A Test and a Vaccine

When Peg sent out a text, while we were playing pickleball, that her cold was more than a cold, we knew that our bubble had burst. Seems as if a get together at the pool did not include as much social distancing as is wise, and it was seemingly inevitable that someone else would get it too. Of course at that moment in time, Yvette was also playing pickleball and had no idea that she, too, had it. Yikes and double yikes!

Immediately Connie left, contacting another friend and the two of them went to get tested at a place that uses the saliva test. Others went there as well, finding it convenient and the 48 hour wait for results a fact of life. Because we had our vaccinations scheduled for Friday, and this all happened last Monday, Bruce went online to find out where we could get both the rapid test and the longer one at the same time. Turns out that Orange County has just such a place out on West Colonial that other friends had used. Thank goodness for their insight because those tips were invaluable. 

Firstly they recommended we arrive as early as possible, before the 9AM opening. Leaving at 7:30 we arrived just before 8, easily finding the location which was well marked. 

Note the moving cars with spaces between them. Following behind those cars,

yet another turn,

and eventually coming to a stop near the sign below. Good news for me, just to the left of the far structure there was a bathroom. Whew!

What we did not know, at this point, was just how long and winding the road ahead was. Inching forward a tiny bit, we encountered the cars pointing in the opposite direction, the place we would eventually occupy in approximately two hours. Bruce opened his window, asking the fellow who was probably fifth in line, when he arrived to get such a spot. "Four AM"was his reply!! Because Denny had told us there would be a considerable wait time, I'd brought along a crossword puzzle and Bruce had his book.

Once the clock struck nine, the cars began inching forward, and we knew we were on our time would eventually come. True to the sign, around 90 minutes later, we made our final turn towards the tents.

Woo hoo! Almost there. Right about now I should mention that both Peg and Yvette are having mild cases, neither of them very sick, although almost ten days into it, Peg began having chills again while Yvette has no sense of taste or smell. 

Meanwhile, I guess it is my optimistic nature, but I felt pretty confident that neither Bruce nor I had it, but making sure was prudent, just in case I was being a fool. Once at the spot, it was all done quickly and  efficiently, especially because we had preregistered and had our bar codes ready. We both had the nasal swab, as well as the one they insert into your nose much deeper.

God bless those workers...can you imagine what it must be like doing the same task from 9-5, day in and day out? Not to mention the worry! I had the larger of the two pictured women and both could not have been any more pleasant. As we left the tent, both of us kind of swallowing hard to recover from the nose probe, we were so pleased that we had arrived early as the line of cars to get in was absolutely incredible! I had estimated that there were at least 100 cars ahead of us....well, the line when we left, snaked through the whole road out of the park and at least 1/2 mile down Colonial Drive and then onto another road!! Now that would be some kind of wait!! Actually we learned from a friend a few days ago that there are signs when you pull onto the park property that say expect a four hour wait from there. 

Oh how we hate you Covid-19, let me count the ways.

It was with a sigh of relief that we received texts, even before we pulled into the complex, saying our results were ready to be viewed on the special website. Negative/negative. Although I got my negative results from the PCR test on Thursday, Bruce received an email saying his specimen was contaminated. We decided that should he develop any symptoms he would go through the ordeal again. To date none have emerged.

So, on Friday morning we left the house, prepared to wait again for our time slot of getting the vaccination between 10-12AM. We drove to the vast, mostly empty, convention center on International Drive, following the provided signage. I will say it was not nearly as helpful as the ones at Barnett Park, however, the set up is fairly new, whereas the testing site has been open now for about nine months. 

I'd brought along the iPad and this time we killed time by watching several great videos about the origin of pickleball back in 1965. How they made up the rules as they went along, to the history of paddles, going from shaped plywood to the beginnings of what are called composite paddles. Turns out an early young player's Dad made them from scraps he brought home from Boeing. Good thing they were fairly short because this line moved quickly. We came around this corner,

and there it was!

My reading of the Edison book has made me hyperaware of inventions, both the tweaking of old ones, and the use of new ones. Which brings me to the barcode. Who knows who came up with that technology which would change the world? I did not, and now, much to my astonishment, I have just learned that it was based on Morse code!!   Amazing, right? Then again, perhaps you knew that? 

While not quite a barcode, this was used to mark us before we received the shot.

Undoubtedly based on an earlier invention. Anyway, EMTs gave us the shot in our preferred arms and it was super easy. Mostly anyway. In the photo above you might note a man with a blue shirt on and that man turned out to be a photographer for the convention center who stopped my EMT from pulling the needle out of my arm in order for him to take some photographs!! Appropriate, right? After about a 15 minute wait in the parking lot, with medical personnel standing by, once assured we had no reactions we were sent on our way. Again it was done quickly and with efficiency. I will say that the initial encounter with the website was a little tricky, but once I found the instructions, it worked just fine. Not only does it now display our encounters, it has our next vaccines, scheduled in February.

On the first day it was a bit sore to the touch, on the second, way more so. Now it is day four and it feels fine. Bruce had some chills and general malaise on Saturday afternoon and I was as lazy as I could be, but we are both fine now. One thing I have learned is that the next dose is greater and more uncomfortable. Furthermore, Fallon had her second dose and she had a very miserable 24 hours. Fortunately, for most people, those types of reactions are short-lived. 

So, now you know. In an effort not to worry our out-of-town sons, I've kept this quiet until now, our in- town sons were freaked out enough! In any case, we feel fortunate to have, hopefully dodged the disease. Now we are hoping our friends recover sooner rather than later.

One week since this all began, our local hospital, two miles away, is now scheduling vaccines and five of our friends took advantage of that today. There are, or so it seems, some advantages to being over 65. :)

In other news, it snowed in Austin yesterday and I will say I was a wee bit jealous when Jonathan and Alissa did a Facetime with me as they walked around the block.

For some reason, my last post seems to have fallen through the cracks and should you have missed it you can click HERE. 

Finally, have you tried blistering Shishito peppers before? While normally not a huge pepper fan, should you see them where you buy produce, I can recommend them highly. A tip I read was to oil the peppers, not the pan and it was an excellent idea.

Now, my dear ones, I am heading into the kitchen, where I plan to do some baking in order to refill the cookie jar. 

your friend,

Gail