A few of my observations?

I worked in a hospital for a long time - around the ER and the OR for most of it.

I was there for ALL the big diseases. Legionnaires, HIV/AIDs, Hanta, Lyme and some others. I learned enough to fill a book and remember enough to fill a thimble. After a while I learned NOT to panic and to be aware of what I was doing.

When i heard about the CV and the experts talking about it, I laughed.

Not because of the illness itself, but of the dire predictions.

They were selling the story with predictions that it was as bad as the storyline in books like The Andromeda Strain, The Stand or The Hot Zone.

Namely that people were going to drop dead in the streets in minutes after being exposed? (I think we know now that take at least two weeks for it to show up after exposure?)

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For the record?

A virus needs a warm or moist medium/area to thrive in/on. You can relate this to the 'fire triangle' they teach in a safety class. you need oxygen/fuel and heat to start a fire - except that the fuel is a moist environment for this disease to live on. If the chain is broken, the disease dies.

Not to say people should not be careful -its just that most of the time wiping stuff down is not really needed. its good to be careful, but not to panic or go crazy when thinking about it.

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I have a suspicion that this disease was here in the states as early as October of last year.

Why?

I was sick for all of nov/dec with something that I was told was 'nothing' (I think people thought I was losing my mind!)

I stopped eating (Not a great way to lose weight) I was down to a Cup-of-Noodles every two-three days, violent stomach upsets, a fever, labored breathing and lethargy.

I spent days in bed only getting up to go to the bathroom, getting a bite to eat and doing simple stuff around the house. I had to sleep sitting up because i could not catch my breath and something simple like taking out the trash and going to pick up the newspaper required me to think about if for a half hour beforehand, do it and spend 15 trying to get my wind back. one flight of stairs would almost make me pass out. Another weird effect was that I was seriously thinking that death was probably better than feeling the way I did.

That had me freaked out a little...more on that later?

I toughed it out and by the first of the year I was feeling a lot better.

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When the media picked up the story -this is where I laughed - they sold it like a walking dead episode. people dead in the streets and zombies strutting about asking for brains to eat.

Again, i was not laughing at the loss of life or the illnesses, it was the dire predictions of the eminent extinction of all man kind - the toilet paper shortage amused me.

The world would end and every one dying with a clean butt hole.....dark humor amuses me?

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After a few weeks of the news reports i began to suspect that I was indeed sick with something kinda unusual, but it really hit home when a talking head on tv reported that 'his head was not right' while he was sick.

When Doris walked into the man cave and said "I think you had the CV" I felt kind of vindicated - Her and I had some moments because she would ask me what I wanted for dinner, she would cook it and I just did want to eat. Another by product of this illness was I just had to sit up in bed and that would make wretch -this was 5-15 minutes of wanting to throw up with nothing in me stomach.

One benefit? I got to work out my abs every time!

Do I know for sure?

No, but here is an interesting tidbit? I had scheduled a colonoscopy and got in the day before the hospitals closed down. I went in, got it done and awaited the results.

I got a phone call two weeks later and was told I was exposed to a worker who tested positive.

they gave the info to the health dept and I was to take the necessary precautions. I was irritated for about a minute and then called my doc who told me that I didn't need to be tested (this was when the testing was barely getting started).

And then?

nothing....no problems at all.

I am NOT saying to ignore what is happening outside your front door, common sense and keeping your wits about you will get everyone thru this.


Oh, and always buy you toilet paper in bulk......we had to buy the cheap stuff and it was like wiping yourself with wax paper.....