It’s Pearl Harbor Day – a day of remembrance of the death and destruction brought on by our enemies with a surprise attack on a Sunday morning, that opened our eyes to the War. We should have learned something from the sneak attack, but alas, we’ve been caught off-guard again.
So after reading about something that’s happening all over the world for a year and a half, when it finally happens to you, you want to write about it. You weren’t the first and you certainly won’t be the last. But what are the lessons learned?
First, the good news. My Uncle Sam was released from the hospital in Pennsylvania a few days ago, breathing on his own and testing negative for Covid. That means he won’t die alone. That means his son and daughter, his granddaughters, and my dad can see him if they want to, and he’ll be able to change his residence to his mansion in Heaven when it’s God’s time.
Now, what’s been happening here in Indiana?
Covid creeps in like a tiny, cute li’l ol’ white baby mouse, the kind you could actually buy at a pet shop and use for a 4-H Pocket Pets project, but just as you’re cuddling it, it develops into a Rodent of Unusual Size that you have to beat back. It’s tricky like that.
My Covid started with a drip, not a waterfall, just a drip: the small, clear, annoying drip that comes suddenly out your nose and embarrasses you, so you want to catch it with your hand and wipe it discreetly on your pants before anybody notices. Then, it happens fairly frequently, so you have a box of tissues on the dining room table, one in the kitchen, one on the bathroom sink, upstairs … you get the picture. They have to be close at hand to catch the annoying, bothersome, occasional drip.
But it’s just a cold. No fever, no loss of taste or smell, no exhaustion, no body aches, no coughing or shortness of breath, nothing. So of course, in the Time of Covid, there are still other coronaviruses out there. Mine is a mild cold … right?
Wrong.
If I heard it once, I heard it a hundred and twelve times:
“I had a cold, and then my immune system was probably low, and just as I was getting over the cold, BAM, I got Covid.”
Or some were saying “the flu” at that point. Because we are all familiar with colds and flu. In fact Joe Biden said on Friday that he sounded congested at a news conference because he got kissed by a baby grandson with a cold. “But it’s just a cold," he said. Hopefully he’s right, but I won’t go there ...
So with my story, the occasional use of a tissue really didn’t seem like something I should isolate for.
Then, Bill, one of our workers from Leonard’s, tested positive for Covid last Monday night, using a home test from a Lafayette big box store, and he went to the emergency room at Logansport Hospital with shortness of breath, where they gave him a steroid and monoclonal antibodies. He left feeling great and wanted to go back to work. It did take him a few days to fully recover, but he’s now working at full strength now. So he was able to kick the disease within a week. Why not? That’s just what President Trump did!
We thought Bill was a good example, so Joe, who had taken Bill to the ER (whom I will identify as Joe #1 because we have two Joe’s for sons-in-law) began to look around for tests. They were rather elusive, and the local CVS in Delphi wasn’t doing the drive-thru ones anymore, so he went to several places in Lafayette and after having no luck, came back to that Delphi CVS, who said they just had a shipment of home tests come in, but that they sell out fast. He bought a box (2 tests) and then I went in on Tuesday to buy 3 boxes (6 tests). I charged it to the business because we wanted all our workers tested!
Then there was a controversy about whether this rapid test or that home test was accurate enough or whether it was just testing for coronaviruses in general and that’s why even a cold was registering as a Covid Positive, and that’s why the numbers were up. Suspicions mounted and some went for the old slow tests instead. What we read said a positive was very accurate but a negative could be a false negative.
Joe #1 used his tests and found out Susie was positive but he was negative. I gave him another box because … surely that was a false negative. He was around Bill a lot, as well as his wife. He tested negative twice more.
Meanwhile, we decided we should test too, so we used up another box. Eric went first and we then knew with his Positive, that he was not going to be preaching OR leading worship on Sunday after all. He canceled his Wednesday night Bible study, and the Church Board scheduled a meeting on Wednesday evening to figure out what to do going forward, since our pastor and his wife were both in the hospital with Covid pneumonia.
Me? I just have a slight cold, but let’s try it ... Positive. I was shocked!
That meant, no more teaching the children the Christmas songs on Sunday mornings, no tech rehearsal this Sunday afternoon for the Christmas program, and no dress rehearsal on the 12th. Maybe we could pull it off on the 19th anyway, but it would just not be very professional looking.
But there are more questions than answers. Who will even be well enough by the 19th? Will we have our Christmas guests in the guest rooms upstairs? Will we have our Christmas Eve service with Handel’s Messiah songs? Will we have singers? Will they know their parts if we can’t practice? Will we have anybody here to eat a prime rib roast or a turkey together with us on Christmas Day? How do we disinfect our big Covid house so people can be safe?
Now that we had the positive tests, we immediately found a Telemed service with enlightened doctors that offered to provide early treatment drugs such as Ivermectin. Oh yes, this was no whim. We had studied this for a long time and knew what we had to do.
