Hey hey, it's Friday and the weather forecast is looking great for this weekend! It has not been a great week - more on that below - but I'm trying to focus on the positive in this intro. So yay sunshine!
1. I'll start with the bad. I tested positive for covid this week using an at-home rapid antigen test. I had some false positives last fall (the brand was QuickVue - another colleague had a false positive on that brand so I'd avoid that brand!!) but I tested positive on a brand I've used quite a bit (Binax) so I trust the results. I had last tested on Saturday - my routine is to test on Saturday so I can go into the office the following week (we are required to test weekly). I started to feel congested on Sunday evening and continued to feel worse so I tested on Tuesday afternoon and it was almost immediately positive. Le sigh. Phil and the boys tested that night and again last night and were all negative and are all still healthy. Our daycare adopted the revised DHS policy in late January that allows us to continue to send our kids to daycare despite being exposed to Covid as long as they are healthy and don't test positive for covid. So the boys have continued to go to school and Phil (who is fully vaccinated and boosted) has continued to go into work but just closes his office door/wears a mask around others. The daycare policy has been a Godsend and our case levels at daycare have been really low, even since this policy went into place. Getting covid has kind of felt inevitable since the recent variants are so contagious and we have kids in daycare. But I was still hoping to avoid it since I'm immune compromised. I am very glad that I received the Evusheld prophylactic antibody injections in mid-April. That should prevent my case from getting severe. So far I feel like I have a bad head cold/sinus infection and feel really tired and dizzy at times. But overall it's doesn't feel all that different from the many other colds/upper respiratory infections I've had recently.
2. Do I know where I got it? No, I don't. I went out to dinner with 2 girlfriends on Friday night but the restaurant was not busy and our table was pretty far from other tables. Both of my friends have cold symptoms but have tested negative; it's allergy season here in Minnesota so it's really hard to know if it's covid or allergies or just a cold! The other place I could have gotten it is swimming lessons on Sunday morning. I've been really cautious for the last 2 years and don't feel like I've done anything especially risky. Up until February, we hadn't eaten in a restaurant, besides eating outdoors a couple of times, since March of 2020. But I can't live under such conditions forever so it was probably inevitable that I would get exposed to covid - but this is why I am vaccinated. So that I can do things, see people, take my kids to the library, have dinner with friends, etc. I'm not taking crazy risks, in my opinion. I didn't go into work on Tuesday since I was congested so I don't think I exposed anyone else besides my family.
3. Of course the weekend plans I wrote about on Wednesday will not be happening. I'll just push everything forward a week and we will stay close to home this weekend/avoid others. I'm glad the weather is looking nice so we can be outside quite a bit. I think I will pull out the water table this weekend since it will be in the upper 70s. Will loves the water/splashing so I think he'll love the water table!
4. If you've read this blog for the past winter/spring or longer, you've probably picked up on the fact that I ALWAYS seem to be sick with one thing or another. This is one of the major downsides of having an autoimmune disease. I have rheumatoid arthritis which, in simplistic terms, means that my immune system goes into overdrive and attacks itself - namely, my joints. So to prevent/lower the chances of that happening, I'm on a number of immune suppressant drugs. But in preventing my body from attacking itself, that means my immune system SUCKS. I doesn't fight much of anything - because it is intentionally suppressed. I seem to catch everything the kids catch/are exposed to. This past year has been worse than usual - I mean I got the stomach flu 3 times in 11 months! I'm glad there are effective drugs on the market now to treat RA, but gosh it sucks to be sick all the dang time.
5. Let's end on a positive note, though! I'm grateful that my company has been understanding and has great policies in place around covid. Pre-covid, I would have gone to work on Tuesday morning because I didn't feel 'that bad' in the morning. But I went downhill fast and was so relieved I hadn't been in the office when I tested positive that afternoon. I'm grateful that Phil is healthy and has a strong immune system - he's taken the lead on parenting this week. I've been masking around Phil and the boys and have been sleeping in the basement in the hopes that they won't get covid, too. And I'm grateful that the weather is nice this weekend so we can be outside. That will certainly help my sanity. If this happened in the dead of winter when we were all cooped up indoors, it would be far more challenging.
This was not exactly an uplifting post, but I'm just trying to keep it real around here. Getting covid sucks, but I'll recover and be just fine, thanks to vaccines and the antibody injection. So yay science!
How is your week going? Hopefully it's been better than mine!
