COVID-19: Prolong Your Life By Walking Fast

From Worldometer, I have adjusted this table to show how new deaths best determine the phase of COVID-19:

DAY     China   Italy   USA   Spain   Germany   S. Korea  WORLD

May   1         0    269   1897      281          113               1        5624
          2         0    474    1691     276            76               2        5215
          3         0    174    1154     164            54               0        3481
          4         0    195    1324     164          127               2        4096
          5         0    236    2350     185              ?               2        5787
          6         0    369    2528     244          282               1        6811

Summary:

• Oh, oh...things are getting worse:
• All the countries listed above showed increases in new deaths...except for South Korea and China.
• During the past four days:
• World:  3481 to 4096 to 5787 to 6811
• USA  :  1154 to 1324 to 2350 to 2528
• Germany had its highest new deaths figure in a month.
• India/Pakistan/Bangladesh new cases figures continue to increase
• Same for much of South and Latin America
• Same for much of the Middle East
• I was traveling through Thailand until the end of February, and that country during that period had the second-most number of COVID-19 cases to #1 China.  Today?  #56.
• In December I was on Taiwan, which the following month was in crisis because they had a large number of tourists visiting from Wuhan.  Yesterday, Taiwan had one new case and no new deaths.

• New Zealand acted early and convincingly: 

• Strict lockdowns, edicting mandatory 14-day quarantine for all visitors on March 15.
• Any foreigner in the country was locked down.
• No domestic travel.  
• Social interaction was restricted to family only.  
• The country dropped to no new cases on April 26, although they had two new cases and one death yesterday.  
• They are #74 in the world with respect to total COVID-19 cases.
• No one can visit New Zealand until there is a proven vaccine, with exceptions.
• Two weeks ago the lockdown was eased, but their economy is not expected to recover until 2024.  That's not a typo:  2024!
• A recent survey showed that 87% supported the government.

• Their prime minister is Jaz Ardern:
• Is all of 39 years old, with a daughter not yet two years old.  Is not married.
• Last year before the coronavirus she was on the short list for Time's Person of the Year
• Up for the Nobel Prize last year.
• Born Mormon, but is now Agnostic, who supports gay rights, liberalized abortion, compulsory teaching of the Maori language in schools and fervent supporter of climate change remediation.
• Any way to replace The Donald with Jazz Ardern?
• I might add that American Samoa, with 55,000 residents, has had no COVID-19 cases.  It is 1600 miles from New Zealand and 2200 miles from Hawaii.  There is concern, but business is close to almost being normal.  Their meat-packing plant equivalent is a tuna cannery with more than 2,000 workers.  It has continued to operate.

I noticed a few years ago that I was walking slower and slower.  Old ladies in Japan whizzed past me.  So what's wrong with moving along to the beat of my own drum, I thought.  But, I then read that FAST WALKERS LIVED AN AVERAGE OF 20 YEARS LONGER!  This from testing 500,000 people.  Twenty years longer!

Simply, faster people are fitter.  The best way to avoid death is to be healthier.  Better yet, if you avoid cars and golf balls.

But I have a problem.  Both knees hurt.  This must be a genetic ailment, for my younger brother a couple of months ago replaced both hips, and told me there was no pain.  He is now walking well and even back to normal life.  But I will avoid replacing anything as long as I can.  However, my doc says if you are 80 or older, they stop doing this.

Anyway, I was sent to a specialist.  Took X-rays, and found that the primary problem was that the smooth membrane in the joint was wearing out.  This doc prescribed cortisone shots and rigorous therapy.






Cortisone is a synthetic version of cortisol, a steroid produced by my adrenal glands.  Cortisone suppresses the body's immune system's inflammatory and allergic responses.

I was favorable to a steroids solution, even if I will be barred from playing Major League Baseball.  Why?  A third of a century ago both knees began to hurt.  I went to the University of Hawaii football team knee doctor, who said he first wanted to do some arthroscopy.  But this is an invasive procedure.  I bought some time by saying that I had a trip to Singapore, and will come back later.

My last night in Singapore I went to a Chinese restaurant and picked a lobster from a tank.  What came looked like another lobster.  While Singapore is a trusted country, I should have said something.

Why the concern?  If I eat any crustacean (lobster, crab, shrimp, etc.) that has been long dead, my body reacts:  diarrhea, rash, breathing difficulty...you name it, it can happen to me.  As a youth when I went fishing using California shrimp as bait and touched my eyes, they became red.  When I ate shrimp, I had diarrhea.  Fine way to lose weight if that is a purpose.

In that Singapore restaurant, while I was still eating, I scratched at an itch on my cheek.  By the time I returned home, my whole body and face were covered with rash.  I don't know how I got through customs/immigration.  Today, I would be quarantined for a very long time.