As expected, we were able to get a prescription and recommendations from a very good and caring professional on Wednesday afternoon. I will put some links at the end of this post. And friends were able to give me the name of a local small pharmacy that would go against the grain and provide Ivermectin for Covid patients so we didn’t have to drive all the way to Indianapolis or have our prescriptions shipped. We picked up some antibiotics and doubled up on our preventative supplements to add to the mix, but we also had to stop by Chick Fil-A to get some fatty food to go with the Ivermectin to increase absorption, since we had so little of that in the house!
Thursday morning, armed with all these bags, boxes, and bottles, with circulars galore, and a text from the doctor, I mounted a campaign to make a readable, workable schedule of what pills to take and when. Eric’s pills differed from mine because he’s been on steroids for a sudden hearing loss. I have allergies, so I had a different antibiotic. Ivermectin is prescribed according to a person’s height and weight. I needed Mucinex. And you can’t take your antibiotics within 4 hours of taking your probiotics or vitamins or zinc, and I couldn’t lie down right after taking my antibiotic. (“Ask your doctor how long.”)
While pondering all of this, leaning against the kitchen counter, I suddenly felt weird. But Eric had his eye on me.
“Are you okay?”
I couldn’t answer him. Coming up from behind me, he took the muffin out of one hand and the pen out of the other hand, and I collapsed into his arms. (Doesn’t that sound romantic?)
When I woke up, I looked around, confused.
“What am I doing on the floor?”
“I put you there. You fainted.”
“Really!”
That was different!
Well, I wasn’t able to get back up again for a while, so we talked. I remembered seeing “May Cause Dizziness” on the Ivermectin box so I figured that was it. Later, I casually texted the Telemed doctor about it and she told me I needed to go to the ER and get evaluated, because sometimes that can be caused by a larger issue. She also said she had never had someone faint because of Ivermectin.
I had some things I wanted to do before heading to the ER, so I did them first, and Eric and I left right after dinner. Eric figured they didn’t want him sitting around in their waiting room, being Covid Positive himself, so he left me alone and drove away.
Just inside the entrance was a huge sign that read, “IF YOU HAVE COVID, GO HOME. DO NOT ENTER THE BUILDING.” But …. How did Bill get antibodies here if they wouldn’t let him in? I thought maybe I could … call them from the entryway? Then I realized I had a 1% charge on my cell phone. So I stood around awkwardly shuffling my feet with my mask on until somebody noticed and asked if they could help me. And then they let me come in, it was okay! (Whew!)
I was evaluated with an EKG and for electrolytes. But they also offered me the famous Regeneron antibodies as well.
“It’s the same thing they gave President Trump! And it’s free!”
And we all know what happened with him – triumphant over Covid and back to work after a weekend at Walter Reed. So, I went ahead with the antibodies. They said I qualified. And what qualified me? It was no longer about having severe symptoms or comorbidities or being over 65 or any of that jazz – it was just that I had come in early enough after the first symptoms. At least I thought so at the time.
The monoclonal antibody infusion is given through an IV drip, and they also provided some fluids to make sure I wasn’t dehydrated, and some steroids. My EKG and electrolytes were good, and since my phone was fully charged at the waiting room charging station while I had the infusion, I went home with Eric feeling fine, covered with tiny stickers, and with another prescription for more steroids to add to the mix.
Now we are in serious isolation. We both feel draggy but generally comfortable. One of the worst symptoms we’ve dealt with is a foggy brain – not being able to think and make decisions. We found ourselves staring at emails or at the checkbook trying to make sense of it, but no sense would present itself. This tends to put us behind a lot, including such things as not remembering to turn on the dryer or to actually pay the bill that was anticipated.
We found that one symptom of Covid is grumpiness. We’ve been a little edgy with each other and even with a few of our customers. It does take patience, not jumping to conclusions, not immediately blaming each other, and practicing being
SLOW
TO
ANGER.
Eric has been weepier than usual. It’s either from Covid or it’s from coming down from steroids. When I mentioned that Biden had a cold, Eric cried huge tears for him, saying, “He’s got Covid, and they’re going to let him die!” That was not a normal response! And then the Telemed doctor told us that she had witnessed quite a few Covid patients who fainted in their chair in her office. She warned me not to stand on marble floors!
We had to make decisions concerning the shop, where some of our workers are down with Covid or living with someone with Covid, or had Covid before but had a cough or drippy nose or fever, or … So we’re down to a skeleton crew with one to each of the rooms. Both Joe #1 and Joe #2 are really sick with Covid, with Joe #2 suffering from an oxygen level that is low but not yet dangerous. This leaves us very short-handed. I put a notice up on our website, our Facebook page, and our voice mail about this so people wouldn’t bother us about Christmas, but I know many will in any case.
And then yesterday, after my 5 days of the Ivermectin, I found I could think again, so I hustled through 350 emails, paid bills and taxes, and got the checkbook up to speed.
