Recent months have produced snow on Halloween, temperatures in the 60s on Christmas Day and more snow the week following Easter.

Weather is just one aspect of college football that coaches can’t control. Injuries and the often unpredictable bounce of an oblong football are others.

Yet, nothing comes remotely close to the unprecedented uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prairie State Pigskin asked the state’s FCS head coaches where things stand in the midst of a spring in which the world has been altered in ways most never imagined.

Moreover, with the vast majority of players at home taking online classes, working out remotely and meeting virtually with coaches and teammates, each coaching staff is attempting to plan for more unknowns of the approaching summer with at least one eye on fall.

“The short answer is yes, we’re developing a few parallel paths, if that makes sense. We’re thinking through a quote-unquote normal summer, then some version of an abbreviated summer, [or the possibility of] no summer,” said second-year Eastern Illinois head coach Adam Cushing.

Third-year Western Illinois head coach Jared Elliott said, “We’ve talked about it as a staff. I’ve got a plan for a June 1 return, a July 1 return . . . we’re just trying to take it one mark at a time.

“I’m of the mindset of ‘let’s take this a month at a time and sort it out as we go’. We do have a plan in place for all the different scenarios and that does include us not having our kids all summer.”

Brock Spack (photo courtesy goredbirds.com)

Illinois State’s Brock Spack was one of the first Midwest coaches to call off spring ball.

“We’re fortunate in that our team is more experienced than we were a year ago,” said the 12th-year Redbird coach. “Of course we would like to have had spring practices.”

Nick Hill, the 35-year-old beginning his fifth year as Southern Illinois head coach said recently on Facebook Live, “I tell our guys all the time I’m not a doctor. I’m not in these meetings. I’m going to take the lead of the people that are leading our state, the public health officials and when they tell us we’re clear and safe to go play football, then we’ll resume and go do that and we’ll have our team prepared the best way possible.

“We’re hopeful that we’ll have a football season, but that too is unknown at this time. For summer training, it’s all unknown right now.”

A national view of football

That uncertainty is everywhere. In a story earlier this month for The Athletic, Nicole Auerbach wrote, “The NCAA has also been in communication with the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) as it tries to figure out what the return-to-play protocol must include. AFCA executive director Todd Berry said Friday that it’s important for the coaches to be part of the discussion because efforts to ensure player safety require more than just strength and conditioning staffers.”

Todd Berry

Berry, who was the Illinois State head coach from 1996 to 1999, told Auerbach, “We’re all spoiled that we’re used to having all our players in condition when they report. But there is a progression there to teach bodies to prepare for contact. That is not something you can just do in shorts.”

Auerbach further wrote, “Berry has already reminded coaches that, whenever the season starts, they may not have as much of the playbook installed for Week 1 as they normally do. Preseason camps will be more focused on preparing players’ bodies physically. He also has pointed out that Divisions II and III currently operate on four-week models; they do not have their athletes on campus throughout the summer like Division I does.”

Spack said he’s heard that the AFCA has pushed for “OTA mini-camps that are NFL-like without pads” for the summer.

“If we’re allowed to do that, I’ve got ways to incorporate that into our routine,” Spack said.

Where do we go from here?

Again, football coaches are natural planners who like to control as many aspects of their programs as possible. But it’s a fine line when it comes to the coronavirus.

Adam Cushing (photo by Barry Bottino, Prairie State Pigskin)

“Another huge variable is even if there’s an abbreviated or no summer, what are the NCAA rules going to be with that? We can plan all we want, but the NCAA could come in and say that we have more or less contact than we’re anticipating because it is unprecedented,” Cushing said.

Cushing, a Chicago native and Mt. Carmel High School graduate, added, “We don’t want to plan to the point that it’s a waste, but we want to have enough in place that whenever we get the NCAA and government guidelines and university guidelines that we will be able to fill in those blanks really quickly. We’ve got a really solid, sound structure on those parallel paths, but that’s where we’re at for now.”

