Surprise! Unlike June 2019 when we got back from our previous European & Scandinavian honeymoon cruise that took us all the way from London to Iceland, and saw the hidden ground on the right side of the house overflowing from water leak of the irrigation drip, and Southern Nevada Water Company charged us $1,550 for it afterwards, there were no surprises, good or bad, when we checked our home after we came back from our our Asian cruise, and thanked the Lord for our wonderful and unforgettable vacation.
It was nine days before Christmas, when we got home from a 14 & 1/2-hour direct but packed like canned sardines Boeing Dreamliner flight from Singapore to San Francisco, where we took a 2-hour layover before flying again for 1 hour & 36 minutes to our final destination, on a smaller Boeing 737 filled with Californians and Chinese tourists, who were so excited to get off the plane, and lose their shirts in the Fabulous City of Las Vegas, where we retired seven years ago.
We couldn't wait to unpack, buy more groceries for the holidays, and decorate the house because Christmas was around the corner, and Osbert was coming home in 5 days, before celebrating the Lord's birthday with Claire-Voe, Kendra, and our cute and adorable granddaughters Xio & Violet in New Jersey.
Other than the jet lag (although we dozed off mostly during the long flight because we were so tired,) Gie & me were both upbeat, slept for more in between house chores for two days on the 16th & 17th of December, and we didn't go out until the following two days on December 18 & 19, in order to get into the Spirit of Christmas by attending the Simbang Gabi or 9-Day Novena Masses leading to Christmas in St. Joseph and our Parish Church of Holy Spirit respectively, after seeing for a regularly scheduled check up Dr. Calderon, my new Medicare primary physician, who told me that everything was fine.
However, the following day, December 20, or the 6th day after disembarking from our cruise ship in Singapore, I woke up with a fever, took two extra-strength Tylenol every six hours, ate chicken tinola soup, and told Gie not to attend the Simbang Gabi and Reception in St. Anne's Church, so I could rest.
The next day Saturday, I still had the fever, but the doctor's office was closed, and instead of going to Urgent Care, I took 2 puffs of my Ventollin Inhaler which I always carried with me (except when I forgot to bring one during an asthma attack in Monaco, and had to ask our tour guide to take me to a pharmacist during lunchtime without any prescription, and bought it cheaper with no fuzz over there,) and 2 tablets from Gie's Z-Pack (which she got from her doctor before our cruise in case of an emergency,) which my previous doctor prescribed when I cannot breathe because of severe allergic rhinitis due to sudden change in temperature, from warm Singapore to cold Las Vegas in December.
I felt so much better, so we went to the Simbang Gabi, followed by a sumptuous luncheon in St. Joseph Parish, before we picked up Osbert at the airport. I was seated next to one of our Charismatic sisters, and conversed with her animatedly when I noticed that she was coughing and sneezing a little bit, which I didn't mind because I was sick myself but didn't show it, while Gie and our other sisters picked up our food in the buffet.
We took Osbert for Sunday Mass the following day, and brought him with us to our fun & food-filled, joyous Charismatic Christmas Party where he won the raffle top prize-- an authentic designer bag, which he gave to Gie, together with our Christmas presents and my birthday gift. He left the following day after eating dinner with us his favorite gourmet Filipino food-- the oxtail kare-kare, which I cooked for him, then brought all our gifts to her sister and family in Edison, New Jersey.
The next morning on Christmas eve, I messaged Dr. Calderon because I developed a dry cough the night after Osbert left, then picked up an over the counter cough medicine recommended by Walgreen's pharmacist because the prescription cough medication that my doctor faxed them was out of stock.
I finished my Z-Pack that night, didn't know what I was thinking the next day, but I took 3 Prednisone tablets, as prescribed by my allergist before the cruise, on Christmas day in order to feel better because I was scheduled to lector, while Gie was serving as a Eucharistic Minister. We went to the movies afterwards, and capped the night by opening our Christmas package from our grandkids Xio & Violet.
After Christmas, I just stayed home for a week with Gie, got rested, ate a lot of chicken soup, drank a lot of liquid, and finished the Prednisone, Cough Medications-- first, the over the counter, followed by the prescription one which became available, the Ventollin Inhaler, and Tylenol if necessary, aside from my maintenance meds for my high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Praise God! I got healed, and we had a glorious New Year's Eve celebration at home, followed by the Feast of Mary, Mother of God Holy Mass in St. Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church on New Year's Day.
Looking back, and knowing what I know now, I thank God for surviving the Wuhan coronavirus, or Covid-19.
However, why did I get a fever again after 2 months? And, why did Gie cough blood, the week before that, and her lady doctor had to send her for an X-ray because she can't see her in person. Why? Due to the coronavirus which spread worldwide into a pandemic, causing the lockdown in the US, and Las Vegas, of course!
(TO BE CONTINUED...)
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