A cautionary tale about letting your mask down:
I tested positive at 4 p.m. Friday and got a prescription for Paxlovid, which I started that evening. I don’t remember much of Saturday, a feverish and dreamy day, something out of a Katherine Anne Porter story.
I was weak but at least partly lucid Sunday. I saw the brilliant young doctor Monday.
I suggested that having the virus was like diving into the sea on a moonless night — so dark it can be hard to find the surface. She corrected my metaphor: my case was a quick, steep dive and a quick return to the surface, made possible by vaccinations and Paxlovid.
What I learned:
• If in doubt, use your test kit provided by the government. Use it sooner, rather than later. Eliminate the doubt.
• If the test is positive, call the doctor and ask specifically for Paxlovid or a similar drug. Take it immediately. A quick response means a quick return to the surface.
• Keep some throat lozenges in the medicine cabinet. I thought I was up on COVID. But I was surprised by the severity of the sore throat. Even trying to swallow was painful. Symptoms vary, of course. But if your symptoms turn out to be like mine, you’ll be proud of that sack of lozenges, as we say in Texas.
• Keep a carton of orange juice or some other source of vitamin C in the icebox. I knew that people with the virus tend to dehydrate. But, even with that knowledge, I had trouble getting enough fluids down.
A few days before I got sick, I’d had truck trouble and had to call for a tow. The driver, who wasn’t wearing a mask, said he was surprised to see that I was. He said he hadn’t seen anyone wearing a mask in a long time.
Being careful doesn't make you bulletproof. The virus is everywhere. As my doctor says, that’s what “pandemic” means. But it’s not a bad idea — certainly not a silly idea — to cut your risks as much as you can.
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