Covid Watch and Other Things

August 24th

After suffering through a miserable head cold for three days, I made it to Monday still alive.  The visit to my doctor ended with a Covid test and self-isolation instruction until the results come in.  I can plan on a 4 or 5 day wait.

I suppose there is never a good time for bad things to happen in one's life but the timing of this possible Covid visit feels especially ill-timed.  On September 7th I'm supposed to be in Tennessee to be on the scene to help our daughter after her scheduled C-Section on September 9th.  Needless to say, that won't be happening if the test comes back positive.

I called my daughter-in-law, Erin, to give her a heads-up on the situation and chose not to tell Kris.  I didn't want Kris to worry until there was something to worry about.  As the day progressed the head cold started to subside a bit but I'm not fooled.  I may be feeling better now but I'm also feeling feverish so actually, I'm not well at all.  I'm  isolating myself from Don as much as possible by not preparing his meals and sleeping in the guest room. 

In the evening, Kris called and I was caught off-guard.  She knew I was seeing the doctor and since I had not called, she checked in on how I was feeling.  And just like that, I told her about being tested for Covid.  Jeeze.  

So the cat was out of the bag and there was no putting it back.  I told her I had not meant to tell her and why and she was so "Really? Seriously?  There's always a workaround."  All I wanted to do was avoid worry for her and she was so damn grown up about it.  I'm so proud of her.  By the way, she gets the workaround business from me and my There Is Always A Plan B philosophy.

So I'll call Erin tomorrow and tell her Kris knows.  And, with any luck, I'll have an answer  by Friday.  I truly think I don't have Covid in my future but I get taking the precautions so like other bumps that have occurred in my life, I just roll with it.

August 25th

Well, a day doesn't get more sideways than this one.  I woke up at 4 a.m. to the sound of something dropping to the floor.  I thought it was the just another suction cup failure on the safety handle in our shower.  By the time I woke up and unscattered myself, Don had made it into the bathroom on his hands and knees.  It was HE who had dropped, not the safety handle.  Now very alert at 4 a.m., I stood by as he managed to finally leave the bathroom and get into the living-room.  He was still very ill, nauseous, and just not feeling quite right.  It was bad enough that he told me to call 911.  

Okay.  This just does not happen. The last time we used 911 for him he was in agony with what turned out to be a burst appendix.  That is when the fear really kicked in for me.  Here I was, one day into Covid testing quarantine and all I knew was that if Don ended up in the hospital, I would not be able to be with him.  I was frozen with fear.  No family near me.  Now 5:45 a.m. and the ambulance was gone.  

I finally called my friend and neighbor, Glenda.  Of course, my call awoke her but she called me back and I discovered that Glennie was truly God's tool at work helping me to get to a place a calm.

Eventually it all sorted itself out and he was released to return home in much better condition that he had arrived in.  I successfully navigate the 30 minute drive to a hospital in Arkansas, a place I had never been before and discovered a new found confidence in my ability to drive around in this area.  This was something that I have been sorely lacking.

August 25th

I'M NEGATIVE. Thank you, thank you, thank you, God.

August 26th

We went to Dr. Bernard today for a follow up on Don's Tuesday morning excitement and a Z-Pack for me.  I'm better with the head cold and so ready to feel normal again.  Different story for Don.  Dr. Bernard is suspicious and filled with an abundance of caution.  The man is nothing if not thorough.  He is thinking TIA event and is arranging for Don to have a stress test with a cardiologist.  I'm not quite sure what this might all mean.  Perhaps something. Perhaps, in the end, nothing and it was all just a horrible case of eating food that should have been tossed.  We'll see.

Anyway - tomorrow is Friday and the fury that is Hurricane Laura will hit us soon.  Lots of rain will be upon us for several days and winds 10-20 mph (not so bad)  I won't have to worry about my one remaining tree.  But we'll be enjoying lots of thunder and lightning. Ugh.