So, I’ve told you about my new daughter, Jessica. She is a delight. After Gail posted her dire circumstances, I sent her a care package that included Lysol wipes, toilet paper, paper towels, sanitizer, gloves and masks. It turns out the masks match her outfit. Her colleagues are now calling her “Pandemic Barbie.”
As she lives in Southern California, it is unclear if she is just abnormally cold or if this is her idea of a hazmat suit but in either case, she looks really cute so I thought I’d share it with you.
Has anyone writing here contracted Covid19 or have a relative or friend who is ill, seriously ill or has died of Covid19?
I don’t know even one person who has it.
My sister, her husband and their adult daughter all have it. He was hospitalized for 2 weeks and on oxygen but not on a ventilator. He is now off oxygen and in rehab Depending on where you live most people know some one (or perhaps many) who has it or has died. Believe me, those of us who work in the medical community in Massachusetts know far too many.
I’m so sorry, Alitheia 1875. So very, very sorry. It must seem surreal. I can’t imagine going through something like that.
Thank you. My brother in law is improving slowly so we thank God for that. My work takes me into nursing homes and hospitals and even though I work for the state I cannot go in but must work from home via computer. I talk to social workers every day, some of whom I have known for many years, and I always ask how they are doing. It’s the least, and for now, the only thing I can do. But they do appreciate my concern.
<3
Ventilators may be the problem. Insufficient oxygenation is the fatal factor according to some ER doctors.
George, not only that but the “lying on the back” posture that ventilators normally require, makes it much more difficult to breath. Lying on one’s front makes it easier on the lungs.
Yes, that is true Michael. I read that as well.
When the dust settles, we are going to find out a lot of things that we don’t want to hear and will anger us (and rightfully so).
Yes, there was a young man that passed away from COVID-19 on the other side of my condo building the other day. He left behind a wife and young son.
On a bright note, my cousin on the east coast had the virus, but has since recovered. She was in bad shape a couple of weeks ago. She finds out tomorrow whether or not she can return to work on Monday. Glory be to God!
And, yes…thanks Gail, for sharing the cute picture of your new daughter! My wife would be jealous of that face mask.
With regard to the man in your condo, if you would like to give us his first name, George and I will pray for him, and for his wife and son. I’m glad your cousin has recovered and hopefully, she will be back to work soon.
George sent my daughter that mask. That it matched was a huge plus with her. She has always been “team George all the way.”
Gail, I blush!
Alex, yes, please, Gail is correct: please give us this fellow’s name as well as his widow’s.
Thank you very much, Gail and George! The late man’s name is Jonathan (his wife/widow is Yoaldi, and son Nathan). There was a Go Fund Me appeal that raised $10,300, well over the goal of $8,500 to transport his body back to the family’s burial crypt in Mexico. Glory be to God!
Thank you, Alex. We will remember them in our prayers and if anyone else would like to send us names, we will remember them, as well.
Gail, how about publishing a list we can all use?
Thank you, Michael. I’ll talk with George about opening a thread and I’ll post/update the list. I would encourage every one to pray for these people, as they are able, and especially their families. Maybe we can light candles for them at home.
Thank you!
My Godson Anthony has just recovered from a respiratory virus.
Was it COVID 19? Who knows? He wasn’t tested.
His mother now appears to have contracted a respiratory virus.
Is it the same virus? Who knows? Is it COVID 19? Who knows?
So far she hasn’t been tested. There are not enough tests.
Anyway, those that there are give many false positives.
So, we don’t know.
I think George and I had it way back around the end of Feb. He came home and he just didn’t look right to me. He was coughing (not a lot) and I remember asking him about it. He seemed fine within a few days. I thought he was probably smoking his pipe.
I later I didn’t feel well. I told George my chest felt “tight” which for me is an odd symptom. I don’t get respiratory things. I coughed for one day but only a little. My temperature was up a few degrees but I take a lot of Tylenol and Ibuprofen (L5, S1 Grade 1-2) so I wouldn’t spike a fever. What was most unusual was I felt nauseous off and on. I could still eat, though. This NEVER happens to me.