Elliott said, “Whatever the NCAA decides, it’s going to be a shortened period of time if we don’t have our kids back in the summer. We have to have a very clear plan of how to get our kids ready to play football, not only from a schematic standpoint but also from a health and safety standpoint. Conditioning [is vital] because we can’t put these players into a higher risk of injury.”

Strength in support staff

The role of each program’s support staff has never been larger.

“The longer that it goes that we can’t bring the team back [together], the more important your strength staff becomes,” Elliott said. “Now it’s a race against the clock as to how much time you have to get your guys prepared to play Division I football. I think we have a good plan in place for that balance of getting the kids ready to play football at that level but yet not overdoing it where you’re putting extra stress on them where they’re going to get hurt.”

Cushing is also involving others in this decision making, but is careful not to overwhelm his staff.

Nick Hill

“It’s not full staff consumption because it’s going to occupy time. It’s me and our director of football operations, a really big (picture) thinker named Jesse Walton, and our strength and conditioning coach (Joe Orozco) who is obviously a critical part of this thing. I’ve involved the coordinators some,” Cushing said.

Spack said, “Summer is intense with lifting and conditioning. But you’ve got to be careful. You can’t have a lot of overuse injuries in this situation. You don’t want these kids to pay the price for something that was out of their hands. You can’t go full-blown conditioning and full-blown practice. You can’t do that because you won’t have anyone left whenever you play in the fall.”

Hill said, “When they tell us that start date, they’re not going to push it back for any teams that say, ‘Hey, hang on, our guys weren’t in good enough shape. We need an extra week.’ They’re just not going to do it.”

An additional eight ‘noncountable’ hours

The NCAA announced April 16 that it will allow all Division I sports eight hours per week for virtual “noncountable” activities like film review, team meetings, chalk talks, etc. This allowance began April 20 and is scheduled through May 31, though could later be extended.

Head coach Jared Elliott (Photo by Barry Bottino, Prairie State Pigskin)

“I’ve talked to so many guys, at all different levels all across the country, and we’re all asking each other what we’re doing. Everyone is kind of doing the same thing. There’s only so much you can do,” Elliott said. “That is one piece that we as coaches have been arguing, almost fighting for.

“First it was that we were given four weeks of those virtual meetings, but it’s good that they gave us eight hours a week to be able to continue to work with our players and stay connected with them. That’s been my biggest insistence since this thing started. There’s got to be structure and you’ve got to stay connected to your kids. If you don’t, that’s going to delay the return of players even more so. If we don’t come back in August and have four weeks to get ready, we’d better have some time right now where we’re able to stay connected and maintain the structure they need just for the safety side of it. I’m glad that they’re allowing us to do that.”

Hope springs eternal … into summer, fall

“It’s going to be very, very interesting, but I’m still hopeful, I think all of us are in the sports world,” Elliott said. “I’m very hopeful and optimistic that we’re going to play, but what is it going to look like? That’s the unknown. Is it a shortened season? Is it going into the conference games? Is it delayed, do we push the start date back? Who knows, but I do think having a plan in place for all those different scenarios is needed.”

Spack said, “I’m hopeful. Let’s hope this virus goes away and we’re allowed to go back to work and to train. But the NCAA will tell us what we can do. How many hours do we get? How many days? What we can do, what we can’t do. It’s difficult to guess as to what they’re going to put out there for us.”

Yeah, you wouldn’t think there is any silver lining to this coronavirus plague for the Chicago real estate market but I can find at least one change with a positive spin. But first let’s focus on the far more noticeable negative aspects of our current predicament.

