I have gone through nearly three years of COVID without getting it. One of my sons called me a unicorn.
Unicorn no more! Thursday morning I was feeling washed out, tired, sniffles, etc., took a home test, and it was positive.
I felt sick on Thursday. Rested and drank water. Had a small fever.
The second day, no fever. Feeling better.
Today, I’m still resting but on the mend.
My illness will mess up plans for Christmas, but I don’t want to infect anyone. It is what it is.
I have taken all the recommended shots and boosters. It’s clear by now that I have a very mild case, and for that I thank the vaccines.
I truly don’t understand the people opposed to being vaccinated during a pandemic. Do they also oppose vaccines for smallpox, polio, measles, mumps, chickenpox, etc.?
I’m glad I got all my shots. Everyone should.
I’m glad you got all your shots. Better to be safe than sorry. My daughter’s in-laws had all their shots and came down with COVID right before Thanksgiving and their also doing okay. They also stayed home and didn’t join us for Thanksgiving. They also went to the ER or saw their doctor and took Paxlovid after they tested positive.
https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/13-things-to-know-paxlovid-covid-19
I have received 4 Moderna ‘jabs’ here in Switzerland. I refused vaccination for an entire year because I don’t trust Pfizer. My ‘main line of defense’ still is wearing a mask whenever I go into any store. Feel better soon…
Thank you! Merry Christmas to my friend in Switzerland, or as we say in Brooklyn, happy Chanukah!
glad it was mild. Your blog is a gift. thanks. barbara
Best wishes for a smooth recovery. Thank you for another year if informative posts. Best wishes for good health in 2023.
Merry Christmas Diane. I hope you find a way to enjoy yourself.
One of my sons is living in his basement with his preteen daughter who came down with covid a few days after he did. I’m not sure which has been worse-the disease or the daughter! Fortunately, they both have relatively mild cases. He also took Paxlovid, which made a major difference in how he felt.
Wishing you a speedy recovery. My day always include your informative & insightful blogs
We hope you recover completely very soon Dr. Ravitch.
Diane, wishing you the mildest of mild symptoms, lots of rest, snuggled up and remain inside, “let the world go by” – Happy Hanukkah and family togetherness via ZOOM.
Thank you for all you do for Public Education, our teachers, zillions of kidlets and their caring parents. Can’t imagine what the future of Public Schools would be like without your dedication, alarming your troops, tireless vigilance of keeping the Greed from snatching our children and marching them out of town to charters like the “Pied Piper of Hamlin”.
Take good care and when you feel a little better,
make a batch of Yule Glögg….will cure whatever ails any of us.
Take good care, Hanna
Thank you, Hanna, for your wonderful advice. Do you have a recipe for Yule Glogg?
I have a recipe- shall I send it to you?
Glad you have mild symptoms- I did when I tested positive last March after all shots. You should be back to feeling great shortly.
Thank you, Susan, I, collecting get-well recipes.
My partner serves a very simple blend of whiskey, honey, and lemon.
Diane Here’s my recipe: 15 cloves 1qt whiskey 1 qt port wine 1 Pound raisins 1 c sugar Peel of one orange 15 cardamom seeds, split 6 cinnamon sticks 1 c water Split cards on seeds; combine with water, raisins, cloves, cinnamon, orange peel. Bring to a boil. Boil 5 min. Add wine. Simmer 5 min. Add sugar and whiskey. Simmer 5 min. Light a match and ignite mixture; burn 15 to 20 seconds. Cover pot to put out the flame. Store in enamel or glass container. Serve hot. Enjoy. I agree with the other poster that this is not something to serve before folks hit the road. Happy Holidays and be well. You have been my education idol for many years. Sue Osberg
Sent from my iPad
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Diane, I posted a typical Yule Glögg/Glühwein recipe on Twitter by Martha Stewart.
Couldn’t figure out how to post it on your blögg (holiday spelling)
Any variations with ingredients are usually made by friends & families to tweak the flavor. Experiment along the way.
It’s been a tradition in our home for decades. We make a large batch to enjoy and for friends to take home.
Please don’t let friends drive after relaxing with this wonderful drink. You may end up with a houseful of overnight guests you were not counting on.
Enjoy, have fun and get well soon,🍷🍷☃️
Hanna
Thank you, Hanna, from my house to yours!
Make mulled cider instead, and avoid supporting the alcohol industry.