Again, how can we know? We may have all had it. When the serology tests become available, I’m anxious to have it.
Gail,
The Serology IgG/IgM antibody tests are readily available, though the FDA has neither approved nor disapproved of them. They can be used, and there are probably at least a million tests sitting on distributor’s shelves in the US ready to be shipped at this moment.
Why, you may ask, are they not readily available to you?
Because the FDA, in its infinite wisdom, classifies all new-to- US-market tests as “Highly Complex” by default under CLIA (the law that regulates all clinical laboratory testing, whether performed by a hospital, reference lab, or your physician). Most physicians don’t use them because they are not yet CLIA-waived. Most reference labs, large clinic labs, and hospitals will not use them because there are no controls available to ‘validate’ them in their facilities as required by CLIA for moderately complex and highly complex tests. Never mind that these are simple, fast tests, the accuracy of which have been amply verified in other countries. (Note: Different brands of these tests vary in their sensitivity and specificity, i.e., some are more accurate than others.)
Many providers are anxious to provide these tests to their patients (some, though few, do), and the data would, IMHO, be very useful to our overall knowledge of the epidemiology of this disease. But there are rules, don’t ya know; and few labs are willing to risk losing their CLIA certifications without a clear go-ahead from the FDA.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not knocking the rules in general. Before they existed (prior to 1988), the accuracy of lab testing was very much subject to the self-imposed standards of each individual lab, some of which were rather lax. But this is supposedly a national emergency.
The FDA is pushing through a lot of things due to this emergency.
As best I know tonight, six people close to me have been infected and one has died. I’m sure that I’ll soon hear of more.
Funeral directors here in Bergen County NJ are overwhelmed. One of them, an acquaintance of mine, has nearly thirty corpses in his care at the moment and has had to rent a refrigerated trailer to house them. Cemeteries and crematories have a three-week backlog at the moment.
Grocery stores here are out of all sorts of products since deliveries are sporadic and unpredictable. I’ve been unable to find flour for prosphora, even on line.
May the Lord shorten the time
Again, the east coast is really getting hit hard. I expected the same in other really populated areas, like in CA, but so far we’re not seeing ANYTHING even close. I think it may have to do with the way people in NY live. They walk in crowds everywhere. In CA, everyone drives. Plus, in CA they have really cracked down. They’re issuing $1000 fines if you’re caught outdoors without a reason.
You, my dear, need to come visit us in OK for a while. We’d love to have you, we have the room and I am a very good cook, if I do say so myself. You would be safer here. Seriously think about it.
Latest genome studies suggest that origin is Europe in New York and that it is a tougher strain; perhaps as Italy and Spain have seen.
Same studies suggest West Coast has Chinese, which seems to be milder.
The statistics are mind-boggling; as of a couple of days ago, San Francisco had 45 deaths and Los Angeles 88, compared to 4,800 in New York. A totally different situation than New York, even apart from different crowding/lifestyle issues.
You’re right, Tim. The differences are staggering.
Three weeks ago– 3 weeks!– Washington State (my state), 51 deaths, New York 20 deaths. Three days ago, here 288, NY 4,800.
We’ve sent 400 ventilators back to the Feds of 500 received, and yesterday released the emergency army field hospital in Seattle back to the Fed gov’t. We don’t need it. Our health care system far from ‘overwhelmed’. But the East Coast situation is something else…
I’m from the NY area (one of the hardest hit areas) . I Still dont know anyone who has it, only ‘friend of a friend’. Its now come out that 80% of those on ventilators in NY have died. 30% higher than average because the medical personnel do not know how to calibrate the ventilators for the proper amount of oxygen resulting in more deaths.
My work colleague and family of 4 all had it. This colleague was at a home prayer meeting before the virus had seemed to arrive in this area. Among those at the house, there were 34 cases, 3 in ICU, and one death.
That’s terrible. I hear something similar happened to a church choir group.
A former law partner of mine and friend of 50 years has it, and had a serious time but is now on the mend.
He contracted it in Sun Valley, Id., which has turned out to be a hot spot because of travel in from everywhere in February and early March.
