welcome to the organic green doctor blog

i am a family physician who was diagnosed with
early mild cognitive impairment(mci) amnestic type on december 21, 2010
this is a precursor to alzheimers disease
because of this diagnosis i have opted to stop practicing medicine
this blog will be about my journey with this disease
please feel free to follow me along this path
i will continue blogging on organic gardening, green living,
solar power, rainwater collection, and healthy living
i will blog on these plus other things noted to be interesting

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

52nd day post quarantine

52ND DAY POST QUARANTINE

this is the mask i wear if i go outside my door to what i call a high risk environment or where i want to be more safe for others i will be around ie mr hudson

this is a n95 mask that i wear when i go to traders joes to shop for groceries
they seem to be the safest place in protecting those who enter the store
you have to wear a mask
the carts are handed to you all wiped down
a limited number of folks are let in the store
there are marks for what looks like a long 6 ft to stand if you wait in line
when you check out you stand in a red box marked on the floor which is at least 6 feet from the cashier
the cashier stands behind a plexiglass screen
when the cashier finish checking your groceries you walk up on your side of the plexiglass shield and run your credit card through the card reader
i use a card that doesnt need a number entered in
you grab your own receipt
they sack your groceries in a box or paper bag
there is no bring your own bag
after you unload your cart into your car there is usually a parking lot person that takes it from you

if i go to the doctors office or the pharmacy i wear my  n95 mask
if i go to the garden i wear my cloth mask but if there are several people in the garden i will switch over to my n95 mask

i must say traders joes feels much safer than going to the doctors office or the pharmacy
the rest of the time if i go out my door i usually wear my cloth mask
why
it especially the n95 protects me from getting reinfected and protects others if i am infected
the cloth one mainly protects you from infecting others but also offers some protection from you inhaling the virus

now i probably have antibodies and i likely am protected from the virus infecting me for awhile
i cant be sure though that im immune and probably wont know until later this year when more research is done and more accurate antibody tests are available

why someone will not wear a mask i cant understand that
if you get a bad case like i had you wont be so macho and political about wearing one

wearing a mask may protect your pregnant wife your child with asthma or other immune suppressing disease your elderly parents or elderly grandparents your obese friends and family members
folks you know with diabetes heart disease hypertension etc

so
wear a mask protect those around you

i also wash my hands entering the house and leaving the house
i have hand sanitizer in my car that i use whenever i get back in my car

after entering our condo i wipe down my keys cell phone the door knobs railing etc with disinfectant
i wipe down our countertops every day also

i change my shoes at the door
i usually change my clothes if i feel i was in an unsafe environment

so we all should
wear a mask
wash our hands
keep a safe distance from each other i like 10 ft
limit your exposure

be safe

this is the week where if trump or pence got exposed and got infected they will show symptoms

its been over 2 months since i got sick
my residual symptoms are
hoarseness
fatigue
a loss of appetite
weight loss
continued shortness of breath on exertion but definitely better than even 2 weeks ago
my shingles seems to be gone except for some intermittent discomfort that doesnt require me to take any meds for it
my blood pressure is now under control after my medicine was restarted
since i lost weight my dose that works is half what it was before i got sick
as i gain weight back i may have to have it increased some

i have accepted the fact that fatigue and shortness of breath will be with be for awhile
that
i can live with

my case wasnt severe and even though i have residual symptoms they are not as bad as what many folks are left with
many are left as respiratory cripples requiring oxygen and inhalers and limited activities

im good
ill take what ive got since i can deal with this

be safe
follow these simple rules
protect yourself and your at risk loved ones
wear a mask
wash your hands
keep social distancing

the organicgreen doctor

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