Carl Goldman, owner of KHTS Radio, is continuing to share his first-hand account of living with the coronavirus, after contracting COVID-19 after the Diamond Princess cruise.

Back In The States With The Coronavirus – Day 16 (Thursday)

My fever returned tonight. I am bummed. It is low-grade 99.7, but it lingers. My medical team is giving me Ibuprofen along with more Gatorade. My doctor does not want me to take Tylenol. Tylenol’s active ingredient is Acetaminophen, not Ibuprofen. Aspirin, Advil and a potpourri of other over-the-counter medications all use Ibuprofen.

I’m told taking Tylenol may be counterproductive to the virus. It’s yet another tidbit of information for me to store in case I ever become a contestant on Jeopardy.

I am recovering from the coronavirus, COVID-19 in the biocontainment wing at Nebraska Med in Omaha.

My wife, Jeri is quarantined about three blocks away. She doesn’t have the virus. Fingers crossed, she’ll be able to fly back to our home in Santa Clarita, California on March 3.

The four amigos are in separate quarantines in different parts of the world. Our vacation aboard the Diamond Princess began when the four of us flew from LAX to Tokyo on January 17 over one month ago.

Jerri Jorgensen and I have the virus. Mark Jorgensen and my wife Jeri do not. It is totally random. Jerri Jorgensen is in a hospital in Fukushima, Japan. Her husband Mark is quarantined at Travis Air Force, outside Sacramento, California. Jeri and I are in Omaha, Nebraska.

Our release criteria for heading home constantly shifts. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) has told both me and Jerri Jorgensen we can leave once all our symptoms of the coronavirus, COVID-19 disappear. We then get retested. If our test is negative, we are tested again a minimum of 24-hours later.

If that second test is also negative, we are free to go home.  It is possible for Jerri and me, who both have the virus, to return home faster than my wife and Mark. The two of them must remain quarantined for 14-days. When we all escape our quarantine, we are assured we will not be contagious. The CDC will not risk any chance of infecting others.

Jerri Jorgensen, who has just a wee bit of a competitive streak suggested we race to see who gets home first. We could call it “The Great Quarantine Race.” I’ll work on getting it optioned on Netflix for next season.

I continue to recoup, draining my many bottles of Gatorade, the only cure for the virus. My friend, Paul Strickland, Sr. sent me a picture of him at the grocery store checkout line with his stash of Gatorade.

Rumor has it there might be a run on Gatorade throughout Santa Clarita. I better shoot an email to Bobette Laureno, store manager at our Canyon Country Costco. If our Costco runs out of Gatorade, it could trigger the first riot in our tranquil valley since Rodney King. Someday I’ll share that story.

Jeri and I are receiving so many well wishes. Support on Facebook, emails, texts and comments my previous articles have kept our spirits high. Your thoughts, prayers and love are much appreciated.

On Tuesday, the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce held their monthly business mixer. Toni Polucki made us laugh when she texted videos of well-wishes from friends. I’ll share two of those, one from Santa Clarita City Council candidate, Jason Gibbs. The other features realtors Dennis and Pamela Verner along with Kris Hough who works for our State Senator, Scott Wilk.

I continue to have my cough, which has now moved into my chest. It’s my usual routine as I cycle through a cold. My medical team continues to enter my bio-containment hospital room wearing hazmat suits. They are always cheery and smiling even though I know they cannot be comfortable as they maneuver in those hot, awkward suits.

The only time I see their smiles sag a bit is when they eye my Michigan sweatshirt. I believe they are conspiring to replace it with a Cornhuskers shirt. They take their sports seriously here in Nebraska.

If my suspicions are correct, I will wear my new shirt proudly. Omaha has reached a new level of awesomeness in my world.

National news is reporting over 600 cases of the novel corona virus have broken out on board the Diamond Princess. That represents a majority of all the outbreaks of the virus throughout the world outside of China. It’s easy to play Monday morning quarterback and say it was a mistake to keep us on board.

It is not the fault of Princess Cruises. They are also a victim. They were under strict orders from the Japanese Ministry. It was clear the Japanese did not want any of us touching Japanese soil. They allowed the Diamond Princess to become a giant floating petri dish.

I am treasuring my independence, savoring my total control of the television remote in my Omaha hospital room. It’s a first in my 31-year relationship with my wife Jeri.

From Labor Day through Christmas, Jeri becomes addicted to the Hallmark channel. It’s her way of unwinding at night after a hectic day at KHTS. Football season and the World Series happen to collide. I am watching in another room. Hallmark trumps our primary remote control.

