Carl
Writing by Beth Dedman | Photographs by Josh Estey
Santa Clarita, CALIFORNIA: It had been more than eight weeks since Carl Goldman had set foot in his home in Santa Clarita, California. He was relieved to finally see his wife again, walk around outside on his property and even found joy in cleaning up after his dogs.
“I never thought I’d have the day where I look forward to cleaning up the dog poop.”
After everything he had been through the last 59 days, Goldman would never take even the littlest things in his life for granted.
Goldman, his wife and their two friends were four of the 2,666 guests aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, where, on Feb. 1, a passenger tested positive for the Coronavirus.
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Goldman had wanted to get his wife, Jeri, something special for her birthday and surprised her with a cruise through Southeast Asia. They were going to cruise from Yokohama, Japan to Hong Kong and back, making multiple stops along the way.
“When we flew to Tokyo on Jan. 17, we had received no news on the coronavirus,” Goldman wrote on his website. “The first stories of an outbreak began hitting after we sailed away from the port of Yokohama, Japan.”
For the first 16 days, the cruise was magical. Goldman and Jeri had an adjoining cabin with their friends, Mark and Jerri Jorgensen, the good was spectacular and the destinations were breathtaking. Jeri Goldman did not want the cruise to end.
Jeri got what she wished for.
As news of the Coronavirus spread, the crew tested passengers for fevers every time they got on and off the ship. On Feb. 1, Princess Cruises confirmed that a guest had developed a fever six days after disembarking in Hong Kong.
Upon receiving the news, the crew rushed to return to Yokohama 12 hours ahead of schedule, where they were forced to dock just outside of the port. The crew announced that passengers were to remain on the ship as officials from the Japan Ministry of Health screened the 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew members for the virus.
The testing took more than 18 hours as the officials worked their way from cabin to cabin. All passengers had their temperature taken. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were still served and they had free rein of the ship. The Goldmans realized they were not going to make their evening flight home, but figured they could catch a different flight the next day.
But when they awoke on the morning of Feb. 5, they learned that 10 passengers had been confirmed to have the Coronavirus and that their stay on the ship would be extended by another 14 days, which they would be spending quarantined in their cabins.
Food was brought to their doors three times a day. The Goldmans and the Jorgensens opened up the balcony between their rooms to allow them to move back and forth.
The Goldmans were trying to make the best of their situation. Jeri would place a towel on the unvacuumed floor of their cabin and exercise, using 1-liter water bottles as weights. Carl would walk ten paces across the cabin, for however long it took to walk at least 3,000 steps.
“I believe(d) a 14-day quarantine in our cabin would be the ultimate test of our 31 years together,” Goldman wrote.
On Feb. 6, various news helicopters and reporters behind police tape had encircled the ship.
“It was like a scene out of Contagion,” Goldman said. “HAZMAT suits, military operations--which was eerie. Media would be perched behind barriers, news helicopters, ambulances would unload another passenger. It was a very intimidating scene.”
The captain of the Diamond Princess would keep the passengers updated with PA system announcements, which would immediately be repeated in Japanese.
By the end of the day, the total of infected passengers had reached 21.
By the next morning, there were 62.
The Goldmans had only packed for a trip that would have ended Feb. 1. After being locked in their cabin without access to extra clean clothes, deodorant and toilet paper, they were grateful when the boat restocked their supplies.
“We knew from day one, we could turn our predicament into another adventure in our life’s journey,” Goldman said. “My wife now can be a standup comedian, making our toilet paper running extremely low to blow-drying our clothes in our bathroom into an opening act at the comedy club.”
They also were able to laugh at the people’s comments under their post about the quarantine on the KHTS website. Even though they were 5,479 miles away, some commenters were worried they would infect their staff through their phones.
The passengers were granted one hour per day on the outer deck. They were required to wear face masks, gloves, hats and a warm jacket. Even though it was only a short time, it was a relief to be able to get fresh air.
