I have a strange, little virus story that began in Spur. Read prophetically, it might quicken interest in a second Covid booster. Viral infections are unpleasant, sometimes dangerous. By now we are familiar with some of the debilitating consequences of “long Covid.” About 15 years ago (2006 or 2007) I was helping with the annual Red Mud Cemetery clean-up, an event once called '”The 6th of June”; 'much earlier the gathering was area-wide, complete with “dinner on the ground” and spirited singing in the afternoon.
I was doing little but taking photos when I began to “feel bad.” I returned to Spur about 1 p.m., hit the bed, and spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday with low-grade fever, chills and aching muscles. On Monday morning, most of the worst symptoms had faded but I still had a slight fever. Sharon Wyatt Hendricks and Albert took me to Lubbock’s Grace Clinic. The physicians were slightly perplexed, unable to guess the cause of my malady, and advised acetaminophen.
I begin to feel better, and flew to Kingsport, Tenn. (our other residence) on Wednesday. But by that time, virus X had invaded my brain. Smell and taste vanished, and the area of my brain that governs concern had ceased. So for about three weeks, neither sad nor glad, I sat and stared into empty space.
Intellectually, I could think, but I cared about nothing. Not whether I lived or died not money, health, cause, pleasure, or issue. Absolute zero interest. I doubt if I would have turned my head to see the sexiest woman on the planet. I wasn’t worried; I didn’t care enough to worry. Both onset and subsidence were too gradual to register. After about a month, I was back. To my knowledge, I infected no one.
The reason that I still recall the incident is because I was back in Spur later in the summer, and I happened to hear Tony Ratliff describing similar symptoms to my mom, Robbie Wyatt. (Tony and I were at that same June 6th event...but viruses don’t incubate that fast after infection.) After hearing Tony, I talked with a few physicians. This was before COVID, so little interest: “Yes, your condition was likely caused by a virus, but anecdotal recounts without test records are just stories.” My point: viruses can (and often do) play havoc with people’s brains. Get more protection if you can.
Jim Trueman Wyatt
Spur
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