The Poet Creek Express - Foamie Hybrid

[KCStudly]

Thanks Frank.

Mom had a long term love of all things NZ. I'm sure she lurked on your page to see the scenery.

[NedBtoo]

KC, my condolences on your loss. Both my parents are at rest. This was a tough year. Ned B.


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[tony.latham]

KC:

We're just back from four days on the lookout staring towards Poet Creek. 'Thought about you out there.



The Magruder Road is in the best shape I have ever seen it.

Tony

[KCStudly]

Tony, you are as close to my "core support" as I can explain. Thank you brother.

(The following is still off topic, but is none the less still my story.)

So, in the mean time, they opened the pool league back up... and I almost immediately got covid.

The first full blown week was hell. I coughed so much and couldn't catch my breath that I wonder too many times... is this the moment where I have to call 911 and get an ambulance to take me to the hospital?

I lost my appetite and lost 20 lbs (about the only good thing that happened to me!).

The second week wasn't so bad, except Yvette came up "positive", too. She fared much better, only had a cough for a few days, and no other symptoms.

In the second week I fared much better, less bronchial issues, got my appetite back, and the OTC cold medicine took care of me (plus I had an old Albuterol enhaler from my fake "allergy days" that saved me).

Thought I had kicked it, but retested positive (oh bother). Wife researched and found that you can be non-contagious, and yet still test positive for months... and my work requires a negative test to return.

With only 46 hrs of PTO left in "the bank" (my one and only form of leave... thank goodness I accumulate it relatively quickly at my new job) I had more or less run out time (given the gap between retest and results). The local health legislation (basically in league with the CT CDC) says you can recover with no symptoms after 10 days and not be contagious, with no need to retest (I question the sanity of this!), but my work requires me to test "negative" in order to come back to the office (recall that I am now in a US defense support position, so am qualified to report to the office if healthy).

Running out of PTO, though feeling much better with limited symptoms, I went with the masses and decided to "work from home"... the new "normal". (Various details of that evolution omitted for brevity.)

So, what is this, week 4 or 5? I've been holed up in our back bedroom, only leaving there for the bathroom with a tub full of alcohol wipes to clean up after myself when I went to the "loo" (Hi Sheddie), and my dedicated wife bringing me food 3x a day and sanitizing after me constantly.

So... on this past Wednesday we both went and got retested (again). Yvette got her result quickly Thursday evening (she gets to check the "health care provider priority box") and was, thankfully, "negative".

I was, of course... concerned.. because I have still been having some minor symptoms (that may or may not be covid related), and also because tomorrow is the fall Unimog event, and I would hate to miss it due to not getting a result yet... or worse still being positive... but low and behold my test result came back negative today!!! WHOOT, WHOOT!!!

So, whew!!! What a ride. Obviously, by consensus, we shut my pool team down. One teammate takes care of his elderly mother, another has immunity issues... and I sure as hell don't want to get it again.

All in all we fared well. Not the worst horror story you have seen on the news, and yet I don't want to go thru that again!

Taking my office computer back to the office and reporting to work on Monday, but will still be vigilant about wearing my mask and sanitizing everything, "in these uncertain times".

Between the loss of my mom, and surviving covid, I'd like to try and leverage this into some higher power of motivation to finish TPCE. Yet I am fully aware that it may take months to regain my full stamina and lung capacity.

Anyway, I can't thank you all enough for your continued support and encouragement. It means the world to me to be able to have these relations and honest friendships.

Stay healthy, and peace to you and yours.

[tony.latham]

and surviving covid...

Ouch. That didn't sound fun.

We've been behaving like a couple of central Idaho hermits. I think the last time we ate in a restaurant was sometime in March.



25 nights in the new teardrop this year. Hoping to squeeze a few more in.

Tony

[KCStudly]

Love you, Tony.

How'd you cook that trout?

Bird dog much?

Again... Love you.

(Hope that's not too manly a sentiment for you!)

[tony.latham]

Love you, Tony.

How'd you cook that trout?

Bird dog much?

Again... Love you.

(Hope that's not too manly a sentiment for you!)

That creek is catch and release only so they are still swimming and we’ll be back next summer to see if they’ve forgotten that fly.


It’s gorgeous country.

Tony

[Wolfgang92025]

KC,

Glad to hear that you managed to get past the worst of it.

Looked at the Marauder trail several times.
The more I look, the more interested I get.

Rest up and get well soon...................

[GPW]

Hang in there KC …

[KCStudly]

It was really only that first (second, really) week where my respiratory system was junk. I am continuing to feel much better, and got a negative result (cleared to reenter society) Friday evening from my second retest on Wednesday.

Boy it was nice to get out into the woods yesterday and get some of our cool crisp New England fall air.

Alas, no flying pumpkins were spotted.

I go back into the office for work tomorrow.

Thanks all.

[lfhoward]

Glad you and Yvette got through it, KC. Covid is scary stuff.

Take it easy the next few weeks. So nice to be able to get outside in the woods with the smell of the woods and the crunch of fall leaves underfoot. Here in the Poconos of PA, we are past peak and the leaves are falling fast today. Probably more so in New England?

[KCStudly]

Not quite here along the coast (of Long Island Sound), but yesterday up in the Ware and Palmer, Mass. area the oaks and maples were all yellow and starting to fall.

Did the Unimog thing again.

[aggie79]

Hi KC,

Glad to hear that you're recovering from Covid. Two people in my office contracted it. One had almost no symptoms and one ended up in ICU for 2 weeks, but has since recovered. The seeming randomness of extent of symptoms with these disease is frustrating/maddening.

My wife has a compromised immune system so I've been working from home 3 out of 5 days a week. This working from home will be a good transition for me for my retirement at the end of the year.

Hope to see you back at it on the Poet Creek Express when your health allows you.

Take care,
Tom

[KCStudly]

Thank you Tom, and everyone for the well wishes.

[capnTelescope]

I wanted to get one more well-wish in here before the thread moves on. It's good to know that you're back and in good health, and I hope that you can get back on the build. It would be so good to know the PCE is on the road and seeing America.