To summarize the past week, I'll start with one week ago tonight (it is Thursday, August 12th as I write this). Wife and I had our "Simple Suppers" group at our house. This is a dinner club we have been in for a few years and we recently resumed meeting after a hiatus during the pandemic.
There were ten of us last Thursday night. We had a great time and Wife outdid herself with a delicious meal.
On Saturday morning the 7th, Wife's birthday, we drove to Huntsville to have brunch with Daughter and her family at their house. Younger Son drove the short 90-minuet drive from Birmingham. We had a delightful time and another wonder meal prepared by Daughter and SIL.
In the early afternoon we drove to Atlanta. Older Son, Wife and I went to an Atlanta Braves game that night and had a great time. Sunday morning, our granddaughter, Older Son and DIL's youngest, was baptized at their church and it was a special time for all. DIL's parents were also there and we had lunch at Older Son and DIL's house before we headed back home in the early afternoon.
Sparing you all the details that led to this, DIL ended up coming to Nashville Monday morning with her two. Older Son would be traveling and her plan was to let her parents, and Wife and me, take turns with the little ones while she worked remotely as much as she could.
Any daytime care we would have given would have fallen to Wife, of course, since I still have my day job.
We had dinner with some friends Monday night and as we got up to leave the restaurant, I felt the slightest little tickle in my throat, the kind of thing I have felt in the past as I felt a cold coming on. There are times it disappears as fast as it comes, and times it stays around. I didn't mention it to Wife and hoped it would be the former rather than the latter. No such luck.
Tuesday morning, Wife notified me DIL would be bringing our almost four-year-old grandson for the day. I thought about it for five minutes before confessing to Wife that I felt a fair amount of congestion and given the circumstances . . . .
Her next call was to DIL to notify her. DIL said she would not be bringing our grandson.
Being what I thought was overly cautious, I went and got tested for COVID. Of course I don't have it, I thought. I'm fully vaccinated and I'm still very careful, still wearing a mask in most public places.
As Tuesday wore on, I felt tired and achy. I was also cold. When I woke Wednesday, I felt as if I had not slept, even though I had slept eight hours. I knew I had something but still didn't believe it was COVID.
At 8 a.m. I got an email with my test results. Positive. You could have knocked me over with a feather. I have what's called a breakthrough case.
Yesterday I felt lousy. I had a nasty cough, was fatigued and cold and had a terrible headache. I laid around most of the day. I let folks at work know I would be largely off the screen.
Today I was some better. My cough has subsided a bit and congestion is confined mostly to my head now. And apparently my case is typical for a breakthrough. If I understand correctly, the vaccine is designed not necessarily to prevent COVID but to mitigate the symptoms and keep me out of the hospital. I have felt crummy, especially yesterday, but it could have been much worse.
Where did I pick it up? From someone at our house last week (everyone was vaccinated, so nobody wore masks)? From the baseball game? From church? Who knows?
Wife and I are isolated from each other and of course we're both in quarantine. I'm mostly upstairs and she is down, but I get to come downstairs and stay in one room during the evening.
She, of course, is being a real trooper and making sure I have everything I need.
I've not lost my sense of taste and/or smell, but food definitely tastes different. It's hard to describe.
Vanderbilt Hospital, with which my doctor's office is affiliated, sent an email offering an antibody infusion. I talked to them today and described my symptoms. It was suggested I make an appointment for their next available time, next Tuesday at 8 a.m., and cancel if I am significantly better by then.
So here we are. Oh, and yesterday was our wedding anniversary.
In sickness and in health . . .
12 comments:
It sounds horrible but thankfully the vaccine does appear to have mitigated against a life threatening outcome. Perhaps we can start to become less fearful of catching it if the vaccines can be tweaked to provide us with booster jab protection for the future.
Hope you recover quickly.
Hope you are beginning to improve even by the time this arrives - and that once it starts to go it gets a move on.
Oh, Bob. I'm sorry and I hope you recover rapidly! I've had some congestion/cough for a few days, but chalked it up to seasonal allergies (which plague me from March through the fall. I've not run any fever, so haven't felt the need to get tested. Maybe I should rethink that...
So sorry to read this! Hope you are feeling better and recovering quickly. Thank you so much for writing about all of this as it sure helps to read real accounts of what happens when you test positive. We have had too much misinformation so it is great to get your post about what can actually happen. Take care!
Gees, Bob. Got to say that I am plain shocked. Even though I have heard about this happening, somehow, actually knowing someone that it has happened to makes it really real.
Do they know whether this is that delta variant that they keep talking about?
From everything I know, this should be mild, what that you've been vaccinated and all. From what I'm reading here, it doesn't sound like it is. Keep us in the loop.
Hey Debby, I think by comparison, it HAS been mild and could have been much worse had I not been vaccinated. While I don’t know with certainty, I believe it’s the delta variant as it is so prevalent here right now. I have done a lot of reading about “breakthrough” cases and mine seems to be textbook. I am grateful for the vaccine and, frankly, my patience is wearing thin for those who won’t get it and especially those who refuse to wear masks.
From all the information I've gotten in recent days, the rate of infection among vaccinated people is still just fractional. And yes... I believe it definitely lessens the severity for those who do get it. I told our mutual friend that we must just be special in that we all three got it. 😉
You are the first I know to have gotten a breakthrough case. From my understanding, the vaccines (Moderna and Pfizer) are only 90% effective at preventing breakthrough cases so you had a 10% chance and possibly more depending on how socially distant you were at the ball game, church, etc. Perhaps you need to grab that lottery ticket. Fortunately though, it sounds like you aren't going to fall into that group of 1% who do get a breakthrough infection that end up in the hospital.
I have yet to attend an event with lots of people unless we can remain socially distant. I was getting close to that point but the delta variant came about and so I will just push it off for now. Maybe later this year.
Get better my friend!
That's a heck of a way to celebrate an anniversary. I hope you are better soon and that no one else gets ill. But I am hearing of too many break-through cases. I've gone back to wearing masks when inside public places and other folks homes.
I stopped by to see how you are feeling.
Much better, Debby. Will post an update soon.
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