This is Joe Worthington’s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page and his account of his COVID experience.
The frequently asked questions are:
- Is this the first time you had COVID ?
No I had COVID July 2020 along with 2 other Cherokee County Employees. I tested positive for the antibody Feb 2021 and tested Negative for the antibody Aug 2021 - Have you been vaccinated ?
NO - Are you going to get vaccinated ?
Probably not. At least I have no reason to for about 9 months. There is no sense in getting vaccinated while my natural immune system has the antibody for the newest COVID. If I were to get the vaccine, the vaccines would be better 9 months from now. - How and when did you get COVID ?
Thursday 9/16/2021 I was a good Smartian and gave a stranded person a ride from Rydal, GA to Dalton, GA. This ended up being 1.5 hours in a small Toyota Tacoma Pickup and then 2 hours back home in a possibly germ filled small cab pickup. I think this was it because I came down with the first symptoms 5 days later. This is the only time I had close contact with any individual. - What kind of treatments did you get ?
It’s a virus. You manage your fever with Tylenol/Advil and rest. I did get an antibody infusion, but it seemed to have and adverse effect on me as described below. I think it set be back a week. I did get some ivermectin which was 3 pills for 3 days that I started Wednesday 9/29. There is a pharmacy in Holly Springs that filled the prescription. My doctor and most doctors will not prescribe this medication. It cured India, but our FDA does not approve it. I will not disclose where I got my prescription, however search for frontline doctors and you should be able to dind a doctor that can help you. - What was your COVID experience like ?
As stated above, I was exposed on 9/16/2021. Five days later, the morning of Tuesday 9/21/2021. I experienced diarrhea and stinking gas. I thought it was something I ate the night before. I did a home COVID test kit that evening and it came up negative.
Wednesday 9/22 and Thursday 9/23 I had the worst body aches in my entire life. Everything hurt. I had Pit Bull dog bites from 1998 that were hurting, I could feel every piece of dental work I had done. My hair hurt. I knew I had testicles!. It affected every portion of my body, including my brain.
Friday 9/24 I was some better, but had a video appointment with a Piedmont doctor in Marietta. She was certain I had COVID. I did another home test and it came back a flaming positive. I then went had had a CVS PCR test that came back positive as well.
Sunday 9/26 I went to the emergency room from the advice of someone I know named Mike. It was worth the $5,600 to know it wasn’t in my lungs.
Monday 9/27 and Tuesday 9/28 I was doing quite well and fever free.
Tuesday evening (9/28) I went in for an antibody infusion. 30 minutes into it my temperature rose and my oxygen level dropped from the mid 90’s to the mid 80’s. I was asking for Tylenol to bring the fever down, but the hospital said they could not administer it. They are a hospital and had Tylenol on my discharge papers, but could not administer what they prescribed. I got into a heated conversation with them. They administered Benadryl to the patient next to me, but could not adminsiter what was on my discharge papers from the emergency room.
I was very sick until Sunday 10/3/2021. It appeared the antibody infusion had an adverse effect on me, but I can’t be 100% sure.
Monday 10/4, I am basically well, but it was an exhausting task just to walk a short distance on flat ground to my mailbox. This was most of the week.
Saturday 10/9 I am able to walk around, but simple task leave me exhausted. - What do I recommend to others and how would you approach the situation differently ?
1.) Find out where to get Ivermectin and the proper dosage for preventative or treatment. I think I would have still come out of it without the Ivermectin, however it has been proven to work even though our FDA does not accept it.
2.) Make sure you have some home test kits. Early detection is good.
3.) Be careful about exposure. I am still not big on wearing mask. After my experience, I would avoid being in a small confined space with someone you don’t know for an extended period of time. If we were both wearing mask, I don’t think it would have helped much.