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My and My Dad’s First Bout with Covid

By Gary F. Zeolla

      At the start of the Covid pandemic, in April of 2020, I got sick. But it was before widespread testing for Covid was available. In fact, a week later, a mobile testing van began parking weekly in a store plaza a mile from my home. But by then, I was fully recovered. The point is, I never got tested, so I do not know if I had Covid at that time or not. My doctor did not seem to think so since I did not have a fever. For details, see Different Perspective in Dealing with the Coronavirus (Had Either COVID-19 or the Flu and Mostly Recovered in 35 Hours).

      But now, almost five years later, I got sick again, starting Christmas morning 2024. This time I did a home test for Covid, and it was positive. Thus, assuming I did not have Covid back then, this was my first bout with Covid. Note that I am 63-years-old.

      Meanwhile, my now almost 89-year-old dad never got sick throughout the pandemic, but I gave him my infection. We live together, so it was inevitable I would infect him. He became symptomatic five days after I did and also tested positive for Covid. Thus, both my dad and I made it almost five years from the start of Covid before getting infected.

      In this article, I discuss in detail our experiences, as they illustrate many points I have been making about Covid for the past five years.

Getting Sick and Symptoms

      I went to Pittsburgh’s East End Food Co-op on Friday, December 20, 2024. Not coincidently, I had gone to the same place six days before I got sick back in 2020. Due to my multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS), my monthly (actually ever fourth Friday) trip to the Co-op is the only regular time I leave my home. Otherwise, I mostly only do so for medical appointments and family gatherings. The latter occurred on Sunday (12/22/24), when my family held its Christmas celebration three days early.

      The reason I rarely leave my home is I always feel awful afterwards. That was the case after the Co-op trip. I barely slept that night and felt terrible all day Saturday. But I felt fine Sunday for the gathering. But then not too bad the next day. However, I then had two loads of wash to do in the morning and worked out in the afternoon. In-between and in the evening, I had a work problem on my hands that had to be done.

    Specifically, a reader pointed a significant mistake in my newly released Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament: Third Edition (corrected) (ALT3c). I had inadvertently omitted the final paragraph of the Book of Jude. I have no idea how that happened, but it had to be corrected ASAP, before additional people ordered the volume. Then I announced on my social media pages and the What’s New? page of my Christian website, to inform those who already purchased the volume and to give them the missing text.

      All of this left me so exhausted by bedtime Monday that I barely slept that night, due to being too tired to sleep. I must emphasize, this probably had nothing to do with being infected with Covid but was due to my long-standing health issues. Along with MCS, I also suffer with fatigue from fibromyalgia and have for almost 24 years.

      I was very tired all day Tuesday, but I did not yet feel sick. Then for dinner that night, we had leftovers from the family gathering two days before. That is significant, as due to my MCS, I generally only eat all natural and organic foods. But that food was neither. Also, very often, it is not the first time but the second time I am exposed to something I am sensitive to that I react to it.

      Previously, I have had flare-ups of my Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) after eating family gathering leftovers. But the food is just so good, it is hard to resist. This time, sure enough, I woke up Christmas morning very stiff, with overall body pain (another symptom of fibromyalgia), and feeling just awful. But with another load of wash to do and much to do throughout the day, I had to keep going. I also had already thawed a 14.5-pound turkey I was planning to stuff for my dad and me for our private Christmas dinner. Then after dinner, I separated the leftovers into freezer bags and put them into the freezer for future dinners.

      In other words, I was busy all day long. I felt like if I could have just rested Christmas Day, I might t have been okay. But as it was, as the pain and stiffness alleviated, I began feeling sick. Specially, my symptoms were a stuffed-up nose, congested chest, sneezing, coughing, much nasal mucus, and worst of all, the chills. I just could not get warm. However, I did not have a fever. That is why I did not even think that I had Covid. I figured it was just a head and chest cold.

      That is why I went ahead and worked out on Thursday and Friday. The first workout went okay, but the second one was awful. It was a clear mistake to work out. I then planned on taking the weekend off of lifting, but with hopes I’d be okay to work out Monday.

