Covid Day 6: Negative for now!

I woke with a headache at three or so and was awake for an hour or so, brushed my teeth to try to rid my mouth of the foul taste that has been the most obvious side effect of the drug cocktail, but got back to sleep till seven thirty. I took my last dose of Paxlovid (Yay!) then went back to sleep again till Sheila called at nearly ten, I think. She suggested I go ahead and take another Covid test:

Negative!

So we breakfasted on our egg frittatas, salsa, greek yogurt, toast, and coffee.  I showered. Traded my pajamas for real pants for the first time since last Saturday. Masked up (N-95) and walked across the street to the moving sale of our dear neighbor Joan Ledbetter. And interacted in-person with two or three folks besides Sheila for a few minutes. Lordy, it's hot out there folks!

Let's review:

Thanks to a real American president who puts country first and who put professionals in charge of health policy, I am twice vaccinated, twice boosted, and had available to me the exact antiviral medication that the President is now taking. Also I have a primary physician (Dr. Anandita Arora) who was willing to return my call on a Sunday, advise me,  and prescribe that medicine immediately to get right after the virus. As a result I was feeling better by the next morning. And five days of quarantine later I am back in the real world. The illness that has killed millions was (so far) a very distasteful (literally and figuratively) minor inconvenience for me.

Of course, at seventy-five, I've got to remain vigilant. There is a small possibility (2 to 9%) of a "rebound" infection.  And even more rarely a serious reinfection. But how fortunate I have been to escape infection for two and a half years till these things were available to me. 

Not all have been so lucky. One among those close to me is the talented 23 year-old who died early in the pandemic (July 3, 2020). A young man just beginning adulthood who had been my student when he was a fourth grader. How unfair that this old geezer lives and he doesn't. Shayne, I pledge to you that I will speak out as long as I breathe to see that our republic is never again in the hands of an ego-maniac who would put his own vanity above the common good.