here is hoping this one is better than the last one

HERE IS HOPING THIS ONE IS BETTER THAN THE LAST ONE

that is a picture of me walking in our condo complex about 3 weeks after my last birthday
i had lost about 25 lbs in those 3 weeks after being sick with what i think was covid 19
i had just been let out of quarantine after 3 weeks
i got real short of breath walking in that complex
i still couldnt hardly eat anything
my heart rate was irregular and faster than normal
my blood pressure was up and down
i felt washed out much of the day 
my energy level was zippo 
i had just spent my 70th birthday in lockdown in our back bedroom

reviewing my blog from a year ago this is what i posted

__________
MY BIRTHDAY PRESENTS

by now most of you can recognize what is is the picture
covid 19

in two days i will know if i got this for my birthday present this year

here is my story

about 3 weeks ago i developed a stomach bug that left me with nausea and diarrhea that lasted for 24 hours then i was left with nausea that lasted for several days
eating crackers and drinking a lot of soup
that cleared but i was left with a marked fatigue that lasted for about a week

three days later i had an episode of vertigo that lasted for a day but after that i felt ok for about another 2 weeks

this first week i stay at home mostly in bed
later in the week i went to the garden when i was symptom free

it was about that time that i got more aggressive about isolating myself in general because of the covid 19 outbreak
i washed my hands a lot
i sprayed down the doorknobs on the door at the bottom of our stairs twice a day
i scrubbed down our counter tops in the kitchen and in the bathroom more than once
i left mail and packaging on our porch in the sun for 24 hours before i touched it again
i washed my hands afterwards

i even sprayed the gate lock in the garden coming and going with lysol
i only used my tools in the garden with gloves that i also sprayed before and afterwards

i went to the bank but only used the atm machine

i shopped at the grocery store twice during that time being careful to stay away from folks
i shopped at cvs twice to get supplies and my medications

every time i came in the front door i washed my hands real well on arrival

during that 3 week time period i had a runny nose and sometimes watery eyes
this i have had for several weeks with cold weather and working in the garden making it worse

i also have had a mild cough that has been present for over a year now
it was evaluated and felt to be a habit cough

two weeks ago i felt fine
i went with hudson to his transplant appointment at cedars sinai
i worked with the kids in the garden

last week on monday we traveled to a lawyers office to do some legal paperwork
we only encountered 3 people in the office
we all stayed 10 feet away from each other
i used the ethanol gel three times while i was there

since that monday i self quarantined myself except for helping babysit hudson for two days this week

on saturday i felt fine and went to my garden to garden as i had tomatoes and peppers and beans to plant in the garden
as i entered the garden i sprayed the lock with lysol spray then walked down to my garden plot
i sprayed my work gloves and my garden tools with the lysol

when i left i went to the sink washed my hands with soap and water then with some ethanol gel

as i was planting my tomatoes i noticed i started to feel bad
i felt weak
i had some chills
i felt a little nauseated
i felt short of breath when i was walking

so i left spraying down the lock real well as i left

when i got home i removed my clothes and showered then ate some soup
then
i had diarrhea
the nausea got worse
i got fever and chills
i got a headache
i coughed some but not any more than i usually do
i had a runny nose

as the day went on i got worse and worse

by nighttime i was having shakes when my fever went up

i decided after talking with the emergency room nurse about my symptoms and about my grandson awaiting a transplant about being seen and getting tested

i arrived with my wife she but she had to stay outside
they took me to a tent that looked like it belonged with a mash unit
oh i had a n95 mask left over from the fires that were around here
i wore the mask as i left the house

my temp was low at 96 my blood pressure was elevated my pulse rate was 100 my oxygen saturation was 98%

they did a chest xray and blood work that was all normal
they did a respiratory panel for the various viruses that can cause these symptoms like the flu and rsv
this panel should be back today

and yes they did the covid 19 test
the results on that will be back in 2-3 days

so i went home to wait
i have fever and chills and rigors although since i am on acetaminophen regularly those have lessened quite a bit
i have a headache that lessens with the acetaminophen but is still there
the diarrhea is gone
the nausea is till present in fact i didnt really eat anything for 24 hours until last night
i actually feel like an egg and toast this morning i might even try some coffee maybe
my runny nose has not gotten worse
my cough hasnt got worse
i feel washed out
the first night i couldnt sleep at all i felt like i had drank a pot of coffee
my blood pressure and pulse has returned to normal
i occasionally feel like i have a fever but it quickly goes away

i think i have the covid 19
stomach upset is not common but it can happen
it usually means the covid 19 can get more aggressive

the test is what i call 70% accurate
30% of the time when its negative you really have it
usually the exposure is 1-14 days before symptoms start

so here on the start of day three i wait
i have quarantined to my bedroom
we live in a 1 bedroom i bath condo that is over 1000 square feet
this is where i will live for at least the next 2 weeks
if i go to the bathroom i wear my mask since my wife and i share the bathroom
we have two sinks
she has moved most of what she needs out of there
she is also quarantined for two weeks
we text back and forth and talk through the door

so as i write this i feel a little washed out
i do occasionally get a wave of nausea and fever
but i do feel better

so my sister in law sent this picture of her birthday cake
i showed it to my wife
this is the cake i want for my birthday
it is iron skillet cornbread

i hope all of you are taking this covid 19 serious
i was being more careful that most of you and i still may have got it

the only thing that seems to help slow down the disease in our world is if all of us follow the rules and recommendations of our medical and political folks

__________
the real highlight of the day last year was when ms b came to the sidewalk below the bedroom window
and
sang happy birthday to me
she wanted to see for herself that i was ok

it made me feel good that day and it makes me feel good this day

little did i know what this last year would be like
all those people dying
my symptoms getting worse over the next several months so that i lost another 20 lbs
luckily for me sometime in the fall things seem to kick in and i feel much better today 

so 
today
i feel better than i have felt since i moved here four years ago
i have gained 20 lbs back 
hudson has a new kidney and is doing well
mr n is almost 8 months old and is cute and healthy
mr b is cuter than ever and is doing well in virtual kindergartener class
my wife she is doing well and promises to be good today 
all the adults around mr hudson and in our group have now been immunized against covid 19

when asked by my wife she 
what do you want to do today 
i said
i want to go and work in my garden all morning
since
last year i couldnt even get outside my bedroom

what do you want for your birthday meal
i said
i want homemade chicken and dumplings with homemade iron skillet cornbread
you can stick a candle in the cornbread for me

what do you want for your birthday 
i said
that one is easy
i already got it 
i am just glad to be alive since last year on my birthday i was worried i was a goner

so
yes
i am hoping this one is better than the last one
it wont take much to make that happen
since
the last one was the worst one i ever had

the organicgreen doctor