Whisky, honey, and lemon. So good. A classic!
Found it 🍷🍷
Yule Glögg Recipe – hidden among our family Yules.🤩
Ingredients:
2 Cups Orange Juice
3 Tsp Lemon Juice
2 Cups Sugar
5 Cloves
3 Cinnamon Sticks
1 Cup slivered Almonds
1 C blanched Raisins
Orange Peels slivers
Mix ingredients in large pot, heat on LOW HEAT for 10 min.
Add:
2 Liters of Red Wine
2 Cups Grain Alcohol or Akvavit
1.5 Cups Light Rum
Stir, Mix, warm the whole shebang.
Add thinly sliced orange peel to garnish & serve.
Always served in Irish Coffee glasses.
Happy Holidays to ALL.
Hanna
YUM!!!!!!
Perhaps this is what you were attempting to post, Ms. Hurley:
https://www.marthastewart.com/332441/mulled-wine
Your recipe, Ms. Hurley, looks better!!!
As a fully vaccinated oldster I appreciate your comments.
Just take it easy, you’ve earned the rest!
Happy Holidays and get well soon!
Speedy complete recovery and best wishes for the holidays and New Year!
It’s a sign from the cosmos to get you to relax, be a little selfish, and read some fiction for a change. Snuggle up and wait out the cold! It could be worse. You could be in Texas! 🥶
Greg, that’s true. It’s cold in Texas and the power grid might collapse. And where would Ted Cruz be?
I hope you feel better very soon and I completely agree with you about vaccinations. I believe many of those anti-vaccers would like to get rid of vaccines for polio, smallpox, etc., as you said, but I also think many of them have no clue how horrible these diseases can be. My husband had polio so that stands out for me and I remember the line in kindergarten to get my first polio shot. I also think a part of today’s problem is that so many of them have become followers of trumpism. It’s all about me.
If you have any worsening of systems, you may want to get some Paxlovid, which is a proven anti-viral that can be helpful. My son-in-law is a diabetic that got Paxlovid when he was first diagnosed with Covid, and he found it helpful. https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/13-things-to-know-paxlovid-covid-19
Very good advice. You should have this prescription now.
Correction: I stuck my foot in it there and Diane got it correct, as usual. Ask you doctor first! Always! Not idiots like me.
I can’t do Paxlovid because it clashes with Xarelto, an anti-coagulant.
If I were feeling really bad, I would stop the Xarelto. But I feel ok. On the road to a good recovery.
Wishing you a speedy recovery and a happy holiday!
Get better soon; it’s good that you have a mild case! Of course, consult with your doctor before changing meds, but stopping anti-coagulants might not be a good idea. COVID supposedly increases “micro-clots” in the blood from reports that I have read a while back. One research group hypothesized a connection between micro-clots and long COVID, though I didn’t follow that up looking for later studies, and there has been an awful lot of research that has been too quickly during the pandemic emergency and did not pan out.
Thanks, David. My cardiologist told me not to Paxlovid. End of story.
So we flew back from the UK on September 20th with an appointment for the Bivalent booster on the 23rd . Also having avoided the virus to that point. Then the sniffles appeared that morning.
My wife could not take Paxlovid either because of a conflict with a Blood Pressure medication. I took the Paxlovid and felt great the very next day after a fever on the first night. Only problem was like the 5% which includes Biden , Fauci and everyone I know who took it; a week later I was positive again. Fortunately like you I had had two boosters already and except for the fact that I should have bought stock in Kimberly-Clark / Kleenex the symptoms were very mild.
The wife took Monoclonal antibodies and was also better the very next morning with no rebound infection . So if you are not 100% you might want to check into that while the window is still open for taking it. National Health Insurance that only us seniors get, picks up the tab. Although the wait in an ER is a bit of drag. Or it was on LI where there were very few hospitals authorized to distribute it . The first and the last time (I hope ) we go to a Catholic Health Service Hospital after reading Katherine Stewart’s “Power Worshipers”
In any event enjoy the Holidays.
I also avoided COVID all these years. Almost. Got over a mild case a couple of weeks ago. Thankful I didn’t pass it along to my parents. Also thankful for vaccines! I received all five COVID vaccines. Thank you Science.
Saddened to hear this, Diane. REST!!!!! And much love to you and yours this holiday season!
