Yes, Virginia, I had COVID

Just in case anyone was wondering where my byline was last week…

I have spent the last few days confined to quarters, having guards who snapped when I tried to escape and wouldn’t let me have a sip of whiskey.

But seriously…I tested positive with COVID-19 last Sunday.

So here’s how the timeline proceeded…

I began having a bit of a cough. The cough worsened on the evening of Friday, Sept. 2. I proceeded to attend a gathering on Saturday and on Saturday night, while out with friends at dinner, the cough was pretty bad and kept me up most of the night.

Now, having a touch of asthma and it being that time of the year, I really wasn’t concerned but I felt fine otherwise. But Sunday morning, with the cough still there, I decided to get tested. This was the second time I had been tested and this one seemed a little more…invasive.

And around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 12, I received a text saying I was positive. Shit.

I got the damn shots in March. I didn’t think this was supposed to happen. Well, actually, I was told the shot just makes it so if/when you get COVID it’s not as severe.

Just call me Breakthrough Bob.

I proceeded to contact my Muddy Buddies (the affectionate name Matt Schuckman has bestowed on all of us associated with the Muddy River Mafia) as well as the people I was around on Saturday.

I talked to my doctor and he suggested I get a Monoclonal Antibody Infusion. That sounded painful. He assured me it wasn’t. I also talked with two other health professionals who suggested the same thing.

None of them suggested horse pills or bleach.

Now, since I decided to get sick on a holiday weekend, I had to wait until Wednesday for my infusion. So on Labor Day Monday, with the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon no longer an option, I laid in bed and coughed until my ribs hurt.

Tuesday was the first day I had diarrhea, chills and I lost my sense of smell. Still don’t have it back. Could still taste. Was drinking so much tea and water that I was making multiple bathroom trips for various reasons.

Got the infusion Wednesday morning. Was in a room with two other gentlemen, neither of them had received the vaccine. Their experiences sounded far worse than mine, so I am still glad I got the shot.

The infusion took about two hours. Went home and crashed for four hours.

Felt better when I woke up, but was still tired. proceeded to sleep a full 10 hours.

Thursday morning was an almost human feeling. Watching the Cowboys play defense almost gave me a relapse.

Saturday morning was an almost human feeling. Watching the Missouri Tigers play defense almost gave me a relapse.

Felt much better and my wife made fried chicken on Sunday. All almost right with the world.

So here I am Monday morning, back at work. Only been at it about three hours and I am gassed. Will cover the City Council meeting online tonight as tomorrow is officially my supposed to be my first day out of the box.

My family was wonderful in taking care of me. My friends and co-workers checked in regularly. I wanted to wait until I was almost at the finish line to say anything because I wanted make sure I would see the finish line…and I really didn’t feel like doing crap all of last week.

Everyone here at the Muddy River Ranch really picked up the slack while I was out. It’s nice to be part of a team. Thank you all.

Still really don’t feel like a drink just yet though.