The Year of COVID-19

It was a year of isolation, but also injuries. I am so thankful I had made the decision to get a dog in October 2019. In lockdown, isolation, and injury Zoey was my saving grace. Getting out to walk her was a sanity keeper, but not being able to walk her was kind of tough for both of us. This is Zoey on March 22, 2020.

I tried my hand at homemade pizza and found that to be one of the most decadent meals I’d had in a long time, but obviously I couldn’t afford to eat like that all through COVID.                  

After working from home during the initial COVID lockdown, I had to quit my work camping job in May 9th when the conspiracy believing owners decided to completely re-open and felt antibacterial wipes were adequate COVID measures. They referred to COVID-19 as the “plan-demic” and laughed at how people were worried about it. Sheesh.

I had to move from the 5th wheel I had purchased back into the travel trailer. One night when taking Zoey out for a late night walk I stepped off the deck onto a branch that had fallen because of the wind and twisted my ankle. Badly. This picture is from May 5th. This injury did not help with the moved and packing.

So Zoey and I packed moved to northern Arkansas to Ozark View RV Park just south of Missouri border in hopes it would be somewhat cooler than Texas that summer. It was nice since Table Rock State Park was about 20 minutes away and had a great lakeshore walking trail. Meanwhile, her legs just kept growing.

We left Arkansas on October 13th to work our way down to Goose Island State Park on the Texas Coast. I had lengthy conversations about COVID precautions taken there and felt like it was doable. I got there and just couldn’t get comfortable with the way things were going so ended up going to Port Aransas, a place I love, on November 17 planning to stay a month, take Zoey for 5 mile walks on the beach, and then go somewhere cheaper.

Not long after getting to Port Aransas I started feeling swelling in the back of my right knee. In just a couple weeks it deteriorated until one morning I was worried I wouldn’t be able to walk the dog if it was any worse the next day. This was December 1st. I called an orthopedic surgeon that had a walk in clinic and got ready to go there immediately. As I was stepping up into the truck to drive to the doctor I heard a loud pop and experienced excruciating pain. The weird this is I lift myself into the truck with my left leg and then pull the right leg in. Why did that movement pop something? I tore something while on my way to the doctor?

I drove Zoey to daycare in Rockport and then made the drive into Corpus Christi in a lot of pain. I called the doctor and told them I couldn’t walk in so they came out with a wheelchair. They took xrays and thought it was a meniscus tear so I was scheduled for an MRI December 9th. To get me by until then they gave me a steroid injection.

The MRI results something more serious than a meniscus tear – it was a meniscus root tear. With the root holding the meniscus in place my femor would be bone on bone with the tibia and I would be looking at a total knee replacement in no time. No guarantee surgery could repair the root tear, but I didn’t feel there was any other option so surgery was scheduled for December 18th. 

The steroid shot did enable me to hobble around enough to walk Zoey but didn’t last long. By the time Don arrived to help me with Zoey on the the 16th I was barely able to walk.

When I woke up from surgery they told me they had been able to repair the meniscus root tear. I was already in a rigid hinged knee brace that had to be worn for six weeks. They also told me I could put weight on my injured leg which flew in the face of everything I had read on the internet.

I barely used the crutches since they told me I could do without them if I was able. I also wasn’t convinced the repair had worked. I still am not convinced. Six weeks in the brace and then some physical therapy andI was able to walk Zoey for maybe 2 miles on the beach. I still did a lot of driving around since Zoey loves having her head out the window at slow speeds.

Due to surgery my one month stay turned into a four month stay. Not complaining. If I had to be stuck someplace to recover from surgery I feel so lucky I was in a place I love. I never get tired of the dolphins, pelicans, cormorants, turtles and more that you get to see everywhere. Still disappointed my 5 mile beach walk plan got blown out of the water. Really disappointed how devasting the “Great Texas Freeze” was to wildlife and plant life.

So this is my year of COVID. I am so sick of the isolation and can’t wait to get to my work camping job at Harbor Hill Camping Area in Meredith, NH. On March 4th I received my first Moderna vaccine. On April 6th I will get the second. This means I will depart Texas fully vaccinated. I can’t express how excited I am to be around people again. I can’t describe how grateful I am that I made it through this year without getting COVID. Come on America — get your vaccines so we can all get back to some kind of normal.