INSIDE THIS EDITION:
- TO THE HOSPITAL AND BACK: MY COVID STORY by Sam Shamoon
- THEATER OPPORTUNITIES THIS WEEKEND: RED VELVET by Lolita Chakrabarti; Mixed Magic Theater Exult Choir presents REVIVAL DAY!
- SENIORITIS (REDEFINITION: MUSINGS AT 87) by Allan Klepper
To the Hospital and Back: My Covid Story
“BE PATIENT, KIND AND GRATEFUL AND ASK QUESTIONS”
by Sam Shamoon
Friday evening, May 12, 2023, I was enjoying dinner with friends, but I had a queasy feeling that something was not right. While getting up from the table, I felt weak and almost fell over backwards. Linda had to grab me to stop the fall. Feeling extremely tired, I came home and went straight to bed.
Saturday morning, May 13, at 6 am, I felt even worse, so I did a Covid-19 home test. The result: Positive! Not believing it, I did a second test, using a different brand of the Covid -19 home test: POSITIVE. Our first thought: “Oh no! We can’t go to New York City!” For months we had planned this trip and family gathering. Now, on the brink of our departure date, it was snatched from us. That was our first and only concern. Of course, we could not imagine what might lie ahead for me.
At first, I had very few symptoms, a headache, stomachache, and sore throat. I reported this to my doctor’s team, and they immediately prescribed Paxlovid. Linda, who tested negative and felt fine, immediately drove to CVS, got it, and I took it. At first, no change. But by Sunday morning I started to feel worse. I could hardly swallow anything. Even my own saliva would not go down without excruciating pain.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday May 15, 16, 17: By Monday, my throat was so painful that I stopped eating and drinking. By Tuesday morning, I was in crisis. The advice from PA Olivia Smith: “Go to the ER.” We said, “Really needed?” She said, “I think it’s a good idea.” So, although we doubted the necessity of such a visit, we drove to the nearby Miriam Hospital ER and walked to the waiting room. A mob scene! We settled in for a long wait.
Six hours later, at 7:30 pm, I am paged to go to a treatment room, but I felt so weak that the attendant brings me in a wheelchair to a room, and a nurse inserts an IV tube, hangs up an IV bag and rehydration liquid starts flowing. Eventually, Dr. Warren stops by to look down my throat and immediately calls for an X Ray and Cat Scan. Four hours later, Dr. Warren returns with the test results: I must be transferred to Rhode Island Hospital to be examined by an ENT specialist because Miriam Hospital has no ENTs on staff at night. By 1 am, Linda (who tested positive for Covid on Monday morning) goes home. At 2:00 am, Wednesday morning. I am wheeled into an ambulance and off we go to the Rhode Island Hospital ER. After more wait time, Dr. Stein, an ENT, comes in, puts a 9-inch probe into my nostril and peers down my throat. He immediately orders a treatment of steroids, right into the vein. I don’t remember how many doses I got, but it did the trick. By Wednesday late morning I was able to swallow. I had my first breakfast of scrambled eggs with water and juice and coffee. Hooray!
In the Hospital.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, May 17, 18, 19: My treatment continued until Friday morning, May 19. During those three days in the hospital, I was medicated, monitored, fed, cleaned, and attended to in every way. The caliber of care I got at RI Hospital was outstanding. The entire team was professional and caring: From the CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) who gave me a sponge bath and helped me to the bathroom, to the nurses who monitored my meds, to the doctors who prescribed my treatment. By the time Friday rolled around, I felt like myself again. I was ready to go home.
Now I know that in our overburdened medical system, getting to the site of proper care can be hugely difficult and, as it turned out, the process of getting out of that system entailed more paperwork and waiting. But it is also true that the quality of care from our doctors, nurses, and CNAs is outstanding. So, if you if you get ill and need to contend with our stressed medical system, be patient, kind and grateful. No matter how tempting, do not be nasty to any of the staff. They are trying to do difficult jobs in very difficult circumstances. At the same time, do not hesitate to be your own advocate and ask questions—without being rude.
Theater Opportunities this Weekend
Red Velvet
By Lolita Chakrabarti
Summary — Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, 1833. Edmund Kean, the greatest actor of his generation, has collapsed on stage whilst playing Othello. A young black American actor has been asked to take over the role. But as the public riot in the streets over the abolition of slavery, how will the cast, critics and audience react to the revolution taking place in the theatre?
Lolita Chakrabarti's play creates imagined experiences based on the little-known, but true, story of Ira Aldridge, an African-American actor who, in the nineteenth century, built an incredible reputation on the stages of London and Europe.
For a copy of the play: https://www.amazon.com/Red-Velvet-Lolita-Chakrabarti/dp/0573703221
Revival Day
Mixed Magic Theatre’s popular, award-winning Exult Choir presents REVIVAL DAY! covering gospel and eclectic music that's bold and uplifting!
Mixed Magic Theater (560 Mineral Spring Avenue, Pawtucket, RI 02860) was founded in Pawtucket, RI in 2006 by actor, writer, director, composer and educator Ricardo Pitts-Wiley. The Exult Choir was created to preserve and celebrate the great African American tradition of gospel music. Under the music direction of the very talented artist Kim Pitts-Wiley, the Choir has evolved into a major force in the arts community. Since its inception, The Exult Choir, one of Southern New England’s premiere Gospel choirs, has played an important role in Rhode Island. Presenting four major concerts a year, as well as numerous community engagements, the choir features an exciting repertoire of songs that in addition to gospel includes classic, blues, soul, R&B, contemporary and pop.
Senioritis
(Redefinition: Musings at 87)
by Allan Klepper
Memory, stupidity;
Combo’s senioritis I fear.
Simply inability;
Forgot to put my brain in gear.
Names and faces, familiar places
‘Oft difficult to recall.
Less frequently they come to me,
And many can’t recall at all.
Even menus at venues;
From the restaurants I faved.
Delicious, nutritious.
Wonderful food that I craved.
Fragility, senility;
Situations can’t ignore.
Losing friends, fated trends,
I shudder thinking what’s in store…