By the time the call arrives I was confident that my results would come back positive, but how I'd gotten to that point (and the signs that I'd missed) made me realize that others -- especially those outside the hot zone of New York City -- might also overlook signs they were carrying the virus.
My timeline starts sometime between March 4 and March 11. I'd gone to the Pan American Championships, leaving on Friday, March 6 and returned on the morning of March 9. On the ground, my days were packed with work, but I'd found time for dinner and trip to the local casino. When I returned to the office on Tuesday, March 10, I felt totally fine.
On Wednesday, March 11, I was informed that an upcoming trip to Japan would be canceled and that Tom Hanks had tested positive. He was among the first celebrity and a new barometer for how many people might have been impacted by the disease.
The number of positive cases and deaths in New York City were also ticking up on March 11, but it still felt distant. There was no real clarity on what this virus was or was not to be handled. While some state-level leaders were ringing the bell there was a lot at the national level who weren't. Overall, a lack of knowing led me to wonder aloud to my wife just what we should do to prepare.
On Thursday, March 12, it became clear (to me) through the actions on Wall Street, the rumors being flung around online about lockdowns, and the sense of dread in the air that New York City was not going to fare well in the coming weeks and months. With a 19-month-old and a 900-square-foot apartment I knew it was important to get to more space and a location my daughter could access reliable non-COVID health care options.
That afternoon I purchased a one-way rental car from my West Village Hertz and took the 6.5-hour drive to Ocean View, Norfolk, where my parents have a home on the Chesapeake Bay. Space for the baby, space to work, and some help watching the baby should I need some during the work week. The drive was mostly miserable as my daughter thought it was a great adventure and stayed awake until 10:45 p.m. When she did sleep I was too nervous to listen to music or call friends and mostly sat in silence as I passed through the forgotten towns on the Eastern Shore.
I arrived at 1:30 a.m. and headed to bed with my daughter. When she woke up at 630 a.m. on Friday, March 1m feeling I felt like I'd been double legged by Stephen Neal. The stress of the quick-pack, long drive, and little sleep seemed to be affecting me, I thought. "Toughen up," was my constant thought as I limped through a series of chores to get her well-situated in her new environment.
On Saturday and Sunday the feeling got worse, but I fought it off and explained it away as a mixture of allergies (to be fair, pollen is caked on the deck furniture) and exhaustion from watching my kid all day.
I was out-of-my-head, sleeping a full 9-10 hours at night and napping alongside my daughter for three hours during the day and yet never feeling rested. No matter how long I slept, I never felt energized enough to type text messages, hold decent conversations, or live my everyday life.
March 16 was my parents 46th (!!) wedding anniversary and they had a nice Irish whiskey to finish the meal. I'd thought the food we ate that night was simply bland, but I knew that the whiskey had a nice flavor profile. I swirled., smelled, sipped and swished. Nothing. I could sense none of it.
The morning of March 17 I couldn't smell my daughter's dirty diaper, couldn't taste the bacon I cooked for breakfast, or sense the garlic in that evening's dinner. I was totally nose deaf and tasteless.
I called my sister-in-law, a pediatrician in Oakland, and asked her what it could be. She thought it was highly odd but that the rundown feeling could be allergies or a deeper sinus infection. I used a Neti Pot to try and clear my sinuses (I could breathe fine), but that and nasal spray had no effect.
Then on March 22 my other sister-in-law texted a link to the New York Times story about the peculiar case of losing smell and taste when contracting coronavirus. Reading that article was the first time I'd even considered my symptoms to be COVID-19. It didn't seem real.
On Monday, March 23, I went to the yard and tried to overcome my nose deafness through exercise and finished 50 burpees. As a consequence I felt as close to death as I will ever feel --coughing uncontrollably, unable to open my eyes, and laid motionless for an hour before going to bed. (I realize this is dumb behavior, but I really thought I was just being 'weak.')
On Tuesday, March 24, I drove to a Sentara Medical drive through and was tested. In a too-stupid-for-a-novel twist, the car I was driving broke down as soon as the line started moving. Fortunately, because I was so out of it I'd also forgotten my wallet and my father had just delivered it to me in the car. He headed back and we quickly switched cars, allowing me to get the test.
The New York residency, fatigue, absence of smell, and cough were all symptoms enough to determine a test. While I could tell that I wasn't going to be one of the lucky ones to not get deathly ill from COVID-19 (at least in the short term) it was imperative I know for the sake of my wife, daughter, and my parents. Knowing I was sick allows us to better adjust our routines, clean up with more determination and attention to detail, and to create timelines for when they will be clear of the virus.