We’ve been dealing with this for at least 6 weeks now and the data seems to be settling down – but settling at a much lower level of activity than is normal for this time of year. For the week ending April 11:

Detached Homes

• New listings were down 62% from last year to 217 homes
• Contract activity was down 56% to 145
• Inventory in absolute terms was down 13% to 2795 homes
• However, in relative terms inventory was actually up from 9.8 weeks of supply to 19.3 weeks – a higher number than last week

Attached Homes

• New listings were down 61% to 343 homes
• Contract activity was down 67% to 176
• Inventory in absolute terms was down 9% to 4951 homes
• Inventory in relative terms was up from 10.2 weeks of supply to 28.1 weeks – also higher than last week

It should be be a good time to be a buyer. There does not seem to be much, if any, impact on market times – yet – but with inventory levels so high I would imagine that longer market times and lower prices are inevitable in the short run. However, in the longer run I think the inventory levels are going to adjust because of the dramatic decline in new listings. Most of the current inventory was put on the market before all hell broke loose so the sellers have already committed to the process to some extent. But as properties sell and listings expire that number is going to shrink in both absolute terms and relative terms though I have no idea how long that’s going to take.

How Coronavirus Has Changed The Buying And Selling Process

The real estate industry has certainly been shaken up by recent events. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts the iBuyer business has basically disappeared overnight. Also, independent of any government directives, some/ many home buyers and sellers are really skittish about going into other people’s homes or having strangers come into their homes. I think that has a lot to do with why new listings are down and why contract activity is down. Perhaps these people are optimistic that things will get better soon so they hope to wait out the virus. But if we go down the road with this monster another month or two people may just resign themselves to forging ahead despite the risks.

In the meantime, the real estate industry is trying to adjust the best they can. Realtors are shooting more videos and creating more of the 3D virtual tours for their listings. In addition, more of the initial showings are happening virtually via FaceTime, Zoom or Facebook Live. Also, with Zoom at least, you can record the showing so that if one of the buyers is not available at the scheduled time they can watch it later. I think once this becomes a more accepted practice we might hang onto this convenient approach.

I also hear about another unusual practice where buyers and sellers will actually sign a contract before the buyer has seen the home in person but it is contingent upon the buyer seeing it at a later date. Redfin claims that in a recent week 12% of their offers were written this way and a recent NAR survey revealed that 1/4 of realtors had a buyer put a contract on a home without seeing it. We’ve done this before and I’m not crazy about it. These deals can easily go off the tracks when the buyer realizes that the photos/ video didn’t do the home justice – but not in a good way. I would caution our sellers from entering into an arrangement like this.

I’ve heard that appraisals have also become problematic lately as a result of a one-two-three punch. First, a lot of appraisers don’t want to go into people’s homes. Second, a lot of home sellers don’t want appraisers in their home or they are requiring the appraisers to follow considerable precautions. Third, the industry has been inundated with a tidal wave of refinances. All of this is combining to push appraisals up to 4 weeks out.

At least partly in response to this appraisal backlog three federal regulatory bodies decided that under certain circumstances it would be OK for lenders to complete the appraisal up to 120 days after closing. That’s not a typo. I’m sure there are a lot of nuances to the program but it looks to me like they are going to check the barn door after the horse has left.

But one good thing has come from all of this. You are now allowed to close on a home in Illinois without having to physically sit down next to other people at a table. The sticking point has always been the requirement that a notary be in the room with the buyers in order to confirm their identity. However, the office of Illinois’ secretary of state issued guidance in conjunction with the stay at home order which allows a notary to perform this function remotely via camera. This change was long overdue so here’s your silver lining.

#RealEstate #ChicagoRealEstate #Coronavirus

Gary Lucido is the President of Lucid Realty, the Chicago area’s full service real estate brokerage that offers home buyer rebates and discount commissions. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market or get an insider’s view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email using the form below. Please be sure to verify your email address when you receive the verification notice.

