Virus: Why you think you won’t catch it

April 9, 2020 25 Comments

“Do you feel lucky, punk?”

That’s not actually what Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry asked an injured perp, but it’s close enough.

Stu Bykofsky tempting fate in 2015. (Photo: The Inquirer)

If I were asked, in regard to the coronavirus pandemic, I would have said, “Yes, I do,” until recently. I didn’t believe I would catch it, but that is changing.

Apart from hypochondriacs, who think they will catch everything, most people don’t think they will catch it. 

I asked a bunch of friends if they thought they would catch coronavirus. Every single one said no, except for two who thought they had already caught, and survived, it in March.

I think you have to believe you won’t get stricken to keep your sanity.

Did the people who died from it think they would catch it? Probably not.

If you believe you won’t get it, you don’t have to deal with this scenario — will you get a mild case, or a severe one? If severe, will you wind up in the hospital? If in the hospital, will you be in intensive care? If in intensIve care, will you be placed on a ventilator? If on a ventilator, will you die?

Is that a conversation you want to have?

It’s not one I want to have, but writers torture themselves that way.

Because of its long incubation period, I could have it right now. It could be duplicating and attaching itself to my lungs right now. 

I’m not used to feeling this way because for most of my life I have been blessed with good health, excellent health. And I do mean blessed.

Aside from birth and tonsils when I was 5, I didn’t see the inside of a hospital until I was 39, for minor surgery. The next time was 18 years later for removal of a gall bladder.

I was employed by the Daily News, and later the Inquirer, from 1972 to 2019, and I never took a sick day.

Sure, I was sometimes sick, but I often worked from home — and this was long before computers. Someone from the paper would drop off work at my home in the morning and pick it up in the evening.

The surgeries I mentioned? I took them as vacation time because I had more vacation time than I needed, and by this time my attendance streak had become a thing, a source of pride I wanted to keep going.

However . . . starting on election night 2016, my luck changed. (So did America’s, many people say.)

I tripped and fell that night and ruptured my quadriceps. I had two unsuccessful surgeries and I am on a cane for life. Recent cataract surgery did not give me the results I hoped for, partly because I have developed glaucoma. And between the knee and the eye surgery, a variety of my teeth have failed, leading to lots of implants and root canal.

In 2015, I did a column on an undertaker who wanted to put the “fun” in “funeral.”

As part of that, I posed for a picture laying in a coffin.

“No!” screamed some of my superstitious friends. “You don’t tempt fate!”

I laughed it off then. I’m not sure I would be so cavalier today because I seem to be having a run of bad luck.

So, now, truthfully, I kind of think I will catch COVID-19. I have thought about if and how I can quarantine myself in my condo if it’s mild. 

If it’s not, then it’s a hospital.

Have I pondered that it may be terminal?

No, not yet, but my age places me in a high risk group, and I do feel vulnerable.

My Dad lived to be 98 and this is not the way I would choose to go.

But I don’t get to choose.

25 thoughts on “Virus: Why you think you won’t catch it”

  1. Stay safe Stu. I’m sorry your eye surgery didnt turn out as planned. I know I took eyesight for granted. I cannot stand wearing glasses. Hope you are dealing okay. Happy Passover Stu.

    1. Thank you, so much. Per the glasses, I’ve always worn them and told the doc I would wear plain glass, because I feel naked without them.

  2. Stu, I’ve been largely homebound for 6 years, so this quarantine is not new for me. What’s new is having the rest of my family home all the time. I am used to having things delivered, using a laundry service, etc bc of inability to maneuver stairs due to severe arthritis. I use a walker carefully to avoid falls. Other than that, my health is great at 61.

    Being inside all the time makes the mind wander and you start overthinking everything. I’m also a hypochondriac who has deeply researched medical issues for 40 years, so all of that taken together makes for a perfect storm, yet I don’t believe I will get it, for a wide variety of reasons that most wouldn’t understand. Stay inside, order food, supplies, etc, take zinc or eat foods high in it, don’t engage in unhealthy habits like smoking, and you should be fine.

  3. HAPPY THURSDAY !!!
    Stu,
    you are not allowed to get sick and die during passover. For that matter. You are not allowed to die for a long, long time.However, I do believe in euthanasia, so call me if I can help.
    I’m still as ornery as ever. I made it this far, so, I’ll keep going. I figure that every year after the age of 18 is a gift. ( We don’t have to revisit those years ). My wife worries enough for the both of us. Every night she disinfects the house . ( surprised I’m still here )
    On a lighter note. I just returned from Walmart. They now open at 7 am. The store is well stocked only missing a few items.
    My friend. Worry not. You and half pint and all of the rest of us will get through this pandemic.
    Tony

  4. Happy Passover Stu,

    “Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, don’t mess with ‘Mr in Between'”
    The first thing that came to mind as I read, so I immediately Magoogled, to listen….three different versions of countless.
    Always loved that song, used to know by heart.
    So, if so inclined, put the headphones on and tap your cane!
    Tom

  5. I am playing the percentages: there are 330 million Americans, and MAYBE 100,000 will die from the virus (I think that number is way too high, but for the sake of argument, I will use it); that’s a 1/3,300 chance of dying from the virus. Then I factor this in: my older sister, who lived a quiet life, died at 48 (smoking killed her), while Dad lived to be three months shy of 101 — he who lived through the Pandemic of 1918 (he was six years old), the Great Depression, WWII (where he was a POW courtesy of the Germans), etc. Life is a crapshoot. I will be doggoned if I spend my last few years cowering in fear of a bug. As I tell my children, “Gotta die of something!” I like my odds.

    2. Vincent, when I read about your sister it brought tears to my eyes because it reminded me of my mother who died of lung cancer, caused by smoking, almost 45 years ago. She was also 48 years old when she died.

  6. Stu, I hope you stay well. My theory is almost everyone will contract this virus. Many may have had it and never knew. It depends on our immune system. Like every other virus/flu- some people are symptomatic and others are not. That is why social distancing is so important. The person who believes they are healthy because they only have a slight cough or nasal congestion (chalks it off to seasonal allergies) , is actually a carrier. Be safe my friend and stay well.

  7. Stu: We all experience somatic decline, however, your ability to pen a good column hasn’t diminished at all. The body becomes arthritic but the mind remains belletristic.

  8. I take your words and thoughts to heart on this one, Stu. My 97 y.o. mother, now covid positive, was just placed on comfort care. So, while I agree with Vince’s math and optimism, it feels like 100% when it hits this close to home, and especially when you have to give your own parent a death sentence, even if it is more comfortable for them. It certainly is very uncomfortable for me, even though I know it’s the right thing to do. Knowing that she probably had another couple of years, due to her otherwise decent health, just makes Stu’s points more salient.

    2. Randy: I am so sorry about your mother. I will pray for her. And you are absolutely on target when you said “…it feels like 100% when it hits…close to home…” I have steeled myself for family-related bad news, but so far the odds have been good to us. Stay well, stay safe.

        1. My thoughts are with your family at this difficult time, Randy. And prayers.
          Tom

  9. Stu,

    You are too ornery to get the covid19 virus! It won’t live in your body.
    All kidding aside, I am enjoying your blog. Great choice of topics.
    Take care,
    Susan

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