I received my results on Sunday and we discussed with the nurses what to do next. Fortunately, we'd been practicing distancing and some amount of quarantining and separation, like using my own bathroom, towels, and the rest. We were also hyper vigilant about wiping down surfaces. Maybe the best example of our efforts is that I've yet to hug my parents in the three weeks I've been here.
My daughter is currently fine. Her major concern seems to be how often we go to the beach to see the waves and how often I will draw her an Elmo. Between the diaper changes, sticking her hands in my mouth, and co-sleeping it's unlikely she avoided the virus, which if she's asymptomatic is certainly a blessing.
There is still some fear. I fear for my wife, my parents, and if I somehow affected someone else unknowingly. My parents are heathy, but they are in their 60's and this virus is unpredictable in who it chooses for its most ferocious attacks. Coming to Virginia was a decision we all came to, but I worry it will somehow backfire.
In all, that's my story from start to finish. I hope that if nothing else it can provide a little more clarity into any of your situations that you're now facing or may face. These are uncertain times, but we will get through it together. Our worlds will feel different. We will interact in new ways and make adjustments for all types of new technology in our life. We will lose friends and loved ones, but at some point this too will have passed.
For now, I'm signing up for plasma donation in New York and investigating the same here in Virginia. Once I'm 14 days post-test I'll also be heading out more to grab groceries and essentials for my family members and any friends who feel they are immuno-compromised. If wrestling needs me to travel somewhere, I'll do that, too.
In the meantime, please be sure to keep watching your hands and watch out for each other.
To your questions …
Chris Pendleton with Zahid Valencia at the 2019 Senior Nationals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Q: What do you think of the Chris Pendleton hiring at Oregon State?
-- Mike C.
Foley: I'm ashamed to say that I hadn't considered Pendleton in a lot of recent hiring opportunities. Part of that is because he's been an assistant in the Pac-12 and I -- like most readers -- has a bias for East Coast programs and individuals. However, if you look at the accomplishments he can claim as an assistant it would have been surprising for them to NOT hire Pendleton. Guy is a two-time NCAA champion, recruited and coached Zahid Valencia to two titles, has been a top assistant as Arizona State grew to become a top-five program.
Check out the release. I think it's well-written and covers all the highlights.
Congrats and good luck to Coach Pendleton.
Q: Frank Molinaro chose to retire this week after the Olympics were postponed a year. Do you think we will see some other wrestlers do the same?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Frank Molinaro will be the highest profile athlete to retire. He's an Olympian in his 30's who had a slim chance of capturing the starting spot this year under perfect conditions. No shame in him seeing the end of his career during the pandemic. I've heard he's a good coach and should he choose that route I think the sport would welcome his expertise and motivation. To mention nothing of that hair.
I do think we might see a few overseas guys retire. When you can't work out for long enough you both have time for injuries to heal and to spend time with your family, eat donuts, and think about a post-wrestling life. Bound to be a few guys who that more directly impacts.
Q: It seems like a lot of summer sporting events are getting canceled. Wimbledon and the British Open are the latest. Do you think USA Wrestling will cancel the Junior Nationals in Fargo this summer?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Yes, it's really just a matter of seeing how the next month goes on the ground. As the virus spreads to new locations and the death toll rises it will be difficult to imagine wrestling will take place in the summer.
The fallout from these canceled events could be immediate and severe. We have not taken enough time (yet) as a community to focus on how the economic impact most directly impacts sports of lower socio-economic status, and how there could be a negative connotation connected with the close contact involved with wrestling. The perception of disease could be a major PR battle we'll need to tackle as a community.
Assume, for example, that parents are out of work for several months. The discretionary income that might once have gone to a USA Wrestling membership, club signup, shoes, and gear will now be used for the rent and groceries. That money is what allows large tournaments to go forward, but it's also vital for the local wrestling communities. Now add in concerned mothers -- will they quickly embrace the idea that their son or daughter should step on a mat with 40-plus random strangers?
I'm in love with jiu-jitsu and trained 4-5 times a week before the outbreak and I can't imagine heading back into the gym unless there was a vaccine and new increased standards for cleanliness. Wrestling has a powerful story to tell in terms of protecting the health of its athletes with skin and medical checks already commonplace, but we will need to be a leader in addressing the new normal. Parents and athletes will need to feel protected or they won't show up on the mats. That will require ingenuity and broad buy-in and implementation.
The other issue is what will happen to many collegiate programs who are run with the assistance of their for-profit brethren. Does the NCAA college wrestling season happen if there is no football season? Will the lost revenue directly and negatively affect the winter sports season? There is no answer to the hypothetical, but we need to start considering ways to backstop that type of situation. We can't allow this become the trigger for widespread elimination of the sport at the NCAA level, and I fear that without a comprehensive plan to explain the sport's relative value to the individual organization's stability could become an issue.
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