This blog post is the 21st in a series about my (and my twin sister’s) preventative breast cancer screening journey that began when we were 30 years old in July 2019. The 1st post is about my first mammogram ever; the 2nd post is about my consultation at Mayo Clinic’s Breast Clinic; the 3rd post is about my stereotactic core biopsy at Mayo Clinic’s Breast Clinic; the 4th post is about my diagnosis with “Stage 0” DCIS breast cancer; the 5th post is about my in-person DCIS diagnosis at Mayo Clinic, beginning thoughts on my surgery timeline, and discovering that my twin sister might have breast cancer, too; the 6th post is about my twin sister’s invasive ductal carcinoma clinical stage 2A breast cancer diagnosis; the 7th post is about my breast MRI and two ultrasounds to investigate “suspicious” spots on my right breast and liver; the 8th post is about my second DCIS diagnosis following a week of MRIs, ultrasounds, and biopsies at Mayo Clinic; the 9th post is about preparing for my twin sister’s chemotherapy appointments, including details about her egg banking procedure in the city; the 10th post is a summary of my sister’s ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and visit to the emergency room; the 11th post is a summary of my double mastectomy surgery plan scheduled to occur on December 3rd, 2019 at Mayo Clinic’s Methodist Campus Hospital in Rochester; the 12th post is about my twin sister’s first chemotherapy infusion at Mayo Clinic; the 13th post is about foobs, photo shoots and nipple tattoos (my plastic / reconstructive surgery plan); the 14th post is a recap of my successful double mastectomy and immediate direct-to-implant reconstruction operation; the 15th post is about my surgical recovery and day full of follow-up appointments at Mayo Clinic in Rochester; the 16th post is about my one-month-post-surgical-follow-up appointment and preventative baseline ovarian cancer screenings at Mayo Clinic; the 17th post is about a suspicious rash I developed a month after my surgery called “pigmented purpura,” my consultation with a gynecological oncologist about ovarian cancer prevention, and my sister’s fifth chemotherapy infusion; the 18th post is about the end of my twin sister’s six neoadjuvant chemotherapy infusions (TCHP); the 19th post was about my twin sister’s double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery plan (amid the global outbreak of COVID19); and the 20th post was about my twin sister’s double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. To keep tabs on new posts, sign up for the “A Daily Miracle” email list at this link.

It’s been one month since my twin sister’s double mastectomy with reconstruction operation at Mayo Clinic’s Methodist Campus Hospital in Rochester, which was awesome. Her operation took place a day before Mayo Clinic shut down all “elective” surgeries! We’re fairly certain her operation, given it was for breast cancer, would have happened regardless, but we are praising the Lord that her operation was completed before coronavirus caused the entire world to implode!

Because of all of the “shelter in place” rulings all across the world due to COVID19, my sister’s surgical recovery has looked MUCH different than mine! All of her follow-up appointments with doctors and surgeons and oncologists have been virtual phone calls and video chats–she hasn’t been back to the hospital or doctor’s office for one meeting or follow-up appointment! All in all, my sister has done a great job recovering at home! Here are the highlights of my sister’s one month of surgical recovery:

1. Instead of seeing doctors at Mayo in person, my sister’s husband played doctor at home! He removed her drains (whoa!), changed all of her bandages, and took care of her “battle scars” in the weeks following her surgery under the virtual directions of doctors and nurses. He gave her showers and made sure her heart rate didn’t go above 100BPM. My mom and sister and I helped as well by helping with the bandages, keeping her company, giving her medicine, and taking photos of her incisions and reconstruction to send over to the doctors via the Mayo Clinic Patient Portal.
2. Mentally, my sister keeps herself busy by reading through the entire Bible in 30 days with the YouVerion “30 Day Shred” plan. She’s also been playing SimCity on her phone, resting, and taking leisurely walks. She’s chatted on the phone and Zoomed with friends around the world as well! She really misses her work as a lawyer but has been on FMLA leave for 4 weeks. She’ll be back to working from home in a couple of weeks. She’s also not missing much in society because everyone has been sheltering in place anyway.
3. Physically, my sister’s breast reconstruction looks great! It’s a bit more swollen on the left side due to the removal of a few sentinel nodes that came out on that side and not the right, but over time, the swelling should go down and everything should be perfectly symmetrical. She’s been wearing a compression bra too to keep the swelling down, and we’ve been shopping for sports bras with extra compression that we can wear for workouts in the future. One of our doctors recommended front-zip sports bras, so we are trying some of those from Lululemon and Under Armour!

