And then COVID-19

There have been a lot of jokes around people talking about the plans they had, and then they had to cancel because of coronavirus, its spread globally, and the restrictions governments and industries have put in place. We are certainly in this group, with life changes like cancelled in person school experiences, trips, birthday parties, sporting events, and even clothing and jewelry pickups that were postponed.

And then, a few days after Haley’s birthday, we found out that my mom was pretty sick and was going to get tested for coronavirus. It just so happened that the same day (Wednesday) Jim had gone to his physical, and got a TDAP vaccine. He started feeling a little achy and tired, and we assumed it was a vaccine reaction, common in one of our four adults.

On Thursday night, we found out my mom tested positive, and we had all been together for Haley’s party over the weekend (outside) and a dinner inside our house on Saturday. We thought it was entirely possible Jim was sick from that instead of his shot… and Haley had been at gymnastics on Thursday. If she was asymptomatic at the gym, she could have spread it to a lot of people. And the gym is under the county guidelines that if they have a positive case at the gym, the entire gym has to close for 14 days. Ouch!

Friday Jim still wasn’t feeling well, mostly very tired, and we decided to go get tested and lay low for the weekend, just in case. We have had all sorts of viruses before in our family, and we don’t think it’s fair to spread them to others if we can help it. Jim slept a lot of the weekend, and we kind of gave him some distance!

Monday morning I was up starting the day and work and getting organized, and I decided to check MyChart just in case I had results. I did: negative. I logged in as Jim and saw his results: positive. Bummer. At least we knew it wasn’t a vaccine reaction!

A few hours later, we started getting phone calls and notifying people (like work and family) and I moved out of our bedroom. Again, this is not the first time this has happened in our family, and we take anything beyond the average cold or flu fairly seriously. (Three of the four quarantines for Jim have ended in the word virus!)

I settled into the downstairs with my air mattress and moved my bathroom things and some clean clothes into the downstairs bathroom. Maverick kept me company all week long!

We cancelled get togethers, another birthday party, medical appointments, spa appointments, hair cuts, family photos, and a surgery. We kept Jim in isolation at home for the recommended 10 days. He was uncomfortable, very fatigued, and a little fuzzy headed for a solid two weeks. We eventually found out the kids tested negative as well, which was a huge relief for Haley’s gym!

Two weeks after our “point of last exposure,” the kids and I came out of quarantine and Jim went back to work. (He actually tried to go back sooner, and was allowed to, but his body wasn’t ready. He was sooooo exhausted.) We were so excited to be out and about again!

My mom took a full four weeks to recover to the point she could resume any type of normal activity, and spent a lot of time in a lot of pain. She had practically every symptom on the list and even had to go to the ER one night for dehydration and pain. It was so sad to see her so sick! My dad was positive too, but not affected nearly as much.

Update: A week after our quarantine ended, I had another COVID-19 test for my pre-surgery, and it was negative as well. Yay!