is in critical condition as this is being written.

    So What to Do?

    Let me begin with a disclaimer. I’m not a doctor or in the medical field at all. I’ve gathered some information by reading, by listening to various sources and by accumulation of experience. However you choose to protect yourself from this virus or to treat the virus is your responsibility and your decision.

    The most important thing is to follow the recommendations given us all by the Center for Disease Control. Isolate yourself as much as possible, properly wash those hands often and leave them off your face. If you don’t already know all their suggestions, access the information on their website or find it by the method you prefer. Seek and ye shall find.

    Many months ago, I read an article in Natural Awakenings about something that can wipe out bacteria and virus before it can develop into a cold or influenza. It’s copper. It said that at the first awareness of a cold or fever blister, rub pure copper in and around the nostrils or on the tingling spot on the lips for 60 seconds, repeating later as needed. This will kill the virus quickly if it hasn’t moved further into the body. I’ve had only one cold and one fever blister since applying this technique. The National Institutes of Health and American Society for Microbiology have corroborated the virus neutralizing properties of copper. I have no information on whether it works on COVID-19, but you could give it a try while also making sure to follow all instructions from the CDC and your doctor.

    Support

    Stay positive. Most of us will probably make it through this strange moment in time. Hopefully, we’ll be stronger for it. It’s vital that we are here for each other as a unified community no matter what befalls us. Be well, brothers and sisters.