I’ve had several friends who got it after being fully vaccinated and had what they described as a cold-like experience (leagues apart from the full-blown disease experience that both Roy T and I experienced back in the early days of Covid–life-threatening and really, really scary; long and complicated recovery). A good friend’s 2-year-old got it. He was vaccinated. Mild symptoms and a quick recovery.
A couple months after recovering from Covid (this took quite a while), I was diagnosed with diabetes, having never before experienced this. I have since read that this is a fairly common long Covid experience. I have since recovered, mostly, from that. My diabetes now is quite mild.
Rest, sleep, liquids, maybe a sip of an adult beverage.. and the days are getting longer
Diane,
Sorry to hear of your COVID experience and hope that you continue your current progress. Both my wife and I recently recently experienced mild cases. We are among those who did not participate in the vaccination program. I have followed and admired your work for years. I can’t help buy wonder if you had immersed yourself in vaccine research as deeply as you have in our shared commitment to public education and schooling you might have reached a different conclusion.
Be well. Thank you for your continued contributions.
Sent from my iPad Rich Ten Eyck 609.661.9320
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Wishing you a wonderful holiday and speedy recovery.
Wassail
It needn’t follow an exact recipe! You can vary the ingredients enormously. Here, a basic one:
Use cheesecloth or a tea strainer to make a little pouch of spices. Include in this pouch the following:
a couple whole cloves
a couple green cardamon seeds that have been slightly smashed with the flat side of a knife (as you would with a garlic clove)
Lemon and/or orange zest (about a teaspoon total)
Grated ginger (1/2 teaspoon)
A broken cinnamon stick
One star anise
A tiny dash of nutmeg
Pour three cups of unfiltered cider into a stock pot. Add a sliced apple and a handful of raisins. Place the spice pouch in the cider. Bring to boil. Turn off heat. Let steep for five minutes. Strain.
Add brandy or rum to taste, as or if you wish.
You can make this without many of the ingredients. You can substitute other fruits such as figs or orange slices. You can vary the amounts of the spices to taste. Play with it. Try various possibilities.
Bob, that’s a good recipe, too. 🍷🍷☃️
❄️🎄 Hanna
The grog of the blog. LMAO! Currants are good, too.
I think the brandy or rum would suffice by itself.
Whiskey works even better.
Well, this is one of the most valuable threads in the history of the blog.
The Glog of the Blog.
Everyone should get their shots…
Of whiskey, rum and also schnapps
Anti vaxxers take a risk
Besides, the shots will bring you bliss
God Bless us everyone! Even in Texas (exceptin’ some)!
Also good in this: grated black pepper and whole allspice
Other possible additions: juniper berries (yum!), various fruit juices.
Bob,
Great ideas for “Diane’s Blögg Grögg”🍷🍷
Try not to drink it all in one evening – it tastes even better the next day reheated. I have a feeling many will experiment and fine tune this new DR Grögg.
We usually made a large spaghetti pot full,
because friends & neighbors stopped by often.
Enjoy🎄
An awesome idea, the spaghetti!!!
Horchata
If you haven’t had this, do. A great alternative to eggnog.
Wash a cup of white rice.
Put the UNCOOKED rice and a cinnamon stick in a bowl. Optionally, add half a cup of slivered or chopped almonds. Cover with 4-5 cups of boiling water. Place a small plate or ramekin over the rice and cinnamon sticks to keep them mostly submerged.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge overnight.
Pour off most of the water. Pour the rice, cinnamon, and almond (if using) mixture into a blender and add a 12-ounce can of evaporated milk and a 12-ounce can of condensed milk. Blend until smooth (no solid rice).
Strain the resulting blended mixture into a pitcher. Add half a teaspoon of vanilla and a quart of water or coconut water. Now, to a reggae rhythm, stir it up, little darlin’, stir it up.
Serve cold, over ice, garnished with a little ground cinnamon.
Optionally, add a splash of rum.
Hemlock is good too.
Especially mulled hem!ock..
But you better drink it all in one evening.
Cuz you won’t get another chance.
I’ll stick to the kykeon, Mr. DAM. Happy holidays and much love to you and yours!
There is some speculation that Socrates got it for attending a party at which the Eleusinian Mysteries were practiced ex cathedra, in a private home. Thus the corrupting the young bit. This makes sense. Revealing the mysteries practiced at the temple to Demeter was the best-kept secret of the ancient world, and the penalty for doing that was death.
My guess is there was more to the Socrates story than most history books tell us
Perhaps he was actually the Jeffrey Epstein of his time and actually got what he had coming to him.
