"Celebrating" My 15 Years

In case you were wondering how I celebrated my 15 year diagnosiversary, I can tell you that it didn't go as planned. I tested positive for Covid-19 a couple of days before.

And I'm doing fine -- I want you to know that right away. This is my first time getting Covid, even though people I live with have gotten it twice before, and despite my being in very close contact with them, I managed to avoid it.

I wasn't so lucky this time. I felt a little tired on Friday, and had a headache on and off. It felt like the start of a really bad cold. So Friday night, I thought it was a good idea to take a test, just in case. It came back positive. Two of my kids were home with my wife and me, so we all put on masks and I did my best to stay away from them.

Saturday morning, I called my oncologist's office left a message with his answering service. The doctor on call got back to me within a few minutes. I told her that Dr. H, my regular oncologist, had told me that if I did test positive to call him right away so he could prescribe Paxlovid, the anti-vital treatment. The doctor on call gave me the prescription right away, and I started the treatment immediately. I'm sure it helped, though I've also been dealing with "Paxlovid Mouth," a common and harmless but annoying side effect that involves having my mouth always taste like I'm eating really burnt toast covered in dirt marmalade. Not very pleasant, but more annoying than harmful. 

I felt pretty bad on Saturday, though I haven't had a fever or any breathing problems. On Sunday, the day of my diagnosiversary, I ate dinner in a separate room and enjoyed some gingerbread cake with whipped cream.And I felt a little bit better that day.

Not really the celebration I had hoped for. My plan was to go to the beach, as I had done a couple of years ago. And then on Monday, we were going to extend the celebration and sneak sandwiches into an afternoon movie, as we've done in years past. We hung out at home and watched a movie together, masked, with me at a distance. Still nice.

And despite our efforts, my wife and kids ended up testing positive anyway. Not a surprise. We were in pretty close contact before I tested positive, not knowing.

So, once again, be assured that I feel OK, other than a weird taste in my mouth and missing out on the thrill of breaking the rules at the local cinema. And a little bit of a hoarse voice. I assume that my feeling good will continue.

As you all know, I'm a big fan of science, so I'll give some credit to my ant-vital medication, two vaccine doses, one booster shot, and a bi-valent shot.

I hope you all are taking care of yourselves. 

I'll let you all know when that weird taste goes away.