The phrase once uttered in “The Godfather Part III” and immortalized on “The Sopranos”:
“Just when I thought I was out...they pull me back in!”
I got COVID two days after the last performance of “Virginia Woolf.” It was a deja vu moment for me, as the last time I contracted COVID was right before the last performance of “Angels In America Part One.” In fact, I was the canary in the coal mine. After I posted to the cast, others tested positive as well. This time out, I was the solo voice.
I hope nobody else connected with the show or who came to see us was infected. It could have come from any number of contacts I had over that weekend. All I knew was I woke up on Tuesday feeling like Mohammad Ali had run a sanitation truck over me and then jumped out of the truck to pummel me for about 45 minutes. I drove very slowly over to CVS to pick up my Paxlovid after a round of communications with my doctor. You have to have proof of your condition to get a script and the script to get the medication.
It doesn’t start leaving that taste in your mouth till day two, but the relief of symptoms is almost immediate, and if not, certainly within 24 hours.
I had to confine myself to our apartment for the first five days. Joan tried to clear a path for me, hoping she wouldn’t be infected. I had to remember to temper my expectations for what I could do based upon my symptoms. Joan calls it “enforced relaxation,” which, for a couple of days, meant sleeping.
Three days into taking Paxlovid, I felt slightly more normal. I had sweated through my bedclothes the first night, slightly less the second. My voice was gradually returning. My dreams were weird.
Still, I found a reason to be grateful that I lived in a time where medications were available to ease the symptoms of a disease that, unvaccinated and unmedicated, I could have easily died from. Thousands of people perished from this exact same disease before the vaccines, before the medications, before cultural awareness, prior to all the scientific evidence. I am lucky to be alive in a year where so many dear friends have perished. And, I have to use my time wisely going forward.
So, as my friend Sylvia Csuros suggested, I am here to spread awareness about COVID and not spread the disease. Yes, it’s still with us and virulent. It it easily caught and passed on. You may not even know you have it. We got lax for awhile, just like we did about AIDS, when the numbers went down and not as many people were dying or needed hospitalization. But, it’s still with us and will always be. So, we need to take precautions. Get all of you shots: flu, pneumonia, shingles, tetanus, RSV, and all your COVID vaccines. Keep wearing a mask in crowd situations. I know it’s a drag, but getting sick is much more of a drag. Be on the lookout for COVID relapse.
Remember that you can still be contagious even after your symptoms have passed. Give yourself an extra five days. If you have to go out during that time, wear a mask.
It’s difficult to tell exactly what you have lately. We are at a unique juncture where any number of symptoms could signal a sinus infection, an allergic reaction, the flu, RSV, a common cold and the ever-present COVID monster. I don’t do well with down time. I have a sense of urgency. I want to keep doing until I’m done and that should, by my calculations, be three days after I’m dead.
Joan and I had planned to venture into the city for my birthday on Friday. I found myself quite content with ordering a pizza from Pier 76 and watching “Immediate Family” on Amazon instead. Not the worst way to usher in your 74th year! Friends sent congratulations, tempered by my current condition. I was grateful for them all.
Sunday was the worst. I was due to play the Spanish mass at 12:30, then the Christmas concert at 3. Joan had wanted to attend our musician friend’s annual party. All of that went away. Maybe I had scheduled too much for that week and G-d was just trying to slow me down?
As I began to feel better, I got more restless. I finished a short play, two columns and two radio shows. I watched a LOT of TV. I knew I was protecting not only myself and Joan but the outside world from COVID. I watched and waited for the dreaded COVID rebound which, luckily for me, never came.
My take away from this third bout with COVID was this: “It’s very clear this thing is here to stay. Not for a year, but ever and a day.” So, what do we do? We protect ourselves. We get our shots, wear masks, avoid larger indoor crowds during the holidays. We temper our expectations with our desire to stay healthy. It sucks, but at least we don’t have to worry about being blown to bits on our way to school or church. There are far worse living conditions on our planet.
And we especially need to be kind, because we do not know what cross the other person is bearing.
Happy holiday season to us all. May our days be merry and bright.
And may your magnificent grey heads remain aloft!
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The Old Guy: On surviving COVID all over again
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23.12.2023
The phrase once uttered in “The Godfather Part III” and immortalized on “The Sopranos”:
“Just when I thought I was out...they pull me back in!”
I got COVID two days after the last performance of “Virginia Woolf.” It was a deja vu moment for me, as the last time I contracted COVID was right before the last performance of “Angels In America Part One.” In fact, I was the canary in the coal mine. After I posted to the cast, others tested positive as well. This time out, I was the solo voice.
I hope nobody else connected with the show or who came to see us was infected. It could have come from any number of contacts I had over that weekend. All I knew was I woke up on Tuesday feeling like Mohammad Ali had run a sanitation truck over me and then jumped out of the truck to pummel me for about 45 minutes. I drove very slowly over to CVS to pick up my Paxlovid after a round of communications with my doctor. You have to have proof of your condition to get a script and the script to get the medication.
It doesn’t start leaving that taste in your mouth till day two, but the relief of symptoms is almost immediate, and if not, certainly within 24 hours.
I had to confine myself to our apartment for the first five days. Joan tried to........
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