I made a sick-person mistake this morning and at first only posted an excerpt from my story. The whole piece is posted on Substack now, however. Sorry. Still recovering.
I've been isolated myself for such a long time, but then had that terrible out of the blue experience a month ago in the ER. Since then, I've been exposed only to the two guys who help me with my yard - but I keep my distance. One of them didn't show up this week - a member of his "crew" had a break through case and they all had to be tested. During that time, a dear friend came over for the first time in months, for a water color lesson. Her husband, in his 80's is immunocompromised. I called her immediately when I found out about the break through case. But now, I wonder. Was I exposed? Did I expose her? Not only Covid, but the surrounding anxieties and fears will be with us forever, it seems. Be well. You and Tracy.
This is a general comment in response to a post below by Stephen Harrod Buhner. Mr. Buhner has posted a long comment making a series of claims about vaccines and the coronavirus that purport to come from someone with an apparent long history of study of "emerging bacterial and viral infections" that has involved claiming to have read some 50,000 articles on this subject. What Mr. Buhner hasn't told us is that he is a long-time practitioner of herbalist medicine and leader of something called the "Foundation for Gaian Studies," which as far as I can determine is a group of new age believers in herbal medicine. Mr. Buhner claims post-graduate study in the following fields -- and here I think it's useful to quote from his own website:
Transactional Analysis
Regressive Treatment Techniques
Neuro-Linguistic Programming
Death and Dying
Biofeedback
Hellerwork Movement Re-education
Clinical Herbalism
Indigenous and Folk Herbalism
Nonlinear dynamics of organ systems
Fractal physiology
The heart as an organ of perception
Molecular self-organization
The use of direct perception in diagnosis and healing
Earth-centered Spirituality and Ceremony
Cultural Expressions of Nature Spirituality
Cross-cultural Contemplative Spirituality
So these are the areas of expertise claimed by Mr. Buhner, who wants us to know that getting the COVID vaccine is not for everyone, including himself. Then he does something I'm going to instruct him to cease doing: he is providing advertising space in my comments section for two nasal sprays which are unproven and untested by U.S. medical authorities. While Mr. Buhner is entitled to his apparent interest in herbalism and various forms of new-age healing, my comments section is not the place to foist unproven and untested assertions on others, mainly my readers. Mr. Buhner, if you want to spread your new-age beliefs and "cures" around, you are free to do it on your own website and that of your "Gaian" foundation, but you're not free to do it in my comments. Please take down your reference to these unproven COVID "cures" or I will block you from commenting further.
Lucian and Tracy, I am glad you are both feeling better. Thank you for sharing your story. I have been sharing it myself with friends and family as a cautionary tale. We (not you) have all been perhaps a little too cavalier about not wearing masks, thinking we are protected by our vaccinations. Now I’m approaching my 6-month second shot anniversary and am anxious for a booster. I’m being much more careful again about masking up, indoors and outdoors. I truly hope your prediction of a life with endemic COVID proves false, but it sounds likely. I’m sick and tired of railing at the anti-vaxxers (daily morning rant: “what is WRONG with these people?”), especially elected officials whose responsibility is to protect their constituents, not guarantee their freedom to die gasping for breath. Be safe, be well. I’m glad Henri missed you!
Very informative, and right on. I had the symptoms you describe, in Feb. 2020. And then residual fatigue for a time after that. After the second dose of Pfizer, I had an adverse reaction, like I had that "worst flu of all time" all over again, along with a teeth chattering so violent it threatened to crack my teeth, until I quickly ran an extra hot bath and lived in it until the chattering and body shaking stopped. I too think this virus and mutations will be with us a long time. And despite the reaction to the Pfizer, I'd get the third shot in a heartbeat. Whatever it takes. Get rest, don't do too much too soon, and continue to practice safety measures. I will do the same, and share this piece.
The more I look, the more I find “counterfeit” N95 masks. You gotta wonder at the mentality of these suppliers…
And don’t even get me started on the tantrums by anti-mask and anti-vaccine morons…It is their fault we are in this again with a worse version of the virus.
Thanks for a very informative comment! Knowing how the right-wing spin machine works, however, I hope it doesn't get hold of that sentence about the vaccinated being our greatest danger. :-(
i understand what you mean; that data can be explored more in depth in a pretty good article on vaccine resistance at aeon (though there are many good journal articles on it as well). many of the virus and vaccine experts, from the beginning, urged the authorities to be candid about the vaccines, to tell the truth about what was going to be our likely real world experience of them. because so many people were afraid of giving impetus to vaccine refusal and because they wanted the economy to open up to get things moving again, they didn't. i think it has caused more problems than it alleviated. if we are lucky, the virus will become less virulent; then it won't matter. but if it doesn't, we are in for a long, difficult time.
