I was just a regular kid, had all the usual childhood diseases though I don't recall any Scarlet Fever or similar. Polio was the terror of parents back then and several of my classmates contracted it. None lived to be adults.

I dropped out of high school (kicked out, really) and went in the Army at 17 years, two months old. Being the bright bulb I was, I managed to spend 30 months in Viet Nam. In 1966 I got Malaria but, though there was fever and chills, it wasn't nearly as bad as the movies portrayed it.

I got out in '68, became a police officer and got an eduction culminating in law school and a career as a Prosecutor. Retired in 2007 and have had a wonderful time, married to an incredible woman who was a Nurse Practitioner at the VA in Bay Pines.

So, my only claim to fame was that I am the only lawyer you know that ain't got no high school diploma. And, to my shame, I once was an office roommate of Charlie Crist.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. We were very cautious about the Covid. We drank a 1/2 pint of hand sanitizer every morning and bathed in rubbing alcohol. Okay, I keeeeed just a little, but we were very careful.

Then I stated to feel sick. My wife had a slight fever and suddenly lost her sense of taste and smell. She went to get tested. I had the worst chills I've ever had. My little 18 lb dog burrowed under the blankets to try to keep me warm. We now call her Lassie and call out, "Lassie, Timmy's stuck in the well." Gets her real excited.

If you don't understand the reference, don't spend another second thinking about it.

My fever kept rising and was over 103.5. I'd talked to the VA and they wanted me to come NOW, but I wanted to try to knock the fever down with Tylenol. I told you what a bright bulb I could be. I'd wait 24 hours. then go if I had to do so.

On October 20th, I awoke with a fever of 103.7 and reluctantly agreed with my wife to go to the ER. I started taking a shower.

Our home is older, built in '79, but has a large shower that you and 5 of your closest friends could use at the same time. An ugly thought, I know, and I mention it for context.

In the shower, I started to fall. My wife jumped in and grabbed me and we started down, three distinct bumps before the face plant. Sadly, she was underneath me. The only casualty was my left knee which impacted the tile.


She wiggled out but could not get me up. She called 911 and three, attractive (I think) female EMTs, Paramedics and Firefighters arrived very quickly. My sweet wife saved the day by covering my flacid small little thing with an old pair of underpants, so the gals didn't laugh, at least in front of me.

They got me up on the gurney and took me to the VA where I spent half a day getting evaluated. The ER doc said no matter what, I wasn't going home. My wife called with her test results and, no surprise, she had the Covid. Five minutes later the ER Doc walked and said I had it, too.

I spent 5 days in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) and then two days in 5C, the now-designated single patient Covid area.

MICU is where my wife started back in the very early 80s when the VA hired her and some friends out of, IIRC, Georgetown, as Critical Care Nurses to open up the then new hospital building. 5C is where she went when she became a Nurse Practitioner in the late 80s. It is on the 5th floor (that's high for Florida) and I could lay there looking at the beautiful hardwood floors, out the window, across the water towards the Gulf. Breathtakingly beautiful even when you feel you'd have to get better to die.

The care was super, and I had two beautiful and pretty crazy Filipino nurses on the same shift. When they came into the room I burst out into the old Ernest Tubb song "Filipino Baby" which they knew and loved. "She's my Filipino Baby, she's my treasure and my pet. Her teeth are white and pearly and her hair is black as jet."


I am not a good singer, but my efforts were rewarded with many cups of cold ice cream slipped in by my Filipino babies.

If you never heard it, don't spend any precious heartbeats looking it up.

After 7 days, they let me go home. The care was first rate and I had one doctor who came in or called me, maybe ten times, saying he wanted to try this or change that if I wanted to try it.

I appreciated his efforts, but if he'd said he wanted to bleed me I'd have said "OK" since I wanted to go home.

I really came to appreciate those docs, nurses, techs and assistants-all putting their lives and the lives of their families on the line for....me.