Oh Lisa. I'm so sorry. It does feel inevitable that we're all going to get it, but it's still something we all want to avoid!
ReplyDeleteGlad you are able to rest at home and that Phil and the boys are still healthy/well.
COVID numbers are up where we live; we have some travel soon and it requires a negative antigen test (at a pharmacy) and I am really starting to stress. We are getting the test less than 24 hours before we go and will LITERALLY be en route to the airport hotel when we get the test. If we're negative it messes EVERYTHING up. There is absolutely nothing I can do aside from being careful but, like you say, there is a limit to what I can manage there as well. Also, I know so many people that are very, very cautious that have gotten it recently. It feels both inevitable and, aside from literally staying home all the time, unavoidable?
Sigh. Sorry again. Hope you're feeling much better by the end of the weekend and I'm so glad the boys can still go to daycare!
Lisa, I am so sorry to hear this and I hope you recover quickly and that the rest of the family doesn't get it. No need to beat yourself up, either, I feel like maybe you are blaming yourself a little? I just get that feeling from this post and I want to say that you can do every single little thing right and still get it. I remember reading something when the kids were little and always sick with something or other that for all I knew, the germs were coming in on the mail. I mean, it's true, we can't protect ourselves from every little thing so we have to do the best we can, and sometimes that means one will slip past the goalie. So, tl;dr, I hope you recover quickly and don't have too bad of a case.
ReplyDeleteI thought that as well, that pre-Covid I would have totally gone into the world spreading my germs around, when I had Covid. Wait, did that sentence make sense? No. What I mean is when I had Covid all I was, was fatigued. I would have gone to teach my SENIORS, my husband would have gone to work, the kids would have gone to school. We would have pushed through. I hope that if one thing comes out of the pandemic it is that our mindset around "pushing through" has changed. When we are sick, we need rest.
Anyway, long comment to say I'm sorry you're sick and get well soon!
Oh, boy. I do hope you bounce back from this the way you would any other mild (?) illness! I'm also crossing my fingers that the rest of your family remains symptom free.
ReplyDeleteIt's a tricky illness, isn't it? I'm glad we've reached the stage where we don't know if it's allergies or COVID, but it's scary for people with autoimmune issues!
I'll be sending healing thoughts your way.
Not to make light of your constant illnesses, but with as often as you've been sick, I'm actually amazed this is the first time you got covid!!! lol!! You poor thing- you guys have had it all. I'm glad your case has stayed mild. So grateful and glad that the more recent variants have been generally much more mild, plus of course the vaccines are so important in minimizing symptoms. I hope it passes by quickly! And yes- thank goodness some of the "exposure" rules have loosened....it's just not feasible to go in full lockdown/ quarantine mode for 10+ days every time anymore. It's just not! So I'm so glad that the boys can still go to daycare, etc.
ReplyDeleteUgh ugh ugh. I'm so sorry that you have Covid. What a huge bummer. Here's hoping that your symptoms remain mild and that you feel better soon -- and that none of your family gets it. I hope you have a great and relaxing weekend at home and enjoying the sunshine.
ReplyDeleteUgh. I am so sorry Lisa. I know you've been so careful, but it almost seems unavoidable that we're all going to be exposed at some point (very much trying to avoid it still though!).
ReplyDeleteI hope that Phil and the boys stay negative and that your symptoms are mild! Sending good vibes your way!
I'm so sorry you got Covid despite being so careful! Wishing you a speedy recovery! Also, that nobody else in your family gets sick. I also feel like we're all going to get it and sometimes wonder what's the point in still being as careful as we are. I'm in MI and case numbers are going up rapidly.
ReplyDeleteOh man! I was hoping you would remain unscathed from the Covid nastiness! That sucks so much that you tested positive. I'm glad you aren't having terrible symptoms, though. Hopefully it will remain mild - I know you were worried about what would happen if you did get it! I'm glad Phil and the boys are continuing the test negative and the boys were able to still go to daycare through all of this. Whew!
ReplyDeleteIt's always hard to figure out exactly where you got Covid, and we can all just do the best we can. Getting vaxxed and boosted is supposed to allow us to be in society - with the knowledge that we could get Covid but it will likely be mild if we do.
Hugs! Here's to a speedy recovery!
What a bummer, but sounds like you have some good systems in place. (I first typed symptoms, which feels like a Freudian slip). hopefully it all passes quickly as you're right, we can't live in the bubble forever, and you hadn't acted recklessly.
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