Dead for 3 Weeks 😨

I've written a few times about my next-door neighbor whom police found dead in his house two weeks ago. One question we wondered about then and since is How long was he dead 15 feet away from us? Saturday night I chatted with two of his relatives who'd flown in for the weekend to start piecing things together after the loss.

• There won't be a memorial service. The deceased shared his wishes to be cremated, which his surviving family will do once authorities release the body.


• Cause of death is currently listed as 'undetermined'. Authorities are still doing tests.


• There is very little family. The deceased had no spouse or partner and no children. His parents are both deceased. He had two sisters, both married, one of whom is deceased.


• The deceased was 54— I think. His sister mentioned various ages, 54, 56, and 58, in our conversation. It wasn't clear which of those ages pertained to whom. With respect for her state of mind I didn't press the issue.


• The deceased may have been dead for up to 3 weeks before being discovered by authorities. Data showed he connected to a website on Dec. 22, but texts or other social media she sent to him on Dec. 25 were left unread.

It's eerie to consider that our neighbor was dead in his house for likely 3 weeks before being discovered.

Sore Throat and Chills

I started feeling ill Sunday afternoon around 5pm. My throat got sore and I started losing my voice. Sunday night I tossed and turned in bed. When I awoke for the last time at 4:30am I couldn't get back to sleep. I decided at 5:30 I'd just start my day.

After a hot shower and getting dressed like it was normal day I started feeling better. I still had an occasional cough but the sore throat was milder— and I could speak occasionally in meetings as long as I kept my voice soft.

Around 5:30 this afternoon I was feeling tired— no surprise give I got up so early after a poor night of sleep— so I decided to lie down for a nap until dinner. As I dressed for bed powerful chills came over me. I was shaking like a leaf. I checked for fever but didn't have one. I curled up under the bed covers and fell asleep within minutes.

Hawk came home around 7 and tried rousting me. I was so tired, though, and the chills had come back with a vengeance. I couldn't bring myself to climb out from under the blankets. Hawk checked me for fever but, again, there was none. I was just shaking like a leaf.

I did eventually get out of bed, 30-35 minutes later. It took every ounce of my willpower to push myself into the cold. I dressed in my clothes, pulled on a fleece jacket, and was still shivering for the next 15 minutes as I cooked a simple dinner and started eating.

Now I'm sitting quietly with my computer. The chills have largely dissipated. I figure whatever I've got here is from my trip last week— flights to & from Austin, and a day and a half in a ballroom with 30 colleagues. I don't think it's the dreaded Coronavirus but I'll keep watching my symptoms. And hopefully whatever it is runs its course quickly. This could be the worst of it this evening... or it could just be when it starts getting serious.