Before I left for our Magical Vacation Planner (MVP) Annual Conference at Walt Disney World on March 11, there was talk of this new virus spreading from China. They say it was coming to the US. I had traveled to Dallas, TX for business from February 9-14. On February 12, Dad lost his battle with Pulmonary Fibrosis at Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan. When I returned to Charlotte on the 14th, I unpacked from Dallas and packed for a funeral. We would be leaving around 4:30 AM on the 15th and return home on the 16th. Around February 21, I began feeling ill with a sore throat, cough, and fevers. I went to my doctor on March 5, where he diagnosed me with Persistent Asthmatic Bronchitis. He prescribed a narcotic cough syrup; Tessalon Pearls I took to take the tickle out of my throat; Levaquin (10 days), a strong antibiotic; steroids; and two inhalers. After about five days I began to feel better and was cleared to travel to Orlando! My cough was almost gone. The number of coronavirus cases in the US was rising, but I knew I would soon be in my, "Disney Bubble" and not have anything to worry about.
Here's a little history about the onset of this disease in the US:
The first coronavirus case was reported January 20 in Washington.
On January 30, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global public-health emergency.
The virus was named COVID-19 on February 11.
The US reported it's first death from COVID-19 on February 29.
On March 11 (the day I arrived in Orlando) the WHO declared the outbreak a pandemic.
A US National Emergency is declared on March 13.
March 23 NYC has 21,000 cases
March 26, the US has 82,404 cases, surpassing China's 81,782 and Italy's 80,589.
March 31, more than 1/3 of humanity is under some form of lockdown (roughly 80% of all American's in 35 states)
April 1, globally there are 922,000 cases with 656,000 being active; 193,000 recoveries; 46,000 deaths
April 3, the US has 308,900 cases of the coronavirus
Schools are closed until May 15. Students are doing "remote learning" in our school system.
We were at conference. The feel and mood was changing. It was eerie. Our conference schedule was being changed minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour. Vendors started cancelling travel and we were being updated the same time the public was (sometimes afterwords due to social media). There was a "rumor" circulating that Disneyland would be closing that weekend with the resorts in CA to follow. People were speculating about Walt Disney World closing.
As time went on, we learned Walt Disney World would, in fact, close the gates to all parks beginning Sunday, March 15 and remain closed until April 15. We could not believe it. I was flying home that day.
Two nights prior to leaving I started feeling ill again. I had nausea and vomiting and a fever. I figured I just ate something bad at our team dinner at the Art of Animation resort. My meal was terrible and the chicken tasted bad. My cough had returned and I was doing everything I could to suppress it while I was in the airport for the fear of getting beat up by paranoid passengers or not be allowed to board my plane home. My mouth was raw from all the cough drops. Thankfully, I made it home.
My company was on Work from Home orders and it would be week-by-week. Since I was still coughing I was going to play it safe and stay home. I went by the office to pick up a few things I needed and set up my office at home. I only had my laptop, so it was difficult to work on such a small screen when I was used to having three screens while I worked.
By now, my cough was extremely bad. I was coughing pretty much every minute I was awake. I sent my doctor a message on MyChart. He said I needed another round of antibiotics and steroids. I asked him if I could have the coronavirus. He said it was unlikely. I don't understand how he came to that conclusion considering how much I had been traveling to high-risk areas and how sick I was.
A few days after starting back on my meds, my condition only worsened. I called my doctor and did a tele-health visit with him. He instructed me to stop the antibiotics (this was day 17 on Levaquin) and not take anymore steroids and to get tested. This was now March 23. On March 30, my test came back negative (over a month after onset of symptoms). I wondered if my medications gave me a false negative or if I had just been sick for so long it was already out of my system. I continued to decline.
That same night I had an attack where I could not breathe around 12:15 AM. Around 1 AM I was finally able to breathe after Emily came to my rescue with my inhaler. Harry almost called 911. Since stopping Levaquin, I've gotten progressively better.
What I find sad out of all of this is that I was unfriended by many of my MVP colleagues on Facebook because they were upset I went to conference after being sick. Even after explaining to them I was cleared to travel, they were still mad. I've barely had contact from people from work unless it is work-related. The president of our company banned me from the facility until my cough is gone, saying I made everyone feel uneasy at our stand-up outdoor meeting that week. I've been working from home ever since then. I was allowed to have Harry go by the office and pick up my keyboard, mouse, and computer monitor, which has helped greatly!
I've been doing physical therapy through Zoom meetings online. During this time I purchased a TENS unit. My therapist, Kyle Kolkmann, has taught me how to use it. After learning of degenerative disk disease in my spine, I purchased a foam roller for my back. I believe the stress of everything is making all my aches and pains worse.
I hope that this blog will serve as a historical artifact of the coronavirus outbreak, its impact on our lives, and what we are doing each day to get by. As of 4-4-2020, all non-essential businesses are closed, domestic travel is discouraged, and most of the US is under "Stay at Home" orders. This means no gatherings of 10 or more people. You can still go to the stores, although you have to stay 6-feet apart. Pharmacies are still open and people are allowed to exercise outdoors. All public parks are closed as of this week because people were still having basketball games and violating the social distancing guidelines.
April 4, 2020
Watched TV
Cooked a cheesy vegetable pasta
Drew pictures
Emily got out sewing box for a few minutes
Attempted skating in the pool parking lot and decided to play acting games with Emily instead
Went on a walk (there were lots of neighbors out I hadn't seen before)
Comments