I’m baffled with the appeal of Hallmark. Every one, and I mean every one, of their quaint movies have the exact same plot. Just the actors and setting change. My wife hates it when I give away the plot as she starts her next Hallmark Christmas movie. Put in a strong transgender character or a 21st Century version of the actor, Boris Karloff and I might catch an episode or two.

A few days before we departed for Tokyo, weeks after Christmas, I drove to our local Spectrum Cable office. I upgraded the receiver in our bedroom, not realizing our old receiver still contained a few recorded, unwatched Hallmark Christmas movies.

My wife was furious. I stupidly told her I could reveal the entire plot of the shows she would now forever miss. That was a big mistake.

I’m beginning to master the unhooking of all my monitoring devices. I’m walking to the bathroom on my own. I no longer require my medical team to unhook me wearing their hazmat outfits and three layers of gloves.

I take advantage of my bathroom trips to pace my room. My goal is 3,000 steps a day. I am well over 3,500 by late in the evening.

It’s when I return to bed that my trouble begins. I’ve learned how to reattach the monitors following the 14-pages of instructions. However, I create such a tangled mess. I’m totally tied up in cords, trapped. Spiderman would be envious.

My bathroom is about ten steps from my bed. I’m thankful there is no line. There were only two toilets on our ten-hour cargo 747 plane flight from Tokyo to Omaha. We had lines to those two toilets of no less than 50 passengers at any time. I’ll spare any description of the bathrooms toward the end of our flight.

As I prepared for bed, my fever returned as described at the start of today’s journal. My coughing spells increased. My fatigue as well. I felt my recovery had reversed itself ever so slightly.

Jeri is doing fine, making it through another day without showing any sign of picking up the virus. She is fortunate. 11 of the 13 passengers from the Diamond Princess healing in Omaha have the coronavirus, COVID-19.

Jeri is thankful for her health although I sense she is getting a little cranky in her solitary quarantine. Give her our missing luggage, a good night’s sleep and plug in the Hallmark Christmas Channel. She will once again become a happy camper.

Read All Of Carl’s Journals Here: Carl Goldman Coronavirus Journals

Part 1: Santa Clarita Residents Share First-Hand Account Of Quarantine On Diamond Princess Cruise Ship Due To Coronavirus

Part 2: Santa Clarita Residents Share First-Hand Experience Of Coronavirus Quarantine On Diamond Princess: Part Two

Part 3: Santa Clarita Residents Share First-Hand Experience Of Coronavirus Quarantine On Diamond Princess

Part 4: Trapped In The Coronavirus Quarantine Aboard The Diamond Princess: Part Four

Part 5: Santa Clarita Residents Share Emotions As They Prepare To Leave Coronavirus 

Quarantine Cruise: Part Five

Part 6: Santa Clarita Residents To Return To United States After Coronavirus Quarantine On Diamond Princess: Part Six

Part 7: Santa Clarita Resident Diagnosed With Coronavirus Sets Record Straight: Part 7

Part 8: Santa Clarita Resident Battles Coronavirus After Diamond Princess Cruise: Part 8

Part 9: Santa Clarita Resident Continues To Recover From Coronavirus Diagnosis: Part 9

Part 11: A Birthday In Quarantine: Santa Clarita Resident Continues Chronicling Coronavirus Recovery – Part 11

Part 12: Coronavirus Quarantine Continues As Santa Clarita Resident Recovers From COVID-19: Part 12

Part 13: Coronavirus Patient From Santa Clarita Continues To Clear Misconceptions About COVID-19: Part 13

Part 14: Third Member Of The ‘Four Amigos’ Tests Positive For Coronavirus: Part 14

Part 15: Santa Clarita COVID-19 Patient Continues Recovery In Nebraska After Contracting Coronavirus: Part 15

Part 16: Carl Continues To Test Positive For Coronavirus, Jeri Still Negative: Part 16

Part 17: Carl Still Tests Positive For Coronavirus, Jeri Prepares To Return Home: Part 17

Part 18: Jeri Cleared From Quarantine, Carl Continues Coronavirus Recovery: Part 18

Part 19: Jeri Back Home, Carl Continues Coronavirus COVID-19 Recovery In Nebraska: Part 19

Part 20: Coronavirus COVID-19 Patient Carl Goldman Continues Path To Recovery: Part 20

Read All Of Carl’s Journals Here: Carl Goldman Coronavirus Journals

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