I'll never forget them and I keep praying for their safety.

Bob

Yikes

Glad you are on the mend.

Good thoughts your way. Keep getting better.

Good writing and very glad you are okay.

quote:

Good writing and very glad you are okay.

Yep. I enjoyed your story... and glad it has a happy ending.

We were supposed to spend Halloween evening with friends. They called Halloween day not feeling real well. They were going to be tested for Covid. The party was cancelled. They tested positive and are both now in the hospital with Covid.

I enjoyed your recollection of a troubled time.

Thank you for sharing. God bless and be well.

Glad you're on the mend!

Like others yours is a good example of perhaps being able to get past this with lesser symptoms with earlier intervention. The drugs and therapies out there have come a HUGE way over the past 9 months. I'd hope that our members and their families would take advantage of those options early on, before it gets worse. Especially those not in a very low risk group.

Heck, even the monkey ended up with pneumonia after a delay, so that's a cautionary tale for all!

interesting write-up.

Any idea at all where/how or from who you guys got COVID?

Glad you pulled through.

Note to self: if you’re sick enough to go to the ER, you’re too sick to shower first.

God Bless you Bob, your wife and all the caregivers.

Glad to hear you are on the mend. How did your wife fare?
I assume that since you didnt mention anything, she got better without any extea special care.

I wish they would put a little effort into why certain people seem to be hit hard, while others dont.
I mean why do 2 normally healthy people catch it, 1 requires hospitalization. The other requires a tylenol.

This would truely help to protect the vulnerable.

Age and "underlying conditions" dont seem to be that good of an indicator,

We have no idea where we got that awful stuff. We never let anyone in the house, never failed to wear a mask, used hand sanitizer a lot, washed our hands or used wipes every time we were near the mail, grocery store, gas station opened the door, used wipes on all the door handles, after gassing up at the pump...just ain't got no idea.

At Church,, when they opened back up, the social distancing was very well enforced, no offering plates, no bulletins, and until recently no prayer lists.

We haven't been to a restaurant since February.

I think we were just in the line of fire somehow.

Bob

Sorry you got sick, but glad to hear you feel better now!

I won't spend another second thinking about you.

Good to hear you are getting past it. What effects other than the initial collapse and fever did you experience? Did you fall due to weakness, lightheaded, or what?

quote:

Originally posted by straightshooter1:
We have no idea where we got that awful stuff. We never let anyone in the house, never failed to wear a mask, used hand sanitizer a lot, washed our hands or used wipes every time we were near the mail, grocery store, gas station opened the door, used wipes on all the door handles, after gassing up at the pump...just ain't got no idea.

At Church,, when they opened back up, the social distancing was very well enforced, no offering plates, no bulletins, and until recently no prayer lists.

We haven't been to a restaurant since February.

I think we were just in the line of fire somehow.

Bob

It's obvious that we still know so little about the ccp crud. From your experience, mandatory masks and shut downs/isolation isn't a guarantee. I'm glad you're recovering.

I am glad you recovered and are well. Cheers!

Good for you. Guessing with your Nam experience, we're about the same age, comforting to know you beat it back.

Do you know what they treated you with? Different things and did one in particular have the best effect? How long after the initial symptoms did things get real bad?

Thanks for asking about my wife. She's real strong at 68, walks several miles (4 or more) a day and does a lot of exercise.

Since the Covid, she can only do about 2 miles each day, but it's getting better.

Only real problem. is the lack of the sense of smell or taste. I think that would be awful.


I never found out what meds they gave me, I was much too sick to care when in the MICU and after that I just wanted to go home.

Bob

I'll bet you were an excellent prosecutor, fair and effective. I am glad you are on the mend!

(PS I too am a HS dropout/attorney, good to meet another!)

Glad to hear that you both are on the mend. Though the subject matter is no fun at all I sure did enjoy reading your story.


Not a second of time wasted on looking this one up.

Soooo, your name is "Tiny Timmy"?