I immediately went to my personal physician, who gave me five steroid pills.  He said the rash would go away if I took one daily.  Yes it did, but my knee pains also disappeared.  Thus I know that steroids can cure knee inflammation.  And that was decades ago.

This is a long way of saying that this quarantining has provided an opportunity to do something about my knees:

• a neighbor doctor recommended rubbing CBD (cannabidiol--yes, part of marijuana, but not the high-inducing chemical) oil
• a friend suggested some exotic Chinese oil
• she also gave me some Zanthosyn
• my personal doctor arranged for some therapy done in-house at 15 Craigside.

I did all at once.  Zanthosyn from Cardax was a pleasure to take, because it is a spin-off of a local company, Hawaii Biotechnology, where I served on the board and hired the current CEO to develop astaxanthin, a microalgae, on which I actually did some research forty years ago.  However, after three months, and at some cost, I ran out.  I skipped this pill for two weeks, and nothing bad happened.  However, I subsequently found two more bottles and went back to it.  At $90/bottle of 90, not qualifying for my medical plan.  This will almost surely stop when I again run out.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, my designated exercise days, I apply the CBD and other salve, the first to my right, and second to my left knee, just to see if one works better than the other.  I harbor considerable doubt that either one is doing anything useful.  Part of the need for success, of course, is to have faith in the product, something I lack.  I probably smell better or, maybe, more exotic.  However, I still have several months of those products, so I am continuing.  The positive is that as I apply, I massage the knee cap and knee.  That must help.

The therapy has been wonderful.  Three knee exercises that take 40 minutes each morning.  Came at the right time, for I have nothing better to do.  Most important of all, my knees feel stronger.  I can now walk faster.  I'll probably live longer.  Twenty years will get me to 100.

The stay at home edict of the local mayor, combined with closure of the municipal golf courses, means that I don't agonize for 18 holes anymore.  Saves me five hours a couple of times a week.  However, I now cannot eat and drink anything I want.  My BMI (see right column) is just into overweight, which is is no big deal because fat people live longer than normal ones.  Mind you, you absolutely don't want to be obese! 

To replace golf, I now go down to our exercise room and use that machine where you sit and step with both feet and push/pull your arms.  I gave up the treadmill because it was too dangerous.  I have added pulling at a weight device to mimic my golf swing.  One hour, thrice weekly.  Saves a lot of time.  The agony is still there, but only for an hour instead of 4.5 hours.  Plus I don't need to drive.

I now sleep better and eat maybe too well.  If I only get six or fewer hours/night, I take a nap to reach 8 hours/day.  I read an article that said you don't sleep too well if you have high blood pressure, which I do.  So I thought, why not take my blood pressure pills (two) just before going to bed at night and before my nap.  It seems to work.  A problem is that one of them is also a diuretic, so I use that one for the nap, for I don't want to sleep too long anyway.  The nap does not appear to affect the sleep at night, which is kind of surprising.  Nowhere on the internet is there any medical advice about purposefully lowering your blood pressure to help you sleep, so don't follow my practice.  See your doctor first.

I also exercise my upper body, which improves my posture.  Maybe I'll actually be taller at my next physical exam.

One collateral benefit is that while undergoing my knee therapy I began to exercise my toes.  What has happened is that I now feel safer while taking a shower.  My toes are stronger so that when closing my eyes while I soap my face, I can better control balance.

Because I don't stress my legs over 18 holes of golf, my swollen ankles are now normal.  People pass on those cautions that the cause is heart-related, plus a range of other fears.  Just not walking so much was the solution.

I still think my hair is getting blacker, also helped by my continuing state of euphoria.  The tinnitus that has been around for as long as I can remember seems to be diminishing.  All the above because of my quarantined condition.  By the end of this month when this splendid isolation will hopefully come to an end, I will be better fit to enjoy the rest of my longer life.

Did you know Donald Trump has a new press secretary?  Anthony Scaramuchi lasted six days.  Then there was Sarah Sanders (not daughter of Bernie Sanders, but of Mike Huckabee), who was feisty and generally terrible.  The best was Sean Spicer who hung in there for six months and one day. Why? Because he was the target of Melissa McCarthy in Saturday Night Live.  You've just got to click on that link. Now!  I actually mourned his departure.

No one saw her, but Stephany Grisham filled that role for nine months, until being fired on April 7.  She did not appear in even one White House Press briefing.  Said the Washington Post:

A crime writer named Don Winslow said he’d donate $100,000 to a children’s hospital if Grisham did a briefing. Stephen King joined in, doubling the pot.

Now there is Kayleigh McEnany, who graduated with a Harvard law degree in 2016 and served a bit at FOX.  She looked good until she opened her mouth, first saying she would not ever lie to those in the room.  Then she proceeded to lie a few times. Worst of all, she said Donald Trump never lies.  Here is a fact-checker.  Finally, in case you were not aware, a short-mash up of our President.

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