Due to the rapidly increasing threat of the wave of the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping over Washington State where I live, I started home-isolation on March 13th in an attempt to stay safe from the virus.
Today is April 10th, and I'm in my 28th day of home-isolation due to COVID-19.
Waiting my turn at the urgent care clinic for COVID-19.
Even being extremely careful, and with no contact with people during my home-isolation, it still didn't keep me from contracting COVID-19.
I did receive USPS mail & parcels, packages from UPS & FedEx, and several grocery deliveries during that time, so the possibility is that the transmission pathway was from a COVID-19 infected surface.
I started showing symptoms consistent with COVID-19 on March 26th, which started out mild, and then progressed in severity until March 31st.
I told my buddy Doc Leo what was happening with me symptom-wise, and he encouraged me to engage the health care system to get checked out for a possible COVID-19 infection (Thanks Doc!).
I didn't really understand the implications of what was happening to me at the time symptom-wise, and like a typical guy I was dragging my feet about getting checked out until Doc Leo encouraged me to do so.
Then I went through the COVID-19 screening, testing, diagnosis, and treatment process used here in Washington State where I live, over the next week.
I thought I had COVID-19 beat on April 3rd as my symptoms had reduced in severity, but then a second wave of symptoms came back that were worse, and I ended up going to an urgent care center dedicated to evaluating and treating people with COVID-19 symptoms.
Up to that point I had been successfully keeping my symptoms in the bearable range by taking two 500mg Tylenol two-times a day, staying well hydrated, and getting plenty of rest.
However, after evaluation in the urgent care center, and due to experiencing some difficulty breathing, I started receiving azithromycin for a possible lung infection, and an albuterol puff inhaler to ease my breathing.
Generally, COVID-19 hospitalization rates increase with age, and are highest among older adults, with the majority of hospitalized patients having underlying health conditions, but not always, and more is being learned daily about the variability of who is infected with COVID-19, and the spectrum and severity of symptoms they might experience.
Being 60+ years old, and having several underlying health conditions, I am in a higher-risk category for COVID-19, and was rather concerned about the increasing severity of my symptoms.
Fortunately, my symptoms did not reach the level of severity where I needed to be hospitalized, and home-isolation remained the best option.
Last night I felt a little better, my temperature dropped down to 99.8F, and this morning my temperature had dropped to 99.2F as I prepared my morning coffees (my morning coffee ritual is having two Americanos while I catch up on my email and check the news).
The Doc who evaluated me told me it would probably take another week or two before the COVID-19 infection had run its course and would be cleared from my system. The Doc told me that I would need to continue to home-isolate until three days after my temperature returned to the normal range, at which point I could assume I was clear of COVID-19.
Most people will survive a COVID-19 infection, but it is serious situation, and in a worst case scenario it can lead to death. I can assure you that even having mild symptoms is not a pleasant experience (i.e. symptoms with a temperature below 103-104F, no pneumonia, and no extreme difficulty breathing).
Given that the COVID-19 transmission routes, who will catch it, and the severity of symptoms they will experience, is not fully understood yet, you should be extra-cautious in observing all the recommendations for minimizing risk of being infected with COVID-19, as there is no vaccine or effective treatment for it yet.
Current testing is limited, rather unreliable with a 30-40% false negative rate, and some Docs are reporting it taking up to three tests to get a reliable positive test.
Hopefully the future will provide greater availability and accuracy of testing, as well as a vaccine and effective treatments for those displaying severe symptoms.
Having said that, if you start to display symptoms consistent with COVID-19 you should engage your local health care system as quickly as possible, and if it is determined you have COVID-19, they can then start treatment appropriate to your symptoms to minimize the risk of death from the virus.
So what have I been doing during the time I am infected with COVID-19?
Not much. I've been taking two 500mg Tylenol twice daily, taking azithromycin, getting plenty of rest, staying hydrated, listening to a little music, watching a little Netflix and Amazon Prime, and playing my guitar a little when I felt up to it, was about all I was able to manage.
I didn't feel good enough to concentrate on writing anything other than a few email, text, and Facebook messages.
What I did do was listen to a lot of Red Book CDs with the Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player that is in for review.
I told Peter Qvortrup how much I've enjoyed listening to CDs with his CD 2.1x/II Level Two player, and he reminded me that this was one of the entry-level models in the Audio Note (UK) product lines, but you'd never know that listening to it, as it sounds fantastic and makes Red Book CDs a truly enjoyable and illuminating musical experience.