      I also began to take various over the counter (OTC) cold remedies and continued to do so through Friday. But I barely to slept Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night. Saturday morning, I finally wised up. I pulled out the packaging for all of the OTC remedies I was taking and a magnifying glass to read the very tiny print on the packages. Much to my dismay, every one of them contained artificial colorings.

      Normally, I am very careful about avoiding such, as I know I am sensitive to any kind of artificial ingredients. But I never thought there was such in cold remedies, but they all had them. Even the original Hall’s cough drops had artificial colorings in them! But they are a dull white, not colored at all!

      In any case, that is why I was not sleeping. I say that, as the main problem I have when I consume artificial food stuff is not being able to sleep. That then worsens my fatigue and other health issues. And that was the case here. If I could have just slept, I probably would have been feeling better within a couple of days. For that matter, if I had not lost sleep after my trip to the Co-op on Friday and my overly-busy day Monday, I might never have become symptomatic in the first place.

      That is important, as many, myself included, have emphasized from the start of the pandemic that the best way to protect yourself from Covid, or any illness for that matter, is to follow a healthy lifestyle. But where I disagree with the antivaxxers is that doing so is a substitute for getting vaccinated. The reason it is not is we all have times where we deviate from that healthy lifestyle, either intentionally or inadvertently. In my case, it was the latter. I did not plan on those sleepless nights. They just happened. But that set me up for getting sick.

      In any case, on Saturday, I stopped all OTC remedies and began doing what I should have done from the start—drinking hot liquids: tea, soup, turkey broth from the turkey I had stuffed, and being Christmastime, hot chocolate. That all made me feel much better than any of the cold remedies, and I slept reasonably well Saturday and Sunday night. I was feeling much better come Monday.

My Dad’s Symptoms

      My dad became symptomatic on Sunday, December 30^th. His symptoms were the same as mine, except he did not have the extreme chills that I did and did not seem as sick as I had been. Most importantly, he also did not have a fever. In fact, neither of us never did. Again, that is why I did not suspect Covid and did not yet test for it for myself or my dad.

Setbacks

      Monday, December 30^th was a rather nice day for late December in the Pittsburgh area where I live, while the weather forecast was for rain the next day and then much colder weather thereafter. As such, my dad wanted to take down the outside Christmas decorations. He took them down, but I made multiple trips carrying it all into the house, up a flight of steps, and up a ladder into the attic. I also worked out that afternoon. I was exhausted at that point and just wanted to shower, eat dinner, then rest all evening.

      However, we had visitors coming that evening. Yes, that was a big mistake. My dad should have told them we were both sick and canceled. But it was the only time we were having company over the holidays, so my dad really did not want to cancel. And since he was not too sick yet, and I was mostly recovered, he figured it would be okay.

      The couple who came to visit were not pleased when they realized we were both sick. But they only stayed an hour and thank God did not get sick. However, due to my MCS, I always have a hard time with visitors, which is why we rarely have them. Once again, I did not sleep that night and woke up the next morning once again feeling awful, about the same as I did Christmas morning.

      Then when I went into my home office that morning, I had caught a rat in my mouse trap! We’ve had problems with mice in the house previously. That is why we have traps set. We also had a chipmunk once. But this was the first time we had a rat.

      I had seen the rat in the house the day before, but I did not think our little mouse traps would catch it. In fact, it had dragged one across the basement floor, about 15 feet. But there it was dead, and rotting. It was probably caught the day before. But with all that was going on, I never went into my office after the morning, so it might have been there for up to 20 hours.

      That smell really caused me problems. Then latter that week, I noticed it had gotten into some food in our pantry. I had carefully sealed the food in boxes to protect it from mice. But the rat ate right through the cardboard, making quite a mess. Cleaning that up also left me in an allergenic state and lead to another sleepless night. Meanwhile, my dad was doing worse after the busy day on Monday.

      It was only then, on New Year’s Eve, with me in a relapse and my dad getting worse that I tested for Covid. And again, we both tested positive. But if it had not been for the setback for both of us, I might never have known we had Covid.

