Covid Saga (Continued)

 I know many of my devoted followers have been sitting on pins and needles wondering what has become of the ill-fated traveler. So here is the latest:

I am three days away from reaching the covid one-month milestone, which according to the CDC technically will put me into the dreaded “Long Covid Club.”  But it is also true that no one really understands this hideous disease or how long I will be under its spell.

The good  news is that I am still alive, surely due to my two vaccinations and two boosters. Note also that compared to what so many have experienced, I am actually in pretty good shape. I have not had to go to the emergency room. I have been able to breathe and to sort of go about life as usual though not without spending most of the time in bed, constant complaining and according to Embry being “ornery.” This week we have been staying at an inn on the Chesapeake Bay while our youngest grandchild, Parker Howell, almost age 13, has been attending sailing camp. However, I have remained indoors sleeping most of the time when I am not being ornery or complaining incessantly.

I am sure the covid experience is not the same for any two people. Total exhaustion, joint and muscle pains, and just feeling lousy sum it up for me. It could be a lot worse.

But here is the thing about covid. As soon as you feel a tad better and maybe try an activity or two like taking a short stroll or watching TV or a movie, or helping prepare a meal or cleaning up, or staying up past 8:00 PM, the next day you pay the price. Covid strikes back with a vengeance. You are hammered and feel so bad that you dread having to get out of bed. This only lasts about a day, however, and then you are back to where you were the day before and able to take a short walk, watch TV, read the news online, and complain incessantly. The time that there is a break in the cycle, I will declare myself on the mend. While this has not actually  happened quite yet, each day I keep hoping that tomorrow will be the day.

The revolutionary insight that I have gained from this horrid experience is that covid is actually not a disease. It is an Evil Spirit. The doctors and experts have it all wrong. Until people figure this out, we will continue to be in a mess. Evil Spirits have been around forever. Remember how much time Jesus spent casting out Evil Spirits? This has been true of a lot of holy people. Nobody knows where these Evil Spirits come from or why they enter the human body, only that this has been happening from time immemorial. In my case on a bad night I awake the next morning totally exhausted due to a real life battle between the Evil Spirit and my body. So far my body has been winning or at least holding its own. Afterall, I am still alive, but at a price; and the big question is when will the Evil Spirit give up and go back where it came from.

This profound insight turned me to exorcism. I realized that I do not need a doctor. I need an exorcist. It turns out that exorcists are all over the place. I typed in Google “Exorcist Near Me” and all kinds of names came up. I’ll bet if you check on it, you will find at least one exorcist within a five minute walk of where you live. So many exorcists, how to choose?

It is hard to find out detailed information without entering a ton of personal data on their website and in many cases paying a fee or “retainer” up front before they will cast out your demon.  And there are all kind of options: exorcism by email, exorcism over the phone, mail order exorcism, Zoom exorcism (said to be the most popular but also a bit pricey) and in rare cases face-to-face exorcism though it appears that many of these exorcists are in the deep jungles of sub-Saharan Africa or remote islands in Indonesia. A whole bunch of exorcists are Roman Catholic priests exceeded only by “former Roman Catholic priests.”

I have been trying to locate a trade association of exorcists and maybe something about best practices. In any event, if any of you know of a real good and affordable exorcist, please pass the name along to me along with whether the exorcist will accept exorcism insurance, which I am planning to get before hiring anyone.

And do not worry. I will let you know when the Evil Spirit is exorcised or simply gives up and goes home.

  

 

10 thoughts on “Covid Saga (Continued)

  1. Damn, Joe. You are yet another example of an old medical aphorism — the nicest people get the worst diseases. Go ahead and be ornery to your hearts content. Maybe that’ll make it too hot for even the evilest of evil spirits.

    Best wishes,
    Killer (one of your many long-time admirers)

  2. I love your blog post! I too believe in spiritual intervention
    as my years in Japan introduced me to a wide range of
    dos and don’ts regarding connecting or avoiding that
    alternate world. Find a Shinto shrine.

  3. Joe

    I’m sorry that having been absent from the mens club I was not aware of what you are going through . I wish you well in your battle with the evil spirits.

    We have spent the last two years being admonished by our children to be ultra careful. Ha! Then they go and catch it

    Phil

  4. I knew a good exorcist but unluckily he fell down a steep flight of steps in Georgetown and broke his neck. Keep looking. And in the meantime, keep resting.

  5. Thanks, Joe, for the eloquent and humorous posts.
    Long Covid is really a mess. I’ve had it and it’s got a Sisyphean nature. Just as you think the rock is close to the top of the hill, you’re knocked back down for a day or so. The irony is that the only way to assess where you are in recovery is to attempt activity. Evil if not Evil Spirit.
    The germ theory of disease (germs and not “miasma” cause infections) was proposed in 1546 but shot down for centuries.
    The response of the cruise line suggests there may still be some holdouts for the miasma theory.
    Close quarters, inadequate airflow/turnover rates and confirmed Covid cases without K- or N- 95 masks = many sick people.
    As you wrote, you could, and likely would have, have severely ill had you not been vaccinated and boosted.

    And still, people I know either have not been vaccinated or have family members they can’t convince to get vaccinated. Perhaps these science deniers might need exorcists to address that evil spirit.
    Wishing you patience and continued recovery.

  6. Joe, praying for you and positive that your indomitable good sense of humor will prevail in wearing down the evil spirit and bring you back to our world of the mostly functional. Big hug, Larry

  7. Tu m’as fait pleurer, sacré Joe, et plus encore Mimi peut-être.
    Maintenant, Joe, après avoir eu le bonheur de sortir de cette extrême fatigue de tout le corps ressenti en plein cours d’un voyage admirablement préparé et entrepris, tu ne peux t’en tirer aussi facilement. Maintenant, il nous faut une bande dessinée. Un ou une de vos petits-enfants montrerait ce talent ?
    J’ai appris un mot “ornery”. J’en suis surprise d’ailleurs car il veut aussi dire en français “têtu comme un âne”. Donc j’aurais dû l’entendre souvent. Je pense souvent à vous mais jamais avec la Covid !

  8. Oh Joe! We are just so sorry to read that you are still going through this. Please tell me when you find the exorcist. You never know when one might come in handy. Sending all our best wishes and love.

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