Our Latest Adventure Has Started, Not With a Bang, But With a Whimper - Part 3 of 3

Normally when someone has Covid, they are instructed to stay away from other members of their household. We couldn't do this since we are living together 24/7 in an indoor space that is about 20 x 6 x 6 feet and sleeping in a bed that is about 3 ½ feet wide.

Bob was exposed to Covid for a few hours over a Friday and Shabbos; I was marinating in it for days. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

By Monday, the day after Bob got the monoclonal antibodies, I was feeling flu-ish. We headed off to Lake Huron anyway. By Monday evening I was running a fever and felt like I had a bad case of the flu, some cold symptoms and had lost my sense of taste and smell.

Tuesday morning, just a week after we had left, Bob was feeling a lot better, but I was feeling so sick, we considered coming home. We tried unsuccessfully to find a place where I could get tested to confirm it was Covid. Drug stores that had big signs in front advertising “Covid Testing”, were not testing that week.

Finally, Bob found an urgent care center to test me (after waiting 1 ½ hours to be seen). I couldn’t believe it when the rapid test came back negative.

But the next day I was feeling a lot better. That afternoon, I got a call from the prior day's urgent care center, letting me know that my PCR test came back positive!

I was actually relived. I felt validated for all my kvetching.

We tried to set up an appointment for me to get the monoclonal antibodies. Very long story short, I was eventually put on a triage list, but told not to expect a call back. Since I was already starting to feel better, we gave up on trying to get me antibodies and continued on our way.

The end of this long and sad Covid story is that Boruch Hashem we are both well now, enjoying our trip and feeling better.

Just one more thing. This past Monday, 5 whole days after I was put on the monoclonal antibodies triage list, I got a call that I could schedule an appointment now! (Keep in mind that It is important to get these as soon as possible after infection.) Given that I was feeling much better and was actually in the middle of biking an 11 ½ mile loop in Marquette, MI that day (slowly and with numerous stops, of course) I told them thanks, and to give the appointment to someone sicker.

Moral of all this - Try not to get Covid, but if you do, don't get it in Michigan.

Coming up soon - Various Great Lakes and Lots of Lighthouses

Our Latest Adventure Has Started, Not With a Bang, But With a Whimper - Part 2

We had reserved a campground in Michigan for Wednesday (2nd night of our trip) based on its proximity to the Henry Ford Museum which we had planned to visit on Thursday. Instead, as I mentioned in my previous post, we spent Thursday visiting emergency rooms. Thursday was also the only day during our first week when it didn’t rain most of the day, just in the evening.

We camped Thursday night in the parking lot of the second emergency room. (Fortunately for us, and the local population I suppose, it wasn’t a busy hospital, so it was a quiet night.)

Friday afternoon I got my second (rapid) Covid test which was negative.

Because we had to hang around in the area till Sunday so Bob could get his antibody infusion (we hoped!), we went back to Wednesday’s campground for Friday and Shabbos. Not only was it near the Henry Ford Museum, it was on the beautiful shores of Lake Erie. It was also scenically located between the coal burning DTE Energy Monroe Power Plant and the Enrico Fermi II Nuclear Power Plant.

Straight ahead was a great view of the lake. Off to the side though, let me just say that we could always tell which way the wind was blowing.

Bob spent most of Shabbos sleeping while I read. Later in the afternoon, when it stopped raining for a while, I took a walk along the nature trail in the campground.

Sunday, Bob was able to get the infusion. Boruch Hashem. Sunday night we camped in the parking lot of that hospital.

Monday morning we headed off to a campground on the shores of Lake Huron. 

To be continued…

Views from the campgrounds

The morning we left the rain had stopped. For a while. There was a great sunrise.

Our Latest Adventure Has Started, Not With a Bang, But With a Whimper - Part 1

We left NJ on our latest adventure on Tuesday Oct 26th, at the tail end of a Nor'easter, two weeks ago. The very next day, on entry to Michigan (free testing at the Michigan Welcome Center!), Bob tested positive for Covid.

Bob had a mild case because he (we) had 2 doses of the Moderna Vaccine. (A booster had only just been approved. Ironically, we were planning to get it that week.) Were it not for the positive Covid test, he would have thought it was only a bad cold. We touched base with his primary care doctor who told Bob to go to any emergency room and get Monoclonal Antibodies. Easier said than done.

Bob spent the better part of Thursday, 3rd day into this trip, trying to get the infusion. Emergency Room #1 kept him for about 1½ hours until they let him know that they don’t give the infusion. And could not tell us who did.

Apparently, we could not just go to any hospital.

So, we called the Michigan Covid Hotline (number helpfully provided to us by the Michigan Welcome Center where we were tested) to get the names of hospitals where he could get the antibodies. One was about 15 minutes away. He tried calling to confirm but couldn’t get through. Because it was so close, I said to just go. Emergency Room #2 also kept him waiting about 1½ hours just to tell him they stopped giving the infusion 2 weeks ago. So much for the Michigan Covid Hotline!

Meanwhile, back in NJ, one of our sons found out that a friend of a friend worked at a hospital in Michigan that was giving the antibodies. Bob called and was able to set up an appointment! We couldn’t get a slot for Friday, so we set up an appointment for Sunday.

To be continued…

Our drive - Great fall foliage on display through the fog, rain, and occasional hail