COVID Flu Setback in January 2024

I have been seriously ill from the COVID flu since January 2, 2024.

I hope to recover and return to blogging around January 30, 2024.

Please excuse my previous three posts made in error.  I have deleted them.  My illness and brain fog led to the mistake.

-  Mike Garofalo

Wintertime Slowdown

I have been recovering from a upper respiratory illness: bronchitis.  Problematic for a 74 year old man who has had bronchitis three times, and pneumonia twice.  A common cold in the cool winter days was hard on me.  Three weeks of recovering at home.  Two trips to visit doctor.  Getting better as of March 6th.

Not much energy during this period of time.   

Started walking 45 minutes each day on March 9, 2020.

I have had the flu three times (1955, 1975, 2002) in my lifetime.  Scary, painful, weakening. 

My wife and I have gotten a flu shot each year for the past twenty years.



I wish everyone good health and best wishes and luck in avoiding the flu season and the new virus strains like Covid-19.  


Every year, the flu season brings serious illness and death to a staggering number of people.  The evidence is shocking.

"Flu season is hitting its stride right now in the US. So far, the CDC has estimated (based on weekly influenza surveillance data) that at least 12,000 people have died from influenza between Oct. 1, 2019 through Feb. 1, 2020, and the number of deaths may be as high as 30,000. 

The CDC also estimates that up to 31 million Americans have caught the flu this season, with 210,000 to 370,000 flu sufferers hospitalized because of the virus."

So how do these numbers compare to flu deaths in previous years? So far, it looks like the 2019-2020 death toll won’t be as high as it was in the 2017-2018 season, when 61,000 deaths were linked to the virus. However, it could equal or surpass the 2018-2019 season's 34,200 flu-related deaths. 

Overall, the CDC estimates that 12,000 and 61,000 deaths annually since 2010 can be blamed on the flu. Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the flu kills 290,000 to 650,000 people per year."

New Walking Paths

"I have two doctors, my left leg and my right."
- G. M. Trevelyan

"Walking is a spiritual practice that yields so many dividends: replenishment of the soul, connection with the natural world, problem-solving, self-esteem, health and healing, and heightened attention. Movement seems to encourage dialogue and conviviality, leading to richer conversations with soul mates, friends, and even strangers. Artists report that walking activates the imagination and opens up the creative process. It is deeply restorative. Throughout time, walking has played an enormous role in the devotional life of people from all the world's religions: prayers and mantra practice while walking, pilgrimage to sacred sites, walking the labyrinth, walking meditation, and informal spiritual practices that make the most of strolling, sauntering, or cavorting."
- Walking and Spirituality


"Improves your circulation
Shores up your bones
Leads to a longer life
Lightens mood
Can lead to weight loss
Strengthens muscles
Improves strength
Supports your joints
Improves your breath
Slows mental decline
Lowers Alzheimer’s risk
Helps you do more, longer."
– Arthritis Foundation, Walking Program, 2016

In trying to recover from pneumonia, I have been walking slowly every day.  I am now walking twice each day for 30 minutes each time.  

I've been walking at nearby Fuller Park in Vancouver, WA.  The park has a paved walking path around the park, about .4 miles in length.  The views along the path are spectacular.  This, indeed, is the "Evergreen State."  The photographs were taken at Fuller Park.

Walking: Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Facts, Lore.  Complied by Mike Garofalo.

Pneumonia Blues

Today, an emergency room physician in Ilwaco, at the Ocean Beach Hospital, examined me, took blood samples, and took an Xray of my chest.  Based on my recent symptoms and lab results his diagnosis was pneumonia.

I was experiencing very rapid breathing, shortness of breath, fast heartbeat, anxiety, fatigue, coughing, weakness, light-headedness, and very high blood sugar (400+).  Frankly, I was experiencing a panic state.

I will see my primary care internal medicine doctor on Monday, May 8th.

A bad experience!  

Slow Down Time

I've been resting at home for four days, trying to recover from acute bronchitis. The coughing, general fatigue, and discomfort have been trying for a 70 year old man.  Hopefully, recovery is coming - albeit slowly.  

I missed the Chen Tai Chi Workshop in Sacramento this weekend because of this health problem.  Bad luck!

Can't think as clearly as I would like.  If the lungs don't work well, the brain does not work as well.  

Signs and Symptoms of Overtraining

Lately, I have tried to reduce my fitness training routines somewhat because I was experiencing some of the following signs and symptoms of over-training:

1.  Inability to sleep well.
2.  Increased resting heart beat rate.
3.  Excessive soreness and aching. 
4.  Poor motivation.
5.  Stalled progress towards fitness goals.
6.  Injuries
7.  Sadness, irritability, anxiety, the blues. 
8.  Questioning mind, doubting myself. 
9.  Poor concentration, stressing out.   
10.  Feeling sick or lousy.
11.  Change in eating and drinking habits, e.g. very thirsty.

Solutions:

Reduce number of vigorous workouts per week.
Shorten workouts.
Use less weight in strength training.
Fewer reps per set. 
Enjoy more gentle exercises: Taijiquan, qigong, yoga.
Naps and more hours of sleep.
Enjoy rest days. 
Less miles when walking. 
Reduce my goals, objectives, aims, tasks. 
Reduce coffee drinking each day. 
More quiet meditation time. 
Eat and drink a bit more if your doing vigorous workouts.
Reward yourself and take steps to improve your mood.

Fitness and Well Being