I agree. I've never stopped wearing my mask when I go out, even though I'm in a relatively high-vac area of a relatively high-vac state (MA). I'm also extremely fortunate in that as a freelancer I work from home and can control my goings-out. But the more I learn about the Delta variant, the more careful I get -- and, I hate to say, the more annoyed I get with the unmasked vaccinated. But I'm not going to mention that to any Tucker Carlson fans. ;-)
Neither vaccines or masks are 100% - they are just helpful. Once again - MASKS DON’T PROTECT YOU, THEY PROTECT OTHERS. Unless you’re wearing tight fitting custom fitted N-95s that you spend 10 minutes getting on in the morning and they leave dents in your face. It wasn’t necessarily the farmers market - it may have been someone somewhere without a mask and you just happened to get enough of a dose to start replicating. What the vaccine does is make it less bed - it’s still awful, but you aren’t in the hospital on a ventilator- you are high risk, a year ago, that might have been your Covid story.. but now you’ve had it, you’ve been vaccinated - if anyone has some immunity to it, you and Tracy do now and for the next little bit…. So glad you’re laughing again!
But Petri dishes don’t exhale on you and you were wearing a mask and a face shield, and, as you say, wearing them properly. I think masks may help, but they help others more than they help us. Which is a wonderful reason to wear them. But don’t think wearing a mask in a roomful of unmasked COVID carriers will give you a free pass.
Lucian you promised Tracy you would give her what no other man ever had, and you kept your word: COVID. (Did you laugh? 😁) It is wonderful to know you and Tracy are kicking Delta’s nasty butt. Take care, don’t rush it, and know you wretched experience is a lesson for us all. Be well and stay sassy!!!
Thanks for the update, Lucian. My thoughts have been with you and Tracy ever since you first put out the notice that you had both tested Positive for COVID. So good to hear that you two are recovering. Best wishes, and I look forward to your regular dispatches. :-)
This virus will eventually become endemic and we are just going to have to learn to life with it like the flu and colds. We've been so conditioned with fear of this virus that it's going to take some time to accept that it will probably continue to linger around for years. Booster possibly in the future similar to the flu vaccine. I hope they come up with a way to combine to two. My arm would be very thankful.
I made a sick-person mistake this morning and at first only posted an excerpt from my story. The whole piece is posted on Substack now, however. Sorry. Still recovering.
I wondered. I worried.
I've been isolated myself for such a long time, but then had that terrible out of the blue experience a month ago in the ER. Since then, I've been exposed only to the two guys who help me with my yard - but I keep my distance. One of them didn't show up this week - a member of his "crew" had a break through case and they all had to be tested. During that time, a dear friend came over for the first time in months, for a water color lesson. Her husband, in his 80's is immunocompromised. I called her immediately when I found out about the break through case. But now, I wonder. Was I exposed? Did I expose her? Not only Covid, but the surrounding anxieties and fears will be with us forever, it seems. Be well. You and Tracy.
No worries, glad you and Tracy are recovering.
I wondered too. I know the showbiz mantra "Leave 'em wanting more," but I didn't think that was it. Thanks for the reassurance!
This is a general comment in response to a post below by Stephen Harrod Buhner. Mr. Buhner has posted a long comment making a series of claims about vaccines and the coronavirus that purport to come from someone with an apparent long history of study of "emerging bacterial and viral infections" that has involved claiming to have read some 50,000 articles on this subject. What Mr. Buhner hasn't told us is that he is a long-time practitioner of herbalist medicine and leader of something called the "Foundation for Gaian Studies," which as far as I can determine is a group of new age believers in herbal medicine. Mr. Buhner claims post-graduate study in the following fields -- and here I think it's useful to quote from his own website:
Transactional Analysis
Regressive Treatment Techniques
Neuro-Linguistic Programming
Death and Dying
Biofeedback
Hellerwork Movement Re-education
Clinical Herbalism
Indigenous and Folk Herbalism
Nonlinear dynamics of organ systems
Fractal physiology
The heart as an organ of perception
Molecular self-organization
The use of direct perception in diagnosis and healing
Earth-centered Spirituality and Ceremony
Cultural Expressions of Nature Spirituality
Cross-cultural Contemplative Spirituality
So these are the areas of expertise claimed by Mr. Buhner, who wants us to know that getting the COVID vaccine is not for everyone, including himself. Then he does something I'm going to instruct him to cease doing: he is providing advertising space in my comments section for two nasal sprays which are unproven and untested by U.S. medical authorities. While Mr. Buhner is entitled to his apparent interest in herbalism and various forms of new-age healing, my comments section is not the place to foist unproven and untested assertions on others, mainly my readers. Mr. Buhner, if you want to spread your new-age beliefs and "cures" around, you are free to do it on your own website and that of your "Gaian" foundation, but you're not free to do it in my comments. Please take down your reference to these unproven COVID "cures" or I will block you from commenting further.
Thank you, glad I checked back today on a whim, need a better warning device, whatever that may be, perhaps a highlight to begin your next column.
Kudos, Lucian.