I have a large Red Book CD collection that I haven't hardly listened to in a decade, and along with some CDs Peter gave me to listen to, I have been having a ball listening to CDs again.
"The Complete Recordings of the Paul Desmond Quartet with Jim Hall" CD box set from Mosaic.
In fact, I've enjoyed the experience so much with the Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player, that I've done something I haven't done in years - I've purchased quite a few Red Book CDs to listen to and have been enjoying them immensely!
"The Complete Recordings of the Paul Desmond Quartet with Jim Hall" CD box set from Mosaic in the photo above is an example, it is superb through the CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player, as has been everything I've listened to on CD so far in the CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player.
As I get a little more up to speed health-wise, I'll be writing up some more detailed preliminary listening impressions for you, but for now suffice it to say that I'm smitten by what I'm hearing, and of course the CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player is a great match to the Audio Note (UK) Oto Phono SE Signature integrated amplifier - as you would expect - that I wrote a feature review about for Positive Feedback a short while ago (you can read it HERE if you haven't already).
The feature review for Positive Feedback of the Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player is at the end of my current review queue, so the review is quite a ways in the future, but I'll be telling you more about it until then here in blog posts at Jeff's Place.
This combination of Audio Note (UK) components is a match made in heaven for the Duelund-Altec Project vintage "Stokowski" Altec's with their Duelund CAST tinned-copper crossovers (article HERE if you haven't yet read it), and has produced some truly wonderful listening experiences.
Next up in my review queue is the new Leben CS600X integrated amplifier that's been getting a workout in my vintage Altec A5 Voice of the Theatre audio-visual system.
The new Leben CS600X integrated amplifier is a great product, and I like it even better than my original Leben CS600 integrated amplifier that I have been enjoying for over a decade.
I'll have much more to say about the Leben CS600X integrated amplifier before too long.
The new Leben CS600X integrated amplifier.
Leben CS600X in my vintage Altec A5 Voice of the Theatre AV system.
I've also been doing some tube-rolling in the Leben with some premium vacuum tubes from Sophia Electric.
Sophia Electric KT88-ST
I've been listening to the Sophia Electric KT88-ST tubes in the CS600X (above), as well as my favorite tubes for my Leben CS600, the Sophia Electric EL34-ST tubes (below).
Sophia Electric EL34-ST
As I get a little more up to speed health-wise, I'll be sharing some listening impressions about those Sophia Electric tubes in the Leben CS600X in some future blog posts.
Both the Sophia Electric EL34-ST and Sophia Electric KT88-ST vacuum tubes are fully run-in now, and they're both really nice sounding and very musical - but different from each other - in the new Leben CS600X.
Pass Labs XP-12 line-level preamplifier.
Up after the Leben CS600X in the review queue is the Pass Labs XP-12 line-level preamplifier.
From an audio perspective I really feel like I've been living in a state of grace these last few years, with one great piece of audio gear after another coming through Jeff's Place to listen to, with the Pass Labs XP-12 line-level preamplifier being another example of a great piece of audio gear.
So far I've been listening to the Pass Labs XP-12 line-level preamplifier in my bedroom system with my vintage Altec Corona 832A corner loudspeakers.
First Watt SIT-3 stereo amplifier
The Pass Labs XP-12 line-level preamplifier sounds great with the First Watt SIT-3 stereo amplifier (review HERE), as well as with the Pass Labs XA25 Class A stereo power amplifier (review HERE).
Pass Labs XA25 Class A stereo power amplifier.
I also tried the Pass Labs XP-12 line-level preamplifier with my vacuum tube Leben CS600 used in power amplifier mode (below), and it sounds superb as a combination.
The Pass Labs XP-12 line-level preamplifier sounds great and is very versatile, and I'm looking forward to hearing it with my other speaker systems as I progress towards its eventual feature review for Positive Feedback.
Leben CS600 with Sophia Electric EL34-ST output tubes.
Well, I have a lot more I'd like to tell you about, but I'm running out of energy to write due to the fatigue from the COVID-19 setting in, so that will have to wait for future posts here at Jeff's Place.
I'm hoping I'll have enough energy later today to get some playing time in on my Fender Telecaster "Ed Bickert" tribute project guitar, which I'm just loving.
At the moment I've got my living room system going, spinning some Jim Hall on jazz guitar, and man oh man, does he sound great!
Ok, that's all for now. Stay safe and well out there, my friends, it is perilous times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As always, thanks for stopping by, and may the tone be with you!
