Quit Manufacturing Stress

All of a sudden it seems like everyone I know has, or has had, Covid. Including us. Tracy and I honestly just thought we were coming down with a cold. We had a surprise birthday celebration to attend. The only reason I did an at-home Covid test was because I sounded like I had congestion. I wanted to be able to tell people if they asked that, yes, I tested and am negative.

Only I got a positive result. I was genuinely surprised. Don’t ask me why. I had considered myself quite lucky that I hadn’t contracted Covid. Made it two and a half years. I had Tracy do a test when he got home as well. It was positive. Turns out we are no longer Covid virgins.

We obviously worried that we may have been out passing it on. In my defense, I tested as soon as I had signs, even though I thought it was just a cold. Our biggest concern was that we both had just spent time with Travis.

I took Travis for his 1st booster as soon as it was available. I had been waiting and waiting to get him his 2nd booster. The guidelines didn’t include him. Once I realized that several people I knew currently had Covid, I scheduled a booster for Travis anyway. It had been well over six months since his first booster. He has several underlying issues.

That’s one of the things I was doing with him when I was unknowingly positive and most likely contagious. We were in the waiting room for several minutes. Thankfully we were the only two in the room. I went back to the counter to make sure they didn’t forget we were there. The pharmacist was having trouble running the administrative fee through Travis’s Medicaid.

Which surprised me. Because if anyone knows how sick he is it’s Medicaid. I told the pharmacist I would pay the fee. But somehow, she got it worked out. Either Medicaid approved it, or the pharmacy decided to forgo the fee. I don’t know.

I went in with Travis when it was time for the shot because of his aversion to needles. I have a way of keeping him distracted. Looking back, I realized that none of us had a mask on. I didn’t give it a second thought. Until Tracy said, well good thing you had a mask on. He had recently got his 2nd booster and the pharmacy location he went to made him wear a mask. He remembers because they had to give him one.

Right away I began to worry. Because that is what I do. Our daughter, Corey, tested positive the week before. We hadn’t seen her, so she is not the culprit! She is one of the most fit people I know. She had some serious symptoms, including a fever and trouble breathing. Her husband and kids were out of state, I worried because she was alone. I’m sure her first booster had worn off. I knew she was unlikely to need hospital care, but I worried just the same.

And if she had trouble breathing, would I too? Several years ago, my right lung collapsed due to an infection that grew inside me and ran rampant after a surgery. Several tests and years later I still only have 75% capacity in that lung. My most recent X-ray in 2020, shows that the right side of my diaphragm is higher than the left because my right lung hasn’t fully inflated in years.

I saw a doctor virtually and she prescribed me Paxlovid. Just in case. Paxlovid is an antiviral medication.

Tracy and I never felt all that bad. We felt like we had a cold. With major fatigue. I did an at-home Covid test today and it came back negative.

Here we are several days later, and Travis hasn’t had any symptoms. Sometimes I wonder if he would be able to tell if he had symptoms. He has a wicked smoker’s cough. He feels fatigued daily. I read an article at www.theatlantic.com, titled, “America is Running out of Covid Virgins”, by Yasmin Tayag. Now you know where I got the term Covid virgin.

The article says that some people may have already had Covid and not even know it. Tayag says that Covid virgins are becoming a rare breed. Per Tayag, “The Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation suggests that as of earlier this month, 82 percent of Americans have been infected with the coronavirus at least once. Some of those people might still think they’re never had the virus: Asymptomatic infections happen, and mild symptoms are sometimes brushed off as allergies or a cold.

Now that we’re battling BA.5, the most contagious and vaccine-dodging Omicron offshoot yet, many people are facing their second, third, or even fourth infections. That reality can make it feel like the stragglers who have evaded infection for two and a half years are destined to fall sick sooner rather than later. At this point, are COVID virgins nothing more than sitting ducks?

The basic math admittedly doesn’t look promising. Most of the people getting infected right now seem to be coming down with the illness for the first time, even though they are a distinct minority.

But even this far into the pandemic, it’s hard to know exactly why some vaccinated and boosted people have gotten sick while others haven’t—good pandemic behaviors might come into play, along with luck. Scientists are still investigating the role of other factors, including whether genetics might be protecting the immune systems of people who haven’t gotten COVID.

The grim reality is that as long as the virus shows no signs of abating, the number of COVID virgins will continue to shrink.”

Travis has definitely not adhered to good pandemic behaviors. He would not consider himself lucky. Genetics, maybe.

Ultimately, I ended up telling myself to quit manufacturing stress. I have been doing so much reading lately that I can’t remember where I heard that - quit manufacturing stress. But it resonated with me because that is exactly what I do.

Corey is fine. Tracy and I are fine. I have checked in with the people that I was in contact with and they either have no symptoms or are at the end of their Covid infection. If Travis gets Covid, I will make sure he gets the best care available. Because that is what I do. Covid is obviously not something I can control. Most of the things I worry about are also outside of my control.

I may be a work in progress, but I am making progress. In the midst of all the Covid stuff, I decided to quit manufacturing stress. And so, I did.

“And then one day I decided that hurry and stress were no longer going to be part of my life. Stress is self-created; I decided to stop manufacturing it. We can choose an internal calm and joy amid the chaos.” - Brendon Burchard