Covid 19 Through My Eyes ( part 2)

Covid 19. Through My Eyes , ( part 2)

By the fall of 2020 Covid 19 was becoming more prevalent in rural America. The public Health Agencies, legacy media and government were continuing draconian lock downs and fear mongering. Depression and anxiety among adolescents and teens was on the rise. Out of hospital cardiac arrests were also rising. America was consumed by fear. People were actually afraid to visit their doctor and hospitals! By this time we knew who was at highest risk for serious disease. But that didn’t seem to matter. It was not uncommon to see people riding alone in their car fully masked or even worse, running or exercising fully masked. It was also around this time that THE GREAT BARRINGTON DECLARATION was authored and published by Martin Kulldorff, Jay Bhattacharya and Sunetra Gupta. As I read this document it just made sense. I was elated that these highly respected doctors of national acclaim thought like me. I enthusiastically signed on and forwarded it to friends and family members-many of whom signed on as well. It baffled me as to why the likes of Anthony Fauci and Francis Collins would so vigorously attack and attempt to discredit the authors! It was at that moment in time where the CDC, NIH and other government bureaucrats completely lost my trust and faith. I was taught that Science is supposed to be transparent and open to discussion and civil discourse. Suppression of information and opposing points of view only impedes progress in the search for truth. I often reflect back to my very first day of medical school at the University of Virginia when a professor of Anatomy spoke to our entire class: “Half of everything we teach you during medical school will later be proven wrong, we just don’t know which half!” His statement resonated then and even more so now with the benefit of time and experience. Science is never settled despite what you’ve heard in the news!

At this point in time I was also quite active on social media, posting scientific articles and information on many health related topics. I became guardedly critical of much of what the media and agencies were pushing. Masking, lock downs, social distancing, fear of interacting with other people. Many of my posts were about alternate views from what was so vigorously being promoted as dogma. I actively started promoting health and wellness and the benefits of daily exercise, a healthy all natural whole food diet and sleeping 8 hours a night along with Vit D supplementation as ways to improve your immune system and reduce overall risk. Just think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that could have been positively effected if our government and legacy media had promoted healthy habits and wellness as opposed to masking, social distancing and lock downs ( fear) !

It was around Thanksgiving of 2020 that the rhetoric and recommendations coming from Washington were becoming even more absurd. Dr Fauci was telling America to not gather for traditional holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas! Masks were recommended indoors in family situations. Schools were closed, being replaced by virtual learning. America was starting to get pissed off and defiant!

It was also shortly after Thanksgiving that I and several immediate family members contracted Covid. Like so many others we had been exposed by an unsuspecting family member. Thankfully, this is the time of year we are starting to breed cows using artificial insemination and natural service by our herd sires. I had taken a week off from my duties in our medical practice and did not expose any patients. My illness was like a normal “flu”. I felt extremely tired and achy for parts of 2 days I distinctly remember waking up one morning and not wanting to get out of bed. But, I had to as life would not stop for Covid. There were cows to check for heat and breed. So, I was forced to get up, go outside and get to work. And it was the best thing I could have done. I took a couple Tylenol and went about my daily activities. Breathing the fresh air and sunshine immediately made me feel better. My mood improved as did my energy and sense of well-being. My sickness only lasted 3-4 days and I’m convinced that my active lifestyle, healthy diet and physical fitness were the main factors in my speedy recovery.

Unfortunately, our local news paper got wind of my positive Covid test and felt compelled to run an article advertising this fact and completely ignoring my right to privacy. They also felt compelled to write that I had posted on social media my advocacy of health and wellness as a Covid strategy as opposed to masks and distancing. Our families Covid status was also written about on social media with a firestorm of opinions being posted online. I even had one person contact me about whether I had exposed any of my patients. The inference was clear: I was obviously a bad person and must have done something to get infected like gather for Thanksgiving dinner! No responsible human would ever contract Covid. Many people at that time actually felt that way! I will also say that my wife, Ann, and I received much support from our friends and others in the community as a result of the illness, social media posts and newspaper yellow journalism article.

Shortly thereafter a close personal friend, Colby May, sent me a link to the senate hearing called by Senator Ron Johnson on early treatment of Covid 19. I consider this hearing to be the single most important bit of information I have received in our fight against Covid 19. Less than 1 week later Ann and I were called to treat an 86 year old patient in poor health with Covid 19. Thankfully we were able take the information learned from that senate hearing and save her life! More to come…….