My father began to experience mild symptoms last Friday, which worsened considerably on Sunday when I took him to hospital. By Tuesday he was on a ventilator, and he fell asleep on Friday. We threw everything we could at him.
I tested positive on the same day. At the time our ordeal started, they wouldn’t even test here in CA unless one was experiencing moderate symptoms or in contact with a known case, and at that the results take 2-3 days to obtain. Unless symptoms are serious, they tell you to go home anyway.
It’s an evil virus.
I am so sorry, Johann. My his memory be eternal.
How are you now, Johann?
I pray you come through.
Zoe se sas (“life to you”), a customary saying to the survivors.
I seem to be decent now. Had an episode where I woke with tremors and tachycardia the other night, but I think it was a bout of anxiety given the circumstances rather than a manifestation of the disease.
If it continues, I would call your provider. They’re hard to get a hold of and of course they’ve closed down the emergency rooms and urgent care centers. Telemedicine is cheap and at least you would be able to talk with a doctor within minutes, should it continue. Try to find a number of one of these people in your area just in case you need it, but I wouldn’t hesitate to call 911. (P.S. If you’re having trouble finding a telemedicine group in your state, contact George and he’ll put me on it. I’m the Google Queen.)
She’s the queen of more than Google I can assure you!
Take plenty of Vitamin C and D3 (from the sun if you can, if not supplement). They won’t cure you of the virus, but they will support your immune system which will.
God bless.
Btw fellas, she’s not only delightful, she’s gorgeous!
If they were to call her ‘Corona Barbie’,
you would need to buy her a tiara at least…
So true!
Yes, I know many people who have the virus, some who have been very sick, but thankfully no deaths. Here in the NY, CT, NJ, many people are really suffering.
Yeah, our hearts go out to you folks. You all are going through a nightmare.
Reference to what George posted a few weeks ago about immune system deficiencies among certain ethnic groups, I wonder if the high population of Italian-Americans in those states might have something to do with it?
There’s also many Chinese-Americans too.
George?
I was wondering that, too, Basil.
Basil, quite possibly. We really won’t know a lot until all the dust settles. As I reported earlier, New Rochelle, NY, the first city to go under quarantine in the US, had a high percentage of Orthodox Jews and Chinese.
However, I will confidently state this: that the number of fatalities were WAY over the mark. The question is was this because of stupidity or design?
Gail & George: What say ye on Pfizer??
https://nypost.com/2020/04/09/pfizer-working-on-promising-coronavirus-treatment-vaccine/
I say it’s suspicious that they used it to treat SARS and Pfizer is, again, going to make a pile of money.
Yeah, they have to. Viagra went off-patent about five years ago and they have to make up their losses.
A person with whom I serve on a local council is recovering from the virus. And a relative of my SIL also has contracted the virus. This is PA & NJ.
Lord have mercy.
Rev Costantinos Pavlakos Proistamenos and Presvytera Pauline Pavlakos of Saint Katherine’s Greek Orthodox Church in Falls Church, Virginia. Both we’re admitted to INOVA Hospital, treated for the virus. Father Costa is home now recovering while Presvytera Pauline is still in the hospital. Please pray for their complete post recovery.
Wow. I know them well for many years. I will light a candle for them.
Just watching “The Zoo” about what goes on in the NY zoos. The Bronx Zoo tigers, all but one, have tested positive for COVID 19.
If that is true, without some reliable vaccine, it will be quite difficult to control outbreaks and transmission regardless of any general restrictions, social distancing and even quarantine.
Reliable, cheap and widely available testing for humans is also essential. It seems that not much is being done in that end of things. The tigers got tested. Why cannot we?
I bet the PETA folk and other anti-human protestors are ecstatic.
Well, this is interesting. According to this study, the corona virus follows its own path of growth, plateau and decline regardless of whatever measures a nation takes, whether it be a full lock-down like Israel or a business-as-usual approach like Sweden:
https://townhall.com/columnists/marinamedvin/2020/04/15/israeli-professor-shows-virus-follows-fixed-pattern-n2566915