As your friendly neighborhood vampire, I figured I would eventually get exposed and have to personally deal with COVID19, I didn't expect it to be over the Independence Day holiday.
My experience since this began, had been like many others on here. I have participated in discussions and truly appreciate all the insight from the medical doctors.
I've been popping Dr.Rev's supplement regimen for a couple months, and will probably add an aspirin to it for the next couple weeks. Got my wife on the regimen and kids are on a multi vitamin last couple months too.
Occasionally I chime in with an update to the local/national blood inventory and or hep answer guide people to donate blood or convalescent plasma. Blood inventories are improving (antibody testing is a huge marketing win to recruit new donors) but we are still on shaky ground going into fall. Most blood centers operate in a 60-70% mobile collection range and those mobile drives are no longer as fruitful as previous years. A lot of work ahead of us to re-engage the community and recruit donors.
Convalescent plasma is in high demand. Locally, we are operating in a constant back order for the doses. We can't find recovered donors fast enough to meet hospital and patient needs.
Which brings me to today. I am on day 7 since symptoms started. I feel fine and better each morning.
How did I catch the 'Rona? Well, like everyone else. I was too close for too long to someone that was presymptomatic. They had a runny nose, something they get sporadically year round due to allergies. We had a work meeting (6/25) to realign some boundaries and we were hanging maps and drawing with dry erase markers... they believe they caught it from one of their kids, who never showed symptoms but brought it home from daycare.
This person started feeling ill Monday 6/29, and then loss taste/smell on 7/1 and went to get tested. Our company does a 48 contact trace on anyone that presents symptoms, and since this person didn't hve symptoms until 6/29 it was just weekend workers. No one thought we should go back even further...
They also found out 7/1 that 3 kids the week before had been sent home due to being COVID exposed. It took the daycare a week to notify all the parents.. so that is where they believe they got exposed.
On to me. Well, I felt fine all week until 7/4. I woke up feeling like I was having bad allergies. Cedar fever type feeling. Sinus congestion, aches. I checked my temp regularly and never got above 99.1, but get more feverish (if that makes sense)
I took my normal allergy meds (Zyrtec D) and it cleared up and I went about my day. Took kids to airport to see some airplanes, and a few other errands (mowed lawn, etc).
(Pics below)
Sunday I felt worse. Double the cedar fever feeling. I took another Zyrtec D but stayed home from Mass and took kids with me to get the truck washed at the drive through car wash. It was here that my kids noted the soap smelled like cherry, yet I could not smell anything.... crap.
We came home and I tried to isolate as best possible just to be safe.(I stayed outside as it felt nice and BBQ'd chicken and ribs. Still couldn't smell. That really sucked)
So Sunday night, I take a Benadry and Sudafed, my normal routine when allergies strike and woke up Monday feeling better. Aches, congestion all gone. But I still fee "meh", a weird lethargy. So I call my boss and say, I'm gonna play it safe and work from home...
Around noon, my coworker calls and lets me know their results came back positive, but they are doing great and can return to work on X day of the week. We chat and I inquire about their symptoms and we match, nearly day by day the progression.
So I call my doc, and get a virtual visit on Tuesday Am. We chat Tuesday and he is like, "yup. You got it. Wanna test and know for sure or just wing it for 10 more days." We'll, I want the test so if it is Positive, I can sign Up to do plasma. I did the drive through brain tickle nose swab (and I videoed it from my dash, I'll post it here if you all wanna see it.
) but it is kinda gross looking!
Past 2 days have been rather normal. Taste returned Wednesday and smell came back today.
Thursday I got my test results and as suspected, positive. Funny thing, the Internalist at my hospital called to discuss and as we are talking she asked where I worked, after I said she laughed and said she knew she though she knew me. She was in the initial phone call with me back in March to help set up the convalescent plasma programs in our community. Then she jokingly said, if they are ordering too much and I felt the need to really do more to help supply of plasma. I just said it takes a team effort to win! Lol
So here I am. Day 7. I get released to be in the community again next Tuesday, and my family is free from quarantine next Saturday.... having 4 kids under the age of 6, not only is isolation impossible it is really getting hard to find ways to keep them entertained!
Good news is my KOC facemask came in, so I can wear it around the casa until I'm cleared and so far all of the family is symptom free.
All around. This virus sucks. It has taken so much from so many in lives, economics and sanity. I look forward to donating plasma in a couple weeks and will post updates here if you all would like to see the process. I'm eternally grateful to the Aggie community for helping give perspective to this virus and being a group of friends that can help us all get through it.