During my sister’s Bible-read through, she got to the book of Joshua during the same week we watched a sermon by Christine Caine about the book of Joshua at Hillsong OC!

Gearing up for 10 more months of chemotherapy

My sister finished her last round of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (TCHP) in February. She lost about 40-60% of her hair during chemotherapy treatment while using the Paxman Cold Cap, and she lost some eyelashes, too. It’s been eight weeks since her neoadjuvant chemo wrapped up, and her hair has already started to grow back all over her head and her eyelashes are coming back in, too!

We are all thankful my sister’s surgery removed all of her cancer!, but because there was some cancer remaining in her left breast at the time of surgery–a 1.1cm spot and a 9mm spot of 20% cellularity that were initially attached to the original ~4cm tumor–she will need 14 more infusions of chemotherapy starting every three weeks on May 22nd: a new, targeted regimen called T-DM1. Clinical research trials prove T-DM1 after surgery reduces the risk of recurrence of invasive breast cancer by 50% as compared to trastuzumab (Herceptin) alone, so my sister’s oncologist prescribed her with this! My sister’s oncologist calls this “chemotherapy light” because the side effects are minimal compared to what she’s already been through with TCHP.

In addition to 10 months of T-DM1 (14 infusions 3 weeks apart starting in May), my sister will also take a daily dose of Tamoxifen for 3 to 5 years to minimize her risk of recurrence (Tamoxifen manages the amount of estrogen in her system). T-DM1 will be 14 treatments: 1 treatment every 3 weeks. T-DM1 infusions only last 2 hours (her TCHP treatments lasted 6 hours each)! Side effects of T-DM1 are that it can cause teensy bit of neuropathy, fatigue, and diarrhea. T-DM1 can also be a bit rough on the heart, so she will have ultrasounds on a regular basis–every three months–throughout her treatments to ensure her heart is pumping normally! 

Next steps!

On Thursday 5/21, my sister has a blood test and echocardiogram at Mayo Clinic to gear up for her first infusion of T-DM1. She’ll meet with her oncologist on Friday 5/22 before her first infusion of T-DM1, which will last approximately 2 hours. We are hoping for no side effects, no adverse reactions, and complete 100% effectiveness of Tamoxifen and T-DM1 so cancer never comes back again!!!

We are also praying for a cure, vaccination, and effective treatments for COVID19. In addition to wanting COVID19 to disappear completely because it sucks, we also are praying for COVID19 to disappear because, even though T-DM1 won’t suppress my sister’s immune system as much as TCHP did, we’d rather not have COVID19 floating around the world while my sister is going through chemotherapy treatments.

Here we are on a Zoom Bible study discussing everything my sister has learned during cancer treatments!

Going back to work!

“I love my job and I feel the happiest when I’m working, so I can’t wait to get back to work!,” she told a few friends and me via a Zoom Bible study this weekend. “It hasn’t been as hard as I thought it was going to be to take some time off of work, because it’s allowed me to slow down and focus on myself and my health and on God.”

“What have you learned most about God’s character during all of your cancer treatments?,” one of our friends asked her via Zoom.

My sister paused thoughtfully, then told us that the most important thing she’s learned is that nothing she can do will change God’s will for her life. That means that during this season, God’s will is for her to battle breast cancer through surgery and chemo treatments. She also said she’s discovered the true meaning of surrendering her life to Jesus–surrender that gives her a deep feeling of peace–God’s peace that surpasses understanding. She said:

“It was when we were driving back to the city after my sister’s diagnosis appointment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester last September that I realized I had breast cancer. I hadn’t been diagnosed yet, but after listening to my sister’s doctor explain what breast cancer is and why it was so good hers was DCIS and she didn’t have a lump yet, I knew I had cancer of some kind. My doctors in the city had found a lump in my breast the month before but told me it was nothing and told me to come back in a year. As I looked out over the farmland and fields as we drove away from Rochester, I thought about the lump in my breast and knew that, even though my doctors in the city had sent me away, that there was a chance I might have Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer and that I could be dead in a year.”