      It was also only then that we called our respective doctors. We both only talked to nurses at the doctors’ offices. Mine said she’d talk to the doctor and get back to me. When she did, she told me the doctor prescribed Paxlovid and a nasal spray.

      I was not too keen on Paxlovid, as I have heard many stories of people who have had rebound infections after taking it. But statistically, such is not more common with it than without it. I had both prescriptions delivered that day from CVS.

      Meanwhile, my dad’s doctor was not in, with it being New Year’s Eve. But the nurse said she did not think Paxlovid was warranted as my dad as “too old.” That did not make sense to either of us. I would think it was the other way around. That because he was so old., it would be needed. But as it was, she just suggested he take OTC remedies, which he did.

      Otherwise, I felt so awful, I did not even think about working, working out, or doing much of anything else. I spent the day on the couch watching Christmas movies and drinking hot liquids. By bedtime, I was beginning to feel better.

Recovery

      The next day (Wednesday, New Year’s Day, 2025), I felt mostly recovered, so I worked out and did so the next two days. But another sleepless night Thursday from cleaning up that rat caused mess had me feeling a bit worse on Friday. But after resting Saturday, by Sunday I felt fully recovered, except for lingering nasal mucus and a slight cough.

      Thus, my symptomatic sickness lasted about ten days. But it must be emphasized, this time period was extended due to my several sleepless nights due to MCS, irrespective of Covid.

      Meanwhile, my dad also had a couple of sleepless nights. But his was due to coughing through the night, waking him up periodically. And he felt rather fatigued as a result. But still, by Monday (1/6/25), he was mostly recovered, except again, for a lingering cough. But that is par for the course for my dad. He often has a lingering cough after getting sick that lasts sometimes weeks.

      Not counting that lingering cough, his sickness lasted about eight days. Thus, overall, he never got as sick as I did and recovered quicker than I did, despite being 25-years older than me. That just shows he is healthier overall than I am, as he also follows a healthy lifestyle.

      Finally, I retested both of us on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, and we both tested negative. Thus, two weeks after I became symptomatic and ten days after my dad became symptomatic, we were both Covid free. We probably had been sooner, but I only had two tests left, so I waited until I was reasonably sure we would test negative to test again.

Where and When Did I Get Infected?

      The only two times I went out before getting sick was to the Co-op five days before I became symptomatic and the family gathering three days before. The latter is very possible for when I got infected given that there were twenty people all crammed into one house.

      However, as far as I known, no one else from the family got sick over the next week. If someone had been infected at that gathering, you would think more than just me would have gotten sick. Also, three days is a bit quick for infection to symptoms for Covid.

      More likely, I got infected at the Co-op. Five days from infection to symptoms is more normal for Covid. But that means, I did not infect anyone while I was still asymptomatic. That would include my dad, as again, he did not become symptomatic until five days after I became symptomatic. It would seem he got infected from me on Christmas Day but not before.

      That is important, as through the pandemic, the justification for all of the draconian mandated mitigation measures was the possibility of asymptomatic but infected individuals spreading the virus. But if in fact people are not infectious while asymptomatic, then the stay-at-home orders, business and school closures, social distancing rules, and mask mandates were all unnecessary. Those who are symptomatic should stay at home and wear a mask if they must go out, but not everyone else.

Up-to-Date on Vaccines

      My dad and I are up-to-date on our Covid vaccines. Therefore, I can hear Covid antivaxxers shouting, “See, we told you the Covid vaccines do not work!”

      However, that mindset is based on the very outdated idea that the Covid vaccines prevent infection. They do not and have not since the emergence of Delta in the summer to fall of 2021. But Covid antivaxxers point to statements made by authorities in June of 2021 that if you get vaccinated you will not get infected. That was true then, for a short time, but then the virus mutated. But antivaxxers just cannot understand that simple and common change in viruses and get over those initial pronouncements.