Some of those ancient Greeks were pretty dekadent.
Or maybe the whole story of Socrates and the Hemlock is acrapofull
Greek symposia were basically the precursor of the modern day frat party, with lots of drinking and sex.
In a word: decadence.
Yes, we definitely don’t do symposia as they did in the good ole days. At least not in public! What a falling off is there! Happy everything, SomeDAM.
Sorry to hear about your bout with Covid. Glad you’re coming out it. And wishing you a continued swift return to good health. Better days coming!
Hope you’re well soon.
I don’t understand what has happened to this country. Born in 1952, all my life this country believed in science, particularly medical science. We got our vaccines, we made sure our children got theirs as well. And now, science has become politics. I fear that the diseases we have conquered will return to haunt us.
Robert, you are so right.
If the anti-vaxxers get their way, we will have deadly outbreaks of smallpox, diphtheria, and other long-ago diseases.
Oh it would, wouldn’t it?
Take care. Rest up. If it is mild, roll with it and look after yourself. The blog can wait.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery. (Bob’s seem to be a useful palliative.)
OH HECK!! Massive error! When I referred to care I meant to use ‘restorative’. I often write something on Word first and Copy & Paste (WP has a knack of crashing when I am half-way through a long reply) but instead of suing a blank Doc I used and old one, only to find I had not deleted all the words…..Not ‘palliative’ at all, all wrong.
How embarrassing 😮 (and I can’t really blame my very minor cold either)
I don’t have these good excuses for the many errors in my posts!
I can’t even count it as a proper excuse.
To use that unbeatable American word which surpasses all British commentary in the area of mistakes:
Klutz. I was a Klutz! I admit it.
Hope your Christmas day is going OK.
Best wishes.
Roger
Wishing you all the best Diane and a complete recovery with no long Covid symptoms.
Glad it’s a mild case. Get well as quickly as possible, Diane!
Wishing you a quick recovery Diane. Yes, the vaccinations probably did ensure milder symptoms. I’ve had Covid twice – 1st time March last year, after 1st shot, a few days before my 2nd shot was scheduled. Symptoms were mild, but my wife, who has asthma, had a rough time (she’s OK now). Quarantining for 2 weeks was hard.
2nd time a few weeks ago, while I was in rehab recovering from ankle surgery. I’d had 3rd booster 2 weeks before my injury. If they hadn’t told me I tested positive I wouldn’t have known I had anything. Moved to quarantine floor for 10 days, though. Just discharged from rehab yesterday, great to be home & all is good!
Get well soon!
Get well soon! Rest. Read something for you. Rest some more. And, more. Oh, and chicken soup! Seriously!
I wish you a speedy recovery, Diane.
And don’t let it completely spoil the holiday.
Dear Diane,
Wishing you a quick recovery! I think you for all you do for public schools, teachers (like me), out students, and the survival of our democracy.
Lots of love and Merry Christmas!
Debbie Baer
Feel better fast, Diane! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Agreed about all the shots. I’ve had 5 Moderna shots.
BUT only recently I read that there are parents who want to stop the measles, etc. shots required to go to school. I don’t remember where in this supposedly enlightened country that was.
As I see it, it is very selfish. “My way or the highway.” So what if they start epidemics all over again! In fact, measles – once eradicated – is back because of various parents not letting their kids to be vaccinated. They go so far as to home school the children.
Hoping you’re feeling the good vibes of your many supporters! Thank you for always inspiring me with your wisdom, patience, wit and intelligence. Best wishes for a speedy and full recovery!
Get well! We need you and this blog! We are immune compromised, so we have to be very careful at our house. So far, so good.
So glad to hear! Many of us are with you in spirit.
I wish you a speedy recovery.
Take care!
I’ll be thinking of you.
Hope you return to full health soon.
I caught Covid back when It was pre-vScination days. I believe to this day that my refusal to lie down to rest was the best way to keep that mess out of the lungs. I slept (as much as Covid let me) mostly upright, the way people did in the 18th century. I stood and worked at little light jobs as much as I could.
I hope your bout with the Omicron is less problematic.
Well glad you.feel better . Merry Christmas
Diane, I’m sorry to read that you have had COVID. May you soon completely recover and feel great again.
Wishing you the BEST that life has to offer.
Thank you, Carol!
Thanks for sharing, Diane! Stay safe, we need you!