She started to cry.

“But it was in that moment looking out over the fields that I realized: Even if I had Stage 4 metastatic cancer and was going to die, it was going to be okay, because I was going to be with Jesus.”

She smiled a big smile as she finished her story through tears as all of us on the Bible study Zoom call started crying. That’s the bottom line: Jesus loves my sister, has her life in His capable hands, and is working out His good and perfect plan for her life–granting her His peace all along the way, as painful as the journey might be.

My surgical recovery and status update

I’m 4 months into surgical recovery and am still pretty fatigued. I’ve been sleeping 10 hours per night and feel like I’m fighting off brain fog most of the time. I know this won’t last forever and I know exercise is a big part of the equation in combating fatigue–plus Mayo Clinic has a study saying that ginseng helps fight fatigue, too!–so I’m doing my best to walk or bike every day and do some home workouts with Luis Leonardo’s LOW Training (which if you’re looking for some solid home workouts I highly recommend–you can sign up on the website and follow him on Facebook and Instagram!!).

I am trying to be kind to myself because I know COVID19 is causing a lot of stress and anxiety in people around the world. Beyond that, I am still physically recovering from my surgery and emotionally from everything that unfolded last fall with diagnoses and treatments and surgeries. And then my twin sister is going through some intense treatments in the midst of the most ridiculous global pandemic the modern world has ever seen. All of this is pretty stressful.

But God is bigger than all of it, He loves us, and we know His plans are perfect!

Stay tuned for updates as my sister enters her next round of chemo on May 22nd–and thank you so much for your prayers and encouraging words!!!!! 🙂

This blog post is the 21st in a series about my (and my twin sister’s) preventative breast cancer screening journey that began when we were 30 years old in July 2019. The 1st post is about my first mammogram ever; the 2nd post is about my consultation at Mayo Clinic’s Breast Clinic; the 3rd post is about my stereotactic core biopsy at Mayo Clinic’s Breast Clinic; the 4th post is about my diagnosis with “Stage 0” DCIS breast cancer; the 5th post is about my in-person DCIS diagnosis at Mayo Clinic, beginning thoughts on my surgery timeline, and discovering that my twin sister might have breast cancer, too; the 6th post is about my twin sister’s invasive ductal carcinoma clinical stage 2A breast cancer diagnosis; the 7th post is about my breast MRI and two ultrasounds to investigate “suspicious” spots on my right breast and liver; the 8th post is about my second DCIS diagnosis following a week of MRIs, ultrasounds, and biopsies at Mayo Clinic; the 9th post is about preparing for my twin sister’s chemotherapy appointments, including details about her egg banking procedure in the city; the 10th post is a summary of my sister’s ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and visit to the emergency room; the 11th post is a summary of my double mastectomy surgery plan scheduled to occur on December 3rd, 2019 at Mayo Clinic’s Methodist Campus Hospital in Rochester; the 12th post is about my twin sister’s first chemotherapy infusion at Mayo Clinic; the 13th post is about foobs, photo shoots and nipple tattoos (my plastic / reconstructive surgery plan); the 14th post is a recap of my successful double mastectomy and immediate direct-to-implant reconstruction operation; the 15th post is about my surgical recovery and day full of follow-up appointments at Mayo Clinic in Rochester; the 16th post is about my one-month-post-surgical-follow-up appointment and preventative baseline ovarian cancer screenings at Mayo Clinic; the 17th post is about a suspicious rash I developed a month after my surgery called “pigmented purpura,” my consultation with a gynecological oncologist about ovarian cancer prevention, and my sister’s fifth chemotherapy infusion; the 18th post is about the end of my twin sister’s six neoadjuvant chemotherapy infusions (TCHP); the 19th post was about my twin sister’s double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery plan (amid the global outbreak of COVID-19); and the 20th post was about my twin sister’s double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. To keep tabs on new posts, sign up for the “A Daily Miracle” email list at this link.