Keep up the good work, and Gig 'em.
My experience since this began, had been like many others on here. I have participated in discussions and truly appreciate all the insight from the medical doctors.
I've been popping Dr.Rev's supplement regimen for a couple months, and will probably add an aspirin to it for the next couple weeks. Got my wife on the regimen and kids are on a multi vitamin last couple months too.
Occasionally I chime in with an update to the local/national blood inventory and or hep answer guide people to donate blood or convalescent plasma. Blood inventories are improving (antibody testing is a huge marketing win to recruit new donors) but we are still on shaky ground going into fall. Most blood centers operate in a 60-70% mobile collection range and those mobile drives are no longer as fruitful as previous years. A lot of work ahead of us to re-engage the community and recruit donors.
Convalescent plasma is in high demand. Locally, we are operating in a constant back order for the doses. We can't find recovered donors fast enough to meet hospital and patient needs.
Which brings me to today. I am on day 7 since symptoms started. I feel fine and better each morning.
How did I catch the 'Rona? Well, like everyone else. I was too close for too long to someone that was presymptomatic. They had a runny nose, something they get sporadically year round due to allergies. We had a work meeting (6/25) to realign some boundaries and we were hanging maps and drawing with dry erase markers... they believe they caught it from one of their kids, who never showed symptoms but brought it home from daycare.
This person started feeling ill Monday 6/29, and then loss taste/smell on 7/1 and went to get tested. Our company does a 48 contact trace on anyone that presents symptoms, and since this person didn't hve symptoms until 6/29 it was just weekend workers. No one thought we should go back even further...
They also found out 7/1 that 3 kids the week before had been sent home due to being COVID exposed. It took the daycare a week to notify all the parents.. so that is where they believe they got exposed.
On to me. Well, I felt fine all week until 7/4. I woke up feeling like I was having bad allergies. Cedar fever type feeling. Sinus congestion, aches. I checked my temp regularly and never got above 99.1, but get more feverish (if that makes sense)
I took my normal allergy meds (Zyrtec D) and it cleared up and I went about my day. Took kids to airport to see some airplanes, and a few other errands (mowed lawn, etc).
(Pics below)
Sunday I felt worse. Double the cedar fever feeling. I took another Zyrtec D but stayed home from Mass and took kids with me to get the truck washed at the drive through car wash. It was here that my kids noted the soap smelled like cherry, yet I could not smell anything.... crap.
We came home and I tried to isolate as best possible just to be safe.(I stayed outside as it felt nice and BBQ'd chicken and ribs. Still couldn't smell. That really sucked)
So Sunday night, I take a Benadry and Sudafed, my normal routine when allergies strike and woke up Monday feeling better. Aches, congestion all gone. But I still fee "meh", a weird lethargy. So I call my boss and say, I'm gonna play it safe and work from home...
Around noon, my coworker calls and lets me know their results came back positive, but they are doing great and can return to work on X day of the week. We chat and I inquire about their symptoms and we match, nearly day by day the progression.
So I call my doc, and get a virtual visit on Tuesday Am. We chat Tuesday and he is like, "yup. You got it. Wanna test and know for sure or just wing it for 10 more days." We'll, I want the test so if it is Positive, I can sign Up to do plasma. I did the drive through brain tickle nose swab (and I videoed it from my dash, I'll post it here if you all wanna see it.
) but it is kinda gross looking!Past 2 days have been rather normal. Taste returned Wednesday and smell came back today.
Thursday I got my test results and as suspected, positive. Funny thing, the Internalist at my hospital called to discuss and as we are talking she asked where I worked, after I said she laughed and said she knew she though she knew me. She was in the initial phone call with me back in March to help set up the convalescent plasma programs in our community. Then she jokingly said, if they are ordering too much and I felt the need to really do more to help supply of plasma. I just said it takes a team effort to win! Lol
So here I am. Day 7. I get released to be in the community again next Tuesday, and my family is free from quarantine next Saturday.... having 4 kids under the age of 6, not only is isolation impossible it is really getting hard to find ways to keep them entertained!
Good news is my KOC facemask came in, so I can wear it around the casa until I'm cleared and so far all of the family is symptom free.
All around. This virus sucks. It has taken so much from so many in lives, economics and sanity. I look forward to donating plasma in a couple weeks and will post updates here if you all would like to see the process. I'm eternally grateful to the Aggie community for helping give perspective to this virus and being a group of friends that can help us all get through it.
Keep up the good work, and Gig 'em.