But let’s back up a bit to Sunday. That day, I was feeling concerned after we watched our church livestream. First, as I mentioned earlier, I had heard from my cousin. He said my uncle was out of the hospital, which was great news that I needed to tell my dad. But second, I needed to find out if my dad was well. He wasn’t.
THAT meant, I really did “give it to Grandpa!” He didn’t know it was Covid, same as everybody else.
“I’ve felt terrible ever since I left your place! I got the flu!”
“Dad, it’s Covid.”
“No, it’s just the flu – I got really tired and achy all over my body, and I have this cough <cough cough> and now I can’t taste or smell anything. I’ve been using Dayquil and Nyquil for it.”
“No really, Dad, it’s Covid.”
“How do you know that?”
“We tested positive for Covid and we probably had it when you were here for Thanksgiving. We just didn’t know it then.”
I do not know how he’s doing because he hasn’t answered his phone since Sunday. He could be sleeping, outside working, or at the VA Hospital. But my guilt and shame index is high at the moment.
Not to mention that there were other people at our house that we have to watch very closely for symptoms, including the grandkids, and including the one who fell asleep in my arms in the picture in my last post.
Yes, I had my early treatment, but my dad didn’t get that. His last words before I hung up ring in my ears: “I wish I’d known earlier!”
Should I have told everybody to stay home on Thanksgiving to keep them safe, or to get a Covid shot before entering the house, or to wear a muzzle whenever they’re not eating? Would the world’s brand of “safety” have worked? Would it help to know my dad actually did get a Covid shot? It didn’t keep him “safe,” apparently. But that story is yet unfinished.
In whom do we trust? Is it still God, as our money declares, or the NIH and the CDC? Whose words do we read and understand and believe – God’s, or Dr. Fauci’s? If we shrink back and cower in the corner from the Rodent of Unusual Size so we can be safe, we will never learn to be strong in the Lord. Fear leads to chains and the manipulation of man, but trust in the Lord will set us free. In Him, there is ultimate safety, both for ourselves and for our loved ones.
Our Air Force son David and grandson Jay, with their spouses and children, are supposed to be here for Christmas. We have two weeks to get well and somehow sanitize the house! And keep up with the business. Will that happen? We do not know.
Will our pastor get off the oxygen and be able to come home for Christmas? Pastor Joe used to be a great hurdler for Purdue Track. Can he get over this one? But right now he’s just fighting to take his next breaths, and lack of oxygen is wearing him out and oppressing his spirit.
What can we say to him that hasn’t already been said? He can’t respond to his text messages much but this morning I sent him one that just said:
“Holy Spirit, fill the lungs and spirit of Your servant Joe with your good and Holy healing Breath today. In the name of Our Lord and Savior Jesus, Amen.”
The Holy Spirit is the Breath of God. The Scriptures are inspired of God, which means, “God-breathed.” When God breathed into Adam’s nostrils, he became a living being. God’s breath is life.
Please help me lift up Pastor Joe and Peggy, and my dad, along with our two Joe sons-in-law. Pray that the Breath of Life will completely heal their lungs, and the lungs of others we love who are so affected. We are the Church, Jesus loves us, and He hears us when we pray. Do not be afraid to ask, and ask again, and ask again.
In the meantime, be diligent to watch out for those little symptoms. Get a home test if you can find one, but don’t neglect “the cold.” Get early treatment if you have Covid. See the list at the end of this article.
And here is some hope for you. I’ve told you that we’ve been praying every day at 3:00 that the Lord would close down the Planned Parenthood in Lafayette. Sometimes it gets frustrating that the place is still open, even though we’ve been asking for so long and so often. But we cannot see what He sees – was He looking ahead to something much greater – the overturning of Roe v. Wade? That would perhaps solve the problem better than anything we had imagined.
Do we ask for a cookie and forget about the Wedding Feast?
There’s hope in the dark places. There’s a Star of Bethlehem in the night in a poor, oppressed country, and a Baby who brought Light into the world.
I know, most people are more familiar with The Grinch these days. But hope and true joy are not found in presents, glitter, or even Christmas programs. They might not even be in a turkey dinner with family coming from afar and grandkids to boot. True hope is in Jesus.
A thrill of hope, The weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine! O night when Christ was born!
O night, O Holy Night, O night divine!
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RESOURCES:
https://americasfrontlinedoctors.org/
https://covid19criticalcare.com/ivermectin-in-covid-19/how-to-get-ivermectin/
(I used a Telemed resource that only serves Indiana and Ohio. You can search the list above for one near you.)
https://covid19criticalcare.com/pharmacies/
Thanks for this excellent post. I will join you in prayer for Joe and Peggy and your family. So many to pray for these days. Please update us every now and then. Love you! Barbie
ReplyDeleteMaybe you'd like to be in our family FB chat group? Thanks for praying! Pastor Joe's out now! See the next post!
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