Filed under:
breast cancer, Truth Bomb

Tags:
brca, breast cancer, chemotherapy, mayo clinic

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  Sister Christian is a blogger, reporter, editor and follower of Jesus Christ seeking to find little miracles each and every day. She especially loves finding Jesus in art, music and culture. Learn more about her on Twitter @adailymiracle, and on Facebook as “A Daily Miracle.” Send an email to [email protected] with any comments, concerns or suggestions!

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Buddy is a one-year-old male, tri-color smooth coat guinea pig looking for loving guardian.

Buddy lived with a family that had a dozen guinea pigs and the males started fighting amongst each other. So, even though guinea pigs usually have a partner, Buddy is on his own.

Buddy is a sweet guinea pig who is easy to pick up and hold.

Guinea pigs eat a diet of unlimited Timothy hay (or Orchard hay if you have allergies), limited pellets, and fresh greens including romaine, red leaf and green leaf lettuces, cilantro, etc. And, since guinea pigs like humans can’t manufacture their own vitamin C, so he needs daily red pepper or some other form of Vitamin C.

Please read up on guinea pig care and diet before adopting by visiting this excellent web site http://www.guinealynx.info/.

He would love a home with a family who will handle him daily, keep him well fed, and keep his habitat nice and clean.

If you’re interested in meeting and possibly adopting Buddy, please contact [email protected].

He is being fostered in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood.

His adoption fee of $30 benefits the Friends of Petraits Rescue. For an additional $50, we’ll include a starter kit of everything you need to care for him including cage, hay, litter, food, hidey hut and water bottle.

I had Covid 19 that turned into pneumonia. I’ve been sick for 27 days and counting. For the first 12 days I self isolated from my family. My heroic husband brought me all my meals on a tray outside our bedroom and talked me off the ledge since being so sick caused panic and fear. I spoke to my daughters through FaceTime and texted with my sister and a small loyal group of friends. Otherwise it was me, my bedroom walls and an all consuming virus.

Here’s a light sampling of the revelatory texts and observations I sent my sister when my fever was 101.8:

1. “I can hear my eyeballs.”
2. “I can hear my nose. It sounds like bubble wrap.”
3. “All men are gay.”
4. “Musicals are absurd.”
5. “I am never gonna break the law cause I’d never survive prison.”
6. “Perhaps I should do all my parenting from isolation.”

All of these texts made perfect sense to me. Plus humor was the only thing keeping me from constant despair.

My chills were full body convulsions. When I had to get up to go to the restroom or find more layers for warmth the air felt like hundreds of tiny knives jabbing at my skin. In addition to tiny knives there was a miniature jackhammer pounding between my eyes. I experienced constant waves of nausea and sharp pain in my legs. The inside of my chest felt like it was covered in fur. My throat was perpetually in the beginning stages of strep when it is uncomfortable to swallow. For six days straight I had a fever that ranged between 100.4 and 102.9. Tylenol did nothing.

I received contradictory information on whether or not I needed to get a test. One day a Doctor said it was unnecessary and there was nothing they could do if I had it anyway. “Act as if…,” they said, “Isolate, hydrate, repeat.”

The next Doctor I spoke to said I should get tested because I’d get care from a team of Covid 19 “experts” and it was important to know how many positive cases existed in order to try and contain the virus. She made it sound like it was my civic duty to get tested when the day before I was told it didn’t matter.  

“Do it for Johnny!” or in case you don’t recognize the Outsiders reference,”Do it for your Country!” ( That  reference is from Grease 2.) I digress. 

My test came back negative which was baffling. At that point the Doctor told me there were false negatives. “You got the test too late. You  would have tested positive if you’d taken the test earlier. Ignore the results.” Also too since the result was negative I wouldn’t get that “extra care from a team of Covid 19 experts.” 

I was shit out of luck.

The next day I felt worse than all the symptoms I’d felt before. I could not lift my head off the pillow. My fever was back to 100.4. The Doctor recommended I go to Urgent Care to get my oxygen levels tested and a chest X-ray. This was the twelveteenth Doctor I spoke to and the first time I was told to seek help at a facility. I’d been sick for 15 days. 

