In my previous posting, I said I'd let you know if anything was going on. Unfortunately, I've developed a bad cold over the past few days. It started out with a sore throat and fever, accompanied by ongoing coughing and a very runny nose. At first, the Kaiser and Stanford docs wanted to send me to the ED (which I used to call the ER), but my fever came down enough that they became a little less concerned. I was dead set against going to the ED since it seemed risky if I had to wait around for several hours with other sick patients. However, the next day I briefly went into Kaiser for a RVP (respiratory viral panel) which showed that I have one of innumerable Rhinoviruses. The doc also checked my lungs which were clear.

Because my cold is viral and not bacterial, there's not a lot to do other than staying warm, comfortable and waiting it out. I am taking some prescribed meds to alleviate the cough and runny nose, although they're not entirely successful at stopping either. The docs at Kaiser and Stanford reminded me that I'm likely to experience more severe cold symptoms because of my nearly non-existent immune system.

Since then, my sore throat and fever have subsided, but not the cough or runny nose. (I should have taken out stock in Kleenex.) This makes getting a good night's sleep especially difficult since lying prone exacerbates the cough. Of course, my sleep has also been problematic since I'm also having to get up several times a night to pee because I'm required to hydrate throughout the day -- a minimum of 2 liters of water or liquid.

It's nearly impossible to know how I got this cold since I was trying to be so careful. Although I've usually worn my HEPA mask and kept social distance whenever I've been outside the house, I've had to go to several different clinics, labs and pharmacies over the past few days as well as being driven to appointments. Plenty of opportunities for a rhinovirus to creep in. Viruses can be spread not only by droplets, but even touching contaminated surfaces. (I remember in the early days of COVID when we thought we needed to disinfect everything coming into the house.) Although I don't have COVID -- I was tested three different times -- the protocol is similar: mask, keep social distance, and avoid anyone who is sick or anyone who has been around someone else who has been sick. As a consequence, I'm hunkering down and minimizing my outside explorations and contacts for the time being. Since I'm feeling pretty wiped out, that's not hard to do.

This is one of Tim's many 3-D puzzles. I couldn't resist.