2020 was pretty bizzare. When you get to my age (64) you have some crazy stuff under your belt; but DAMN! Who was looking forward to 2021? Let me see those hands… I was. Biden in; vaccine on the way; getting Medicare; etc.. Then whammo. I get COVID.

Some background (you can skip this if you know me): I’m a white male age 64. 15 lb overweight and taking meds for high BP. Bicycling is a passion and I do a lot of manual labor (e.g., splitting logs) and have a good diet. So I am in decent health.

I live in Alabama; it don’t matter where. So you know that I’m in a high-risk environment. I know of four families infested with COVID; all perpetrated by family members. Some are well over 60. Some are very sick but nobody I know of as of now got seriously ill. I believe that they have been cautious and believe that COVID is real (I can’t believe I have to say that). Mostly. I won’t get into specifics because I don’t know all of the facts. However, feel free to extrapolate from the unfolding tale below.

On January 4 I visited an elderly blind man, well over 80, in an assisted living facility. He’s an old family friend recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Sometimes he can’t communicate over the phone. I was his primary care giver and still his only local support. I helped him move there recently and had been in the facility several times. Masks and temperature checks were required and visitation was limited. I was checking on him and we were both exposed to the virus by someone in the room. I was disturbed when that person briefly pulled down their mask and yelled at my hard-of-hearing friend. Little did I know…

I was on a bicycle ride when I got the call that we had been exposed to a person who had just tested positive. My heart sank. I was exposed for about 5 min and 3-5 ft separation. My friend had been exposed for a longer period of time and did not have a mask on. I was very concerned for him. He tested positive the next day.

My wife and I had been planning for different scenarios from the beginning. We had to since we were responsible for some older folks and each other. Immediately we masked up and went into isolation mode. We had had limited contact before I learned of my exposure.

After day three none of us had developed symptoms. I decided to get tested and signed up at a local clinic. I had them do both tests: the antigen test which is quick turn-around and supposedly has more false negative results; and the more accurate molecular PCR test which takes 3-5 days to get results. In 15 min I was handed a piece of paper that said I was positive. It was a bit of a shock to say the least. A lot of thoughts went through my head. I was mainly concerned for my wife. I knew that I was in good health but did not delude myself into thinking that nothing would happen. I knew that I could possibly kill someone.

Precautions include having my own bedroom next to a separate bathroom. I use a box fan to remove air from my room. I also have a HEPA filter I can attach to the fan to filter re-circulating air. Apparently droplets containing the virus fall out of the air in roughly three hours. We disinfect surfaces and wash hands. When we are in the same room for a while I use a paper towel for mask material and tape it to my face to provide an air-tight seal. We walk the dogs together and feel safe to unmask. Distancing and knowing wind speed and direction enables us to avoid each other’s breath plume.

10 AM January 9. Day 5 has ended. This is a milestone since the average onset of symptoms is 5 days. My elderly friend and wife are okay. I awoke with a minor sore soft palate (upper-read part of mouth). Temp is normal (97.2F) and everything else seems okay. I have a few sore muscles from my new exercise routine and I need to keep reminding myself of this. (I’m doing squat thrusts and pushups the number of which corresponds to the number of days into the year.)

8 PM January 9. Palate soreness nearly gone.

10 AM January 10. Going on day 7. No symptoms. My friend in rehab has a diminished appetite but otherwise ok.

1 PM January 10. The clinic called and said that the molecular PCR test came back negative. Recall that the initial antigen test was positive. From the FDA web site, it appears that false negative results can occur depending on viral load and time after exposure. There are fewer false positives than false negatives. I will call my doctor tomorrow and get retested. Isolation protocol will continue. Yea – it’s pretty confusing.

1 PM January 11. No symptoms. Tried to get another test but clinics are overwhelmed.

10 AM January 12. No symptoms.

1 PM January 13. No symptoms. Going on day 10. I beginning to believe that the negative PCR test was correct. My doctor called back and said that they ARE very accurate.

10 AM January 14. No symptoms after day 10.

10 AM January 15. Going on day 12 w/ no symptoms.

3 PM January 16. Going on day 13. No symptoms. It’s beginning to look like I never got COVID.

9 AM January 17. Day 13 is over and we are well. My old friend had a bout with pneumonia and went to the ER briefly. He has gone back to the rehab place and has recovered! He’s still pretty ill with Parkinson’s and that really complicates things.