      By “up-to-date” I mean having received the most recent updated booster shot. That is the only shot that matters at this point. Vaccination with prior booster shots and especially with the original vaccines do little to protect against the currently circulating variants. But that most recent updated booster shot does protect from serious illness.

      Hospitals have been consistently reporting for the past three and half years that most all of those in the hospital or dying from Covid have not received first the original vaccines and now the most recent booster shot. Consequently, the claim of antivaxxers to know people who are vaccinated but who still got very sick from Covid are irrelevant, if that vaccination does not include the most recent booster shot.

      It is the same situation as with the flu. Only the most recent flu shot offers any protection against severe illness. Last season’s flu shot will not protect against this season’s flu virus. And again, the flu shot does not prevent infection but does lessen the probability of severe illness.

      That is why my dad and me are up-to-date on all our vaccines, for Covid, the flu, RSV, and pneumonia. Given my age and comorbidities and my dad’s much greater advanced age, we would both be at high risk of severe illness from all of these viruses. But due to being up-to-date on our Covid vaccines, we both only had moderate and rather short illnesses.

      There is of course no way of knowing for sure in our specific cases, but most likely based on the evidence, if we were not up-to-date on our Covid vaccines, we both would have had a much more difficult time with Covid. But as it was, neither of us even came close to being sick enough to require hospitalization, let alone at risk of death.

      What I am not sure of is with having Covid now means we will not need another booster shot in the fall. Our natural immunity should last for at least a year. But then, if new variants arrive by then, maybe we will. We will wait until then and talk to our respective doctors and get their opinions.

Conclusion

      I know Covid antivaxxers will scoff at the preceding. But that is why I laid out in detail my and my dad’s experience, so the reader could understand my significant health issues and how they contributed to me getting symptomatic in the first place and extending my illness. But again, despite all of that, I was only moderately sick for about a week and half.

      Meanwhile, my dad, much older than me but in ways healthier than me, had an easier time and shorter illness than me. Without being up-to-date on his Covid vaccine, his illness most certainly would have been much worse.

      In addition, I must reiterate, here we are five years into Covid, and it was only now that my dad and I got sick. Thus, the vaccines did keep us safe for quite some time from even getting infected.

      Also, many people get sick but never test for Covid, so they do not know if they have Covid or not. That is especially the case for Covid antivaxxers and especially if they have a serious illness. They don’t test, as they know if they did and found out they have Covid, they would have to admit they were wrong in not getting vaccinated.

      Reader, don’t make the same mistake. If you are in a high-risk category, which is to say, elderly and/ or with health issues like obesity or even more unique ones like me, get vaccinated, not just for Covid but for all viral illnesses.

      I heard on my local news that here in Allegheny County, PA (where Pittsburgh is located), Covid, RSV, influenza, and norovirus are all at high circulating levels (dubbed a “Quad-Demic”). The same is true elsewhere in the country. There is no vaccine for the latter, but there is for the first three. Staying up-to-date on your vaccines is the best way to protect yourself from severe illness from these three viruses.

      The news also mentioned frequent hand washing and disinfecting commonly touched surfaces (especially kitchen counter tops) as ways to lessen the risk of infection. I’ve been doing that since the start of the pandemic, and that might have contributed to my dad and me making it this long without getting Covid, and neither of us having had the flu, RSV, or any other viral illness since at least April of 2020, the last time I was sick prior to this illness, as noted.

      For my dad, he had the flu in January of 2020, but also had not been sick since then until now. Given our situations, that is quite a streak, five years of sick-free living. Here’s praying we make it at least another five years.

My and My Dad’s First Bout with Covid. Copyright © 2025 by Gary F. Zeolla (www.Zeolla.org).

Overcoming Back Pain: A Mind-Body Solution

     My first audio book is now available on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. It is the story of how I overcame years of crippling low back pain, so much so that I was able to start powerlifting again.  If you suffer from low back pain, this could be the solution to your problem. And even if you do not, this is an interesting story, with lots of twists and turns. For other formats for this book, see the Preview page on my fitness website.

The above article was posted on this website January 9, 2025.