Thank Goodness It’s “Only” Covid!

Of course, I mean no disrespect to any of you reading this who have had friends or family members die of covid. I never expected to use those five words together, but when the most likely culprit for my body aches, headaches, fever, lightheadedness, nausea, etc. is actually dengue, I felt a bit of relief. I’ve had covid twice before this, and that possibility didn’t enter my mind first here in Costa Rica, when I’ve likely gotten 60-70 mosquito bites since moving here on June 20.  

Other unpleasant possibilities included Chikungunya fever, Zika, and malaria. The only curable option of any of the above—malaria, as a parasite instead of a virus. Dengue can cause kidney failure, though, and as someone with only one kidney, that had me worried.  I haven’t had a ceiling downstairs for the last two to three weeks. I tried to use a mosquito net in the ridiculously cheap and thin material the previous owners used for the ceiling,but it ripped out after only one night. Mosquito nets don’t even weigh a pound, but it tore out leaving a hole. Hence, the endeavor to replace the ceiling in the house. At the moment, I have a reprieve in the upstairs, because they haven’t started working here yet. So, I sleep up here in an air-conditioned room, and I can close both the door to my room and the door to the upstairs. I still have to spend time downstairs though—to cook, to do laundry, etc.  

So, yesterday, I got to the clinic, where they do this type of testing, around noon. Just in time for the lab tech’s TWO-HOUR lunch break from noon to two! At least they have air-conditioning and the reception staff speak English fluently—which beats the situation at the bank here. Plus, they let me use their Wi-Fi, also better than the bank here. I took a short, slow walk to a nearby panadería while I waited and got a piece of banana bread and a 1L bottle of water, made it back, and then had about an hour left to go to wait. I got my blood drawn and had the results on WhatsApp within about two hours: Dengue—negative, CBC—completely normal, and my creatinine—unchanged. Thank You, God! Meanwhile, at home, I ran a covid test. That sucker popped up positive in five minutes or less. I let the clinic know I had been sitting in their office for the last couple hours without a mask, also not really coughing at all, with covid. I let the gym know I had covid and probably got it there. I let my contractors know, so they won’t be back before Monday.  A neighbor bought wet cat food for me, and I’ll pay him back when his 80-year- old grandparents aren’t there, and I’ve recovered.  

Actually, after I got my results yesterday, I went back into town, armed with my U.S. licenses, my passport, and some of my regular meds on a mission to get Paxlovid. I explained to the pharmacist that I am an MD licensed in the US, that I have asthma, mild autism, major depression and anxiety (that are both well-treated), and that I hoped to get Paxlovid for my covid. I even produced the positive test result and advised her that I’ve had suicidal thoughts when I had covid before. She believed me about my licenses, and would have been willing to dispense it to me if they had it stocked. Apparently, no pharmacies in the area have it. Possibly in San Jose, but I won’t drive ten hours round trip for it–on my motorcycle, with covid–when I don’t even have a guarantee that I could get it there. So . . . no Paxlovid for me. She wanted to help me, though, and offered me Ivermectin, lol, and Prednisone that they could actually dispense. I politely responded that Ivermectin isn’t effective and Prednisone could make me worse due to the immunosuppressive effect. I bought some masks, and thanked her for her help and time. My trust in the pharmacist’s training has just taken a significant hit, but she legitimately wanted to help me. Prayers appreciated!  

ShARE THIS NEWS!

More Articles