The Goldmans had hope. They received an email from the U.S. Embassy announcing that they would be able to fly out of Tokyo on Feb. 19. Princess Cruises President Jan Swartz sent a letter to each passenger announcing all passengers would receive a full refund, plus a credit for a future cruise and reimbursement for most expenses, including excursions, hotel in Tokyo, plane fare and any other reasonable expense.
“Their gesture was a class act,’” Goldman said.
But by the end of week one, the total number of infected people had reached 135. Every time they took their temperatures and it remained below 37.5 degrees celsius, they breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, their friend, Jerri Jorgensen came down with a fever. They were just about to call the ship’s hospital when Japanese health officials knocked on their door.
Jerri had one hour to pack a bag before they took her four hours away to a hospital in Fukushima. Mark had to stay behind on the ship.
“We didn’t know where they were taking her,” Goldman said. “All she had was the Google translator on her iPhone. That is when it really hit home and it was really taken out of all of us.”
Not only were they concerned for their friend, but now they were particularly concerned about their own health.
They had no idea what could possibly come next.
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Jerri’s fever broke before she even got to the hospital in Fukushima, but she would still have to spend 14 days in quarantine there.
Although it pained them to leave Jerri in the hospital, Mark and the Goldmans took flights offered by the U.S. Embassy to the 339 American passengers. Their 40-minute journey to the Tokyo airport was delayed nearly six hours while the bus waited to leave.
“Our U.S. military was living up to its motto, ‘Hurry up and wait,’” Goldman said. “For a nation who put the first man on the moon, I was confused. But at least we were off the ship and heading home. There were no bathrooms on the bus, which made for more than a few unhappy passengers.”
Aboard the plane, medical personnel wearing HAZMAT gear were ready to check temperatures throughout the flight. A section of seats was quarantined from the rest, with large sheets of plastic hung from the ceiling.
Despite the unsavory conditions and exhausting travel, the Goldmans were relieved to be going home. Unfortunately, about two hours into the flight, Carl came down with a fever of 103 degrees.
Goldman was placed in the quarantined area of the plane with eight other passengers for the rest of the flight.
The Goldmans and two other couples were the only passengers who remained on the plane after it arrived at Travis Air Force Base, eight hours later. They then flew on to Omaha, Nebraska, where the CDC had established a biocontainment center in one of the wings of the University of Nebraska hospital.
When they landed, an ambulance took Goldman to the containment center where he and the others would spend at least another 14 days in quarantine. Dramatic news footage of Goldman on a stretcher concerned his friends and family.
“The truth was, every paramedic vehicle requires a stretcher,” Goldman said. “That’s how victims are transported. I asked to ride shotgun, but my request was denied.”
When they arrived at the hospital, Goldman endured a barrage of medical tests. All of his vitals were excellent, but he did test positive for COVID-19.
Fortunately, Jeri, who was being kept in a separate wing of the hospital, tested negative for the virus. They would endure the next 14 days of quarantine separately.
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There is no medication for treating COVID-19. The only “medication” Goldman received in the first few days was orange Gatorade.
“If I could have been anywhere in the world, I was thinking I was so lucky to be in the number one spot in the world with the number one medical team,” Goldman said. “This team knew what they were doing. It was calming and reassuring to know that if the virus was going to go badly, I was going to be taken care of.”
Goldman learned that, as of Feb. 18, 545 passengers had tested positive for the virus. Jerri Jorgensen’s tests kept coming back positive, even though she exhibited no further symptoms. Her quarantine in Fukushima continued.
Goldman’s fever returned, this time at only 99.7 degrees fahrenheit, but his coughing settled deeper in his chest.
He celebrated his 67th birthday in quarantine. His KHTS staff sent him a video where they told him happy birthday. It had been 36 days since he and Jeri had left his staff behind in Santa Clarita.
“Apparently, it took over a month for my staff to miss me,” Goldman said. “When I return to Santa Clarita, I am taking the over/under on how many days it will take our staff to wish I was back in quarantine.”