Jack Burgess
Chillicothe
Ohio
I hope you are better soon. It sounds as if you did everything right, but that Covid is sneaky. Rest up.
Be Well…
Sharing a little Christmas story.
The Unicovid
A unicovid’s scarce
As scarce as unicorn
As scarce as talking hares
And rose without a thorn
The Unicovid tempts
The fates by going out
Cuz no one is exempt
From COVID here about
Feel better soon, Ms. Ravitch!
Glad you’re ok, Diane. I’ve had Covid once…and it was when we let our guard down. Birthday celebration last April. I was fully vaxxed and boosted but definitely a sick puppy.
I don’t understand the anti-vaxxers, either. While I want to respect their right to choose; there’s also a selfish aspect, as it increases the likelihood of continued infections and future variants.
Stay rested and safe. I know many who’ve had re-infections within weeks.
Gitapik,
I don’t respect the right of people to choose to be a menace to public health. They endanger themselves, of course, which is their right, but they also endanger other people. When diseases are running rampant in the community, everyone has an obligation to prevent its spread. Public health 101.
Exactly. The idea of having individual rights is trumped (what a shame I can’t use that word anymore without seeing his face) by what best serves the needs of the society as a whole.
One dictionary definition of “trump” is (or at least used to be) “a helpful or admirable person”
Somehow, I doubt that saying “he is a real trump” will ever again have that meaning.
trump might now be the only word in the English language that is its own antonym.
Trump is his antonym
Trump is his antonym
“Helpful” is never him
“Laudable”? Chance is slim
Trump is just really grim
Well…at least he had the decency to include all the Marxists and corrupt FBI etc in his heartwarming Christmas Greetings Tweet.
Trump is Schrodinger’s antonym”: a superposition of opposite meanings
Schrodinger’s antonym”
Schrodinger’s Antonym
Helpful AND not
Trump is the anti-him
Wholesome AND rot
That last video if his on his social media site was disturbing. He’s in trouble and he knows in. Vicious. Another call to arms.
I am so sorry to hear The Covid has caught you, Diane! I too was a unicorn until this September. I was angry to have gotten sick after vaccines and boosters, but my primary set me straight. “It’s an illness, not a personal failing.”
I wish you a complete recovery and would agree with all the Gloggers, but for one detail – seems like a lot of work! My grandmother kept a home remedy that required nothing more than a small glass, and bed soon after: brandy, slightly warmed. In cosmopolitan Brooklyn, you ought to be able to come by some Calvados. Highly recommend!
A speedy recovery in this season of lights to one who is a beacon for public education: ¡Salud!
Please take care!
Sorry to hear this news. To answer your question with my opinions, documentaries and testimonials have all explained how the vaccinations have caused harm with people with existing problems. The shots exacerbated their problems and they have been “dropping d–“. I’ve had nurses and doctors flat out tell me that the “Pf” “stick” was killing people by causing blood clots. I’ve heard that it was hydra vulgaris being placed into our body systems and they were creating the blood clots. It all sounds ridiculous on the surface, but the death predictions of 2021 (warning of the “sticks”) appear to be true in my opinion. It doesn’t help that “Pf” came out and admitted that they lied about the research. How are you explaining the increase of myocarditis, pericarditis, strokes, heart attack, enhanced cancers, asphyxiation, and more to all those grieving here in 2022? I’ve lost too many friends in 2022 who had no major health problems before. Something is wrong. We also don’t trust and we can’t trust because they all did lie to some extent.
Wishing you a speedy recovery. High doses of famotidine(pepcid) have been shown to improve Covid outcomes and do not require a prescription.
Yes, people are refusing all sorts of vaccines now. I’ve been lucky to be told about the dangers of diseases pre-vaccine, children paralyzed from polio, brain damaged and dead from measles, and people dying painful deaths from tetanus. It seems people either don’t listen or don’t believe the stories from before we had the miracle of vaccines.
Julia,
I’m now fully recovered.
You make an important point about the anti-vaccine stuff. Some parents are refusing any vaccines, which is madness.
Well, get well Diane. Xmas was messed up by the cold weather for many people. In Memphis we had 1 degree Fahrenheit on the 24th and our water pipe burst, leaving us without water for 3 days. On the other hand, my exwife, two kids and I haven’t contracted COVID yet, so 4 more unicorns here.
I am much, much better. Sorry for your burst pipes. That’s awful.