We are at roughly the 2 1/2 year mark for the start of Covid in the U.S. and lucky me, I finally caught it. It doesn’t surprise me in the least. Now that all the support is being phased out and some Utah republicans want the word “pandemic” struck from any future conversations, I would get it. Perusing the shelves of our local grocery store in search of test kits is challenging but I have success, with a catch. “Test-Kits” have a sticker telling the reader not to worry because it is expired, but the FDA says it is still ok for another 90-days, no worries! My “New” kit is dated to expire on 7-22-22, which doing my math says good until October. Asking my pharmacist about this just receives a shrug of the shoulders and a smirk. Like most, I have taken a lot of Covid tests, mainly in hospitals or Pop-up testing centers that became more prevalent than vape shops. I remember being excited when they promised results in less than an hour. That was better than in the beginning when it took days. My 15 minute test went positive in less than 3-minutes so I was pretty sure it was accurate. It has been so long since I’ve been sick and was pretty sure it was just a cold, but since nowadays Covid is the first thing that comes to mind I wanted to be safe rather than sorry. The positive test was literally the next morning after getting an IV pic installed in my left arm. I have been battling what my doctor thought initially was a staff infection, but when the oral meds didn’t knock it out I sent him a message on Sunday with pictures. He received my message and checked the Labcorp results and found out on Monday it was also a bacterial infection which requires an IV injection every eight hours. So, now in addition to giving me injections 3-times a days, she is sleeping on the couch so I can quarantine in the bedroom, and because her 94-year old mom won’t be in the same unit as a leper on the 8th floor, Lisa has to take her dinner to her on the 2nd floor. I don’t blame her for that one-Covid could be deadly for her. Did I mention the intervals for the injections were 11 am, 7pm and 3am… Another twist was the pharmacy (we’ll call them pharmacy A) that this prescription was handed off too couldn’t accommodate my Plan D on Medicare. I had to pay for the meds up front at $800 plus co-pay later. By Wednesday, Pharmacy B contacted me to tell me that first fact and that they would be handling my account. They continued by telling me they were cheaper and it would only be $246. I explained I had already paid $800 for the entirety of my treatment (10-days worth of syringes). The lady on the phone was pleasant enough-they all have been quite nice actually-and said she sympathized my situation and reminded me of my savings and to say there is no reason we couldn’t shift the doses to a more humane time, like 10 pm, 6 am, and 2 pm. I called pharmacy A to verify this and was told the same thing. He concluded by telling me a credit of $400 had already been posted to my account. The fact that this process started on Monday am when my family doctor read my message in the online portal and by 6pm that night I had received an IV pic in my arm and enough meds to last through Friday was pretty impressive. The demeanor of all the various nurses and pharmacies involved and the timeliness of their followthrough was equally impressive. I am 5 days into a 10 day regiment as I write this and am tired, lethargic and have a terrible sore throat, but if this is as bad as it gets, I will feel lucky. And yes, I had my 2-shots and booster so maybe this is the worst it gets. I see the commercials for additional boosters on TV constantly and have been reluctant to get it. Because of a previous reaction, I do not get the annual flu shots anymore, which is how I have been viewing this latest Covid booster. A big positive though-it doesn’t appear political anymore. Get a shot or not, wear a mask or not, no big deal-your choice. I’m sure as I continue aging, home care on different levels will become more frequent so my question is: Will this level of attention and support remain the norm or was this a fluke and don’t get your hopes up.

P.S. Looking at the calendar I realize I will be in “Time-out” for Thanksgiving. Way to go Covid!