Wonder of wonders I had pneumonia. My chest X-ray looked like a sky full of clouds. I was prescribed an arsenal of medication and am currently in the process of recovering. Slow but steady wins the race. 

This experience has been brutal and confounding. Within in the same sentence information about Covid 19 contradicts itself. For example, “You should get tested but it doesn’t really matter if it’s negative because there are false negatives so you would need to act as if you have Covid and continue to isolate so don’t get a test but also get a test.” 

 Here’s what I know for sure.

1. I had Covid 19 even though my test results was negative.
2. My husband is the best man I know and I am humbled by how he took care of me and our family. My friends are awesome. My kids are swell. 
3.  I haven’t worn a bra in 27 days. You’re welcome. 
4. There is such a thing as too much information. I have streamlined my information on Covid down to 1 or 2 sources tops. All of the outlets dispensing information that directly contradicts, dismisses or reinvents depending on the channel you watch or the article you read creates false panic or calm within one sitting. I believe in the case of this pandemic less is more.
5. There is no question that Healthcare Workers have been extraordinary during this crisis but it’s important to note that Black people will encounter the same dismissive treatment they often receive when seeking medial attention. I experienced micro-aggressive treatment when I went to Urgent Care. I felt as if I had to prove my right to be there. The nurse was reluctant to admit I had pneumonia. When I put my sister on speaker phone before the nurse gave me instructions for care she defensively asked, “Is she a Doctor?” “No she is support,” I answered. The nurse rolled her eyes.  The idea that Black people are disproportionately affected by Corona because of underlying conditions puts the blame squarely on our shoulders and negates the very real consequences of bias and discrimination. Systemic issues don’t disappear when there is a pandemic. 

Stay at home. Wear a mask outside. Be kind to one another. Forgive yourself and others.

Bras are overrated.

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Dateline: Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. March 3. 7:00 am

It was seven weeks ago today. I was at the airport waiting to get on an airplane to Las Vegas. I walked into the men’s bathroom near my gate. Every sink was being used by someone washing their hands. That’s not unusual, but the amount of time they were spending at the sink was. Thirty seconds to wash hands? A few took a minute!

A few hours later, I’m in the Vegas airport. I enter a bathroom and it’s the same scene as I saw in Chicago.

It was the start of a new way of life!

I was in Las Vegas and Utah for four days that week. Although we weren’t in lock down mode at that time, the coronavirus was all that people were talking about. Personal conversations, newspapers, television news…it was everywhere. One of the things we heard the most was to wash your hands. Keeping your hands clean would be one of the best ways of avoiding the virus. People took that to heart. It was a week of obsessive hand washing. I joined in with the obsessiveness. I didn’t keep track of the number, but by the time I returned home, my hands were raw from the excessive soap and water.

It took less than a week after my return for the country to shutdown. Schools, businesses, sports…basically everything shutdown. Stay at home, keep a six foot distance, wear at mask when in public and KEEP WASHING YOUR HANDS!

Last week I wondered how many times a day am I soaping up my hands? I tried to remember what I would do that would make me hit the bathroom sink. Wake up-wash. After checking my phone-wash. Bring in the mail-wash. Type up a blog-wash. Yada, yada, yada…wash, wash, wash!

I decided there was only one day to get an accurate number. Last Thursday, I counted the number of times I washed my hands. The magic number was twelve. Yesterday, I did it again. It was a little higher this time at fourteen. Basically, I’m washing my hands every hour that I’m awake. My guess is this is the norm in America today. No wonder my hands constantly ache.  Man…the hand lotion industry must be doing somersaults at this news.

Do you think we’ll be keeping us all the hand cleanliness after the virus scare is over and we all go back to normal life? Hmmm…I have friends and relatives living in Georgia. Maybe I’ll give them a call next week.

Related Post: How many imaginary coronavirus symptoms do you have?

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