On July 15th I was tested for COVID 19 only as a precaution due to the fact that some friends I had been in contact with tested positive for the Coronavirus. So I went for the nasal swab, which can also be used as “back of yer eyeball scratcher”, to see if I might be a victim of this dreaded ailment and on July 18th the results arrived…(“May I Have The Envelope Please” or “Tell em What He’s Won Johnny”… insert proper notification). My personal fable as psychiatrist say is this… “Andy Oliver, man of God, TV preacher, immunized prophet of the almighty cannot possibly have the virus”. It’s just not in the cards. On the 18th I received a call which informed me I was positive and my response was… “are you positive…that I am positive”… they were.
I phoned my son in Charleston who is a nurse and shared the news with him after I phoned Baptist hospital in Winston Salem on Monday July 20th. I was informed that they could not take a risk on reserving an operating room for a 6 hour surgery on a 2020 Leper. My contact at the hospital relayed to me that I would need another test the following week and it needed to be a negative in order to get back on schedule. I told my son the news and he shared some additional information. He said, “Dad, most people test positive for three months”. I returned to my personal fable……. “I will not do this, it simply can’t happen to me!”
I had a retest on July 22nd. I am still positive. So I guess I will be listening to Christmas music during my surgery. Since they will be boring holes in my forehead and making a nice quarter sized entryway in the back of my head, I will request that the surgical team listen to and sing O Holey Night during the procedure.
COVID 19 is for real and it is contagious. I am thankful that mine was not that serious. I experienced typical allergy/ cold symptoms, fatigue, and some gastroenterological issues that I would rather not discuss in the pages of this newsletter. According to the data many will not be as fortunate as me. So, be safe, diligent and considerate during this worldwide pandemic.
I AM PRAYING THROUGH THE PANDEMIC… JOIN ME !
Andy O