Lucian and Tracy, I am glad you are both feeling better. Thank you for sharing your story. I have been sharing it myself with friends and family as a cautionary tale. We (not you) have all been perhaps a little too cavalier about not wearing masks, thinking we are protected by our vaccinations. Now I’m approaching my 6-month second shot anniversary and am anxious for a booster. I’m being much more careful again about masking up, indoors and outdoors. I truly hope your prediction of a life with endemic COVID proves false, but it sounds likely. I’m sick and tired of railing at the anti-vaxxers (daily morning rant: “what is WRONG with these people?”), especially elected officials whose responsibility is to protect their constituents, not guarantee their freedom to die gasping for breath. Be safe, be well. I’m glad Henri missed you!
Is there more to the story? I hope you’re feeling better!
Anne, the rest of the story will be added in a few minutes.
Very informative, and right on. I had the symptoms you describe, in Feb. 2020. And then residual fatigue for a time after that. After the second dose of Pfizer, I had an adverse reaction, like I had that "worst flu of all time" all over again, along with a teeth chattering so violent it threatened to crack my teeth, until I quickly ran an extra hot bath and lived in it until the chattering and body shaking stopped. I too think this virus and mutations will be with us a long time. And despite the reaction to the Pfizer, I'd get the third shot in a heartbeat. Whatever it takes. Get rest, don't do too much too soon, and continue to practice safety measures. I will do the same, and share this piece.
The more I look, the more I find “counterfeit” N95 masks. You gotta wonder at the mentality of these suppliers…
And don’t even get me started on the tantrums by anti-mask and anti-vaccine morons…It is their fault we are in this again with a worse version of the virus.
I told you to remove your free advertising for the unproven nasal sprays. You did not do it. I have banned you from commenting.
Thanks for a very informative comment! Knowing how the right-wing spin machine works, however, I hope it doesn't get hold of that sentence about the vaccinated being our greatest danger. :-(
i understand what you mean; that data can be explored more in depth in a pretty good article on vaccine resistance at aeon (though there are many good journal articles on it as well). many of the virus and vaccine experts, from the beginning, urged the authorities to be candid about the vaccines, to tell the truth about what was going to be our likely real world experience of them. because so many people were afraid of giving impetus to vaccine refusal and because they wanted the economy to open up to get things moving again, they didn't. i think it has caused more problems than it alleviated. if we are lucky, the virus will become less virulent; then it won't matter. but if it doesn't, we are in for a long, difficult time.
I agree. I've never stopped wearing my mask when I go out, even though I'm in a relatively high-vac area of a relatively high-vac state (MA). I'm also extremely fortunate in that as a freelancer I work from home and can control my goings-out. But the more I learn about the Delta variant, the more careful I get -- and, I hate to say, the more annoyed I get with the unmasked vaccinated. But I'm not going to mention that to any Tucker Carlson fans. ;-)
Neither vaccines or masks are 100% - they are just helpful. Once again - MASKS DON’T PROTECT YOU, THEY PROTECT OTHERS. Unless you’re wearing tight fitting custom fitted N-95s that you spend 10 minutes getting on in the morning and they leave dents in your face. It wasn’t necessarily the farmers market - it may have been someone somewhere without a mask and you just happened to get enough of a dose to start replicating. What the vaccine does is make it less bed - it’s still awful, but you aren’t in the hospital on a ventilator- you are high risk, a year ago, that might have been your Covid story.. but now you’ve had it, you’ve been vaccinated - if anyone has some immunity to it, you and Tracy do now and for the next little bit…. So glad you’re laughing again!
But Petri dishes don’t exhale on you and you were wearing a mask and a face shield, and, as you say, wearing them properly. I think masks may help, but they help others more than they help us. Which is a wonderful reason to wear them. But don’t think wearing a mask in a roomful of unmasked COVID carriers will give you a free pass.
I hope you recover soon. Cautionary warning for us to be vigilant
Happy to see you are well enough to write. Have been thinking of you....
Lucian you promised Tracy you would give her what no other man ever had, and you kept your word: COVID. (Did you laugh? 😁) It is wonderful to know you and Tracy are kicking Delta’s nasty butt. Take care, don’t rush it, and know you wretched experience is a lesson for us all. Be well and stay sassy!!!
So happy to hear you’re both starting to feel better. Was hoping for an update. Thanks
Sorry you’re having to celebrate this way. Your experience is, alas, a cautionary tale for this moment. Be well, stay well.
Thanks for the update, Lucian. My thoughts have been with you and Tracy ever since you first put out the notice that you had both tested Positive for COVID. So good to hear that you two are recovering. Best wishes, and I look forward to your regular dispatches. :-)
So sorry, Lucien for you and Tracy. That is just not fair!!! Take it slow and easy and feel better.
This virus will eventually become endemic and we are just going to have to learn to life with it like the flu and colds. We've been so conditioned with fear of this virus that it's going to take some time to accept that it will probably continue to linger around for years. Booster possibly in the future similar to the flu vaccine. I hope they come up with a way to combine to two. My arm would be very thankful.