I tested positive for covid, again, last week. So, it's time for another entry in my Covid Diaries. (For my official "covid diaries" see here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; and here). I attended a conference on December 2-3, and so when I felt crappy on Sunday, I assumed I had done too much socializing during the workshop (despite skipping a few meals). The headache and fatigue were bad, but not worse than any other post-cognitive-multitasking event. On Tuesday morning, I was concerned enough to do a self-test (which came back negative). So, initially I decided I had picked up a flu-bug. I ended up pulling out of all my social activities last week. (There were a lot of them because I was supposed to leave Tucson on Friday.)
While my headache disappeared after two days, a general malaise -- fatigue, brain fog, and an annoying cough-- remained. On Wednesday night I slept especially badly; a weird skin itch had kept me up. Thanks to a mosquito in a quiet valley of the Berkshires near the Appelachian trail, I am not wholly familiar with skin rash. At the time -- it's now fifteen years ago or so -- I tried to treat it with OTC steroid cream to which I had an awful allergic reaction. Somewhat unfortunately, I turned out to be allergic to everything that was prescribed to me in that period. Eventually my skin allergies were diagnosed, and despite meds, I learned to live with itch (while being an irritable, unpleasant human being to others sometimes). After seven miserable years, the itch disappeared one day to the next after an ENT clinician added some meds to deal with a chronic sinusitis half a decade ago or so.
Because I was leaving town on Friday and visiting friends with an elderly mum, I decided to do another covid test. This time I was positive (something confirmed with numerous other tests since). Because I figured I might have to deal with travel insurance and airplanes and some documentation would be helpful, I went to a physician, who told me that the skin rash is a not uncommon side-effect of covid-19. But that otherwise I was in decent shape (no fever, all vitals fine, etc.), and that I could travel later this week again. (We checked the CDC travel guides together.) She said, that I should expect to test positive for quite a period ahead.
Luckily my hosts at the University of Arizona managed to let me stay in my rental for a few extra days. And except for the hyper-sensitive skin and itch -- which keeps me up at night -- most of my current symptoms feel like a mild flu, with brain fog. Last week, I was unable to read books or papers. In fact, I spent most of my time watching short scenes from Friends on my phone. Eventually I binge-watched the second half of Andor (which I loved), and cought up on some Jason Statham movies. (One of them, Mechanic: Resurrection, criminally underuses Michelle Yeoh--I can't believe they did not do a fight scene with her.)
The last few days, I did get exposed, anew, to some of the peculiarities of US health care system. When I scheduled a PCR test at a local Wallgreens, I almost got denied the test because I showed up on foot. (It was a drive through test!) The pharmacy is about 20 minute walk from me. Initially, the attendant declined to give it to me because I was not in a car. When I asked if I could get it inside, that raised even more heckles. Eventually, after a really sad look by me, she relented and let me take the test on foot in the drive through area. After I was done I asked her what happens to peoople without a car. And she said they come with friends or in an uber.
I am fully insured and figured it made sense to register with a GP or a family practice. Last week, I went to the list of approved practices and ended up calling half a dozen. None of them could schedule an intake before the end of the year. One called me back to deny me entry to the practice because their first appointment would be in the middle of January, and by then the insurance records showed I would be without coverage. (True enough I was planning to be back in Europe.) I called the insurance company for advice, and they suggested that if I got really sick I should just go to ER. The next day, while I was checking for covid testing places, I found a medical clinic specialized in covid. Much to my amazement, I could be seen on the week-end and it was all covered by my insurance. Anyway, at the moment the plan is that unless I suddenly deteriorate, I go on family holiday later this week and recuperate on the beach. (Could be worse.)
I have to admit that while I often took precaution against renewed infection, I did secretly think of myself invulnerable after my first illness and the subsequent four shots of vaccination. Anyway, fingers crossed that I recover before the start of classes in February.
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