The medical team brought Goldman a piece of cake with an unlit candle attached to the top. It was against the rules to light the candle, but Goldman held onto it as a souvenir of his very memorable birthday. Before he went to bed that night, the medical team video called Goldman and sang happy birthday. He now knew how astronauts felt celebrating their birthdays in space.
On Feb. 25, Goldman volunteered for a clinical study that might help the CDC and the National Institutes of Health find a cure. The first leg of the trial included a full blood test and more swabbing, including a rectal swab this time.
They also swabbed all of Goldman’s belongings, monitoring how the virus moved through the air around him, as well as through his bloodstream.
When they discovered that Jerri Jorgensen had finally tested negative for the virus in Fukushima, the Goldmans began to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Both Carl and Jeri had been the features of interviews with several news outlets, including ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, the Washington Post and many others. They limited their interviews to only one a day. Carl missed a phone call from Vice President Mike Pence while he was on the phone with his son. Jeri answered her call from the vice president. They talked for five minutes and he wished them well.
But not all commentators were as cordial. An internet troll on their website said he hoped Goldman died a terrible death while Jeri was forced to watch.
“We won’t let the hater’s words hurt,” Goldman said. “We have enough challenges. I realize he’s sicker than I am.”
After a few days of death threats, the Goldmans got the authorities involved to get the troll to stop.
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Jeri Goldman made it back to Santa Clarita March 2. Their staff and most of their friends welcomed Jeri with open arms. A few, however, did not want her around.
“My wife is not a leper,” Goldman said. “She was quarantined for 26 days. She’s never had the virus. Some people are acting as if we are still in the middle ages.”
Shane Cutchall had been housesitting for the Goldmans during the 48 days between their flight to Tokyo and Jeri’s return. When Shane went into his full-time job the morning after returning the house keys to Jeri, his boss fired him on the spot.
“The paranoia has gone into overdrive,” Goldman said. “Jeri has never had the virus. Had I been home, the owner might have burned Shane on a stake. The Salem Witch Trial has arrived in Valencia.”
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Goldman received his first negative test on March 13. On March 14, after completing the swabs for what would hopefully be the second negative test, Goldman asked one of the nurses to grab some snow outside, make it into a snowball and throw it at him. She happily obliged.
The test came back negative.
After being in quarantine for 40 days, Carl Goldman was free to go home. He had tested positive for the virus for 29 days, the longest record for an American.
When Goldman finally landed in California, a friend picked him up in a stretch limousine, complete with a pint of Cold Stone Creamery peanut butter and chocolate ice cream and a bottle of champagne.
After two months away, Goldman was relieved to be reunited with his wife and his two dogs in the safety of his home March 16. He had not seen Jeri since Feb. 17. He hadn't seen his dogs since Jan. 17.
Still on Nebraska time, Goldman awoke at 3 a.m. to find one of his dogs had relieved itself on their carpet. It made him smile.
“I think for me I definitely learned to appreciate the dog poop,” Goldman said. “A whole laundry list of things that I took for granted that I will never take for granted again. There are all kinds of takeaways that I'll look back at and realize it. My wife says that it will be a gift. I don’t see it as one quite just yet, but I think I will look back one day and see it as one.”
After what Jeri went through upon returning, Goldman elected to spend another 14 days quarantined within his home to avoid stressing their neighbors. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, issued an executive order for non-essential workers to stay indoors March 19.
Seeing that the whole country is joining him in self-isolation, Goldman has some advice for going into quarantine, such as sticking to a routine, not procrastinating work that could be done later, creating things, starting projects and limiting media consumption.
“Stress is the worst thing possible for the immune system,” Goldman said. “Putting on the 24/7 news, it gets people ramped up and stressed out. I’m not saying not to be informed. Social media has so much misinformation. Don’t get your stress level up that way. Don’t take your info from social media, but get your Coronavirus jokes in and get off.”
Ultimately, Goldman advises that people continue to see the glass half full.
“Keep a positive attitude,” Goldman said. “Take it one day at a time. Don’t focus on the past and don’t worry about tomorrow. Look at quarantine down the line as a gift.”
Goldman's personal account of his stay in quarantine is available on the KHTS website.