F’n COVID

I am certainly no different than anyone else and we all have to continue to deal with this plague. Allow me set the table for our story.

She looks pretty happy, right? On May 13, 2022 she just did a little shopping and was on her way to work a shift at the art museum when the phone rang.

My wife was at work, extremely dizzy and nauseous. I was a few minutes from the museum, about 40 minutes from home. They had to call an ambulance for her as there was no way for me to get there in time, regardless of my attire.

Meanwhile, I hurried home, literally taking off anything and everything female I was wearing. I completely removed all of my makeup while driving. I got home, very quickly changed, called the police department to find out where they took her and drove to the ER. Without boring you with all the details, we sat in the ER for about seven hours before they figured out nothing, were unable to make her feel any better. Only because they were going to hospitalize her did they run a COVID test (required by the hospital for admission). Guess what? She had COVID and it was the reason for everything happening. After they tried six hospitals, they finally found a bed and around 9 PM (she got the the ER before 1 PM), she was again ambulanced, to a hospital this time.

Long term she should be fine, I hope. She progressed over 24 hours simply due to the passage of time and was released from the hospital. She was still dizzy due to a severely blocked ear, which we dealt with over the course of the next few days. While she recovered, on May 15, 2022, I went to a music video shoot I had scheduled with her encouragement and after having tested negative myself. There was nothing else to do since it was Sunday and being out of the house was a sfe thing for me to do in order to remain healthy myself.

The video was at a night club and we were shooting a scene at a night club in the eighties, so I am dressed accordingly. I arrived on site about 20 minutes early, with different wardrobe options, ready to go! No one showed up…..I text the director only to find out that, wait for it…..a band member tested positive for COVID! Shoot cancelled. And I looked great!

So I hit a local craft brewery where I had brunch and a few beers. There I was treated so well, getting some apple toppings for my French Toast from a waitress (which I did not order) and a free beer from the bartender.

I then stopped at the casino. Nothing of note happened, but again it was nice walking around in this outfit. I took a few more photos on Public Square.

Finally on the way home, I stopped at the pharmacy to pick up my wife’s prescriptions. Of course, they were closed for lunch, so I had to wait 20 minutes. During this time, two other ladies and I had a lovely time talking. One was in her mid 70’s, the other in her mid 30’s. I smiled the entire 20 minutes. The older lady was happy that she was allowed to drink with the eye drops she picked up! She elbow bumped me on her way out. She had asked why I was so dressed up and later said I was flamboyant (no argument here). Of all the crap we went through over the course of the weekend, my wife being ill, two events I was looking forward to being cancelled, the frustrations of the health care system, schlepping all over town, that 20 minutes at CVS was wonderful.

And this outfit, my makeup, spot on for the role that never was….. I would have crushed it!

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Update May 23, 2022: It took 11 days in our health care system for my wife to see an actual doctor, have an actual doctor examine her ears. She has lost her hearing in her left ear, creating equilibrium issues. The hearing loss is most likely viral (probably f’n COVID). This could last a few days, weeks, months, maybe a year or it may be permanent. No way of knowing right now. At least we have a path forward from here. COVID has killed over a million people in the US, so we have no reason to complain or feel sorry for ourselves. But life continues to throw challenges at each and every one of us, every single day. When I talk about perspective in the context of my gender issues, this is what I am referring to.