A Kingdom of Isolation....A Covid-19 Diary (Part 5)

 

As I write this, tomorrow is the last day of 2020, oh hello January 4th, and honestly, it's coming not a moment too soon. You'd have to been living in a cave in the middle of nowhere to not see that this year has been one for the record books. It hasn't all been bad, but there's also been a whole lotta dumpster fires. 

I'm currently at my in-law's house for the holiday break, as we usually have done since Chauncey and I got together. It tends to pretty relaxing, usually with some socializing but mostly just hanging out, no work, no distractions, it's pretty great. Sometimes we'll go to a movie or two, shop the post-holiday sales, the sort of year-end events one would expect.

We didn't have much planned for this year's stay, maybe a movie, lots of video games played between my husband and his dad, I brought my sewing machine and some projects to work on. Of course, we knew that flexibility is key as you never know what might pop up (bad weather, other family plans, etc.) What I never could have planned for was one of us getting sick with COVID-19, namely Chauncey. 

Let me preface this next bit by saying that is just my experience and account of dealing with a spouse with COVID-19, every person's experience is different and each diagnosis should be treated on a case-by-case basis. What has worked for us might not work for you or your loved ones. 

Leading up to the holiday break, Chauncey had been working really hard, burning the candle at both ends trying to be able to walk away with his inbox and To-Do List as empty as possible. He and I have both learned in the past that while it's great to get things accomplished, burning the midnight oil, again and again, is just an open invitation for illness. A good night's sleep is so important to your overall health, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. So when we loaded up the car on the 19th of December, we were both ready to leave the real world behind for a while.

We had a pleasant lunch with my mom and her husband, our annual chance for the two families to get together for a few hours. We followed COVID protocols at the restaurant and a good time was had by all. We got to my in-law's house Saturday evening, I went to the gym after we unpacked, and our vacation was now underway. Sunday was spent at the house, generally being lazy, doing last-minute gift wrapping, it was low key...until Chauncey started to feel a bit ill. Monday we both had to work, and at that point, all he had was some sinus issues and a mild headache so we figured he was developing a cold. Tuesday morning rolled around and two red flags popped up, Chauncey had completely lost his sense of smell and taste. Everyone I knew who had gotten COVID-19 told me that was the most common symptom, so once this happened we went into treating him like he had COVID. Chauncey started on a regimen of vitamins, fluids, lots of sleep, keeping him isolated from the rest of us (as best we could in a single-family home) and hot showers; by Tuesday evening he had a fever, chills, a rather strong headache, "foggy brain", body aches, runny nose. Before he got too bad and was in bed the rest of the day, he went online to find a local place that was offering COVID tests and snagged an appointment at a CVS for the following day.

Wednesday I took him to the CVS for his test, we had a bit of a wait in the drive-through but once it was our turn the test was pretty straightforward. The nurse/pharmacist walked him through the entire thing and soon we were on our way to wait the 3-4 days for his results. Of course, at this point it was two days before Christmas, so we (rightly) assumed that it may take longer, in the meantime, we stuck with our regimen and tried to enjoy Christmas as much as possible. 

Frozen Waco Beach

While we awaited the results of Chauncey's COVID test, life continued at the house as best as possible. Since we were already at my in-law's place when Chauncey came down with symptoms and we'd all been potentially exposed, we figured it was best just to stay put to keep the germs contained to just the one house. However, by Saturday we were all getting a little stir crazy being stuck inside, even Chauncey who at this point no longer had a fever, but was still stuffy. So we bundled up and went for a drive in my father-in-law's truck: driving by the two houses that Chauncey grew up in while living in Michigan, looking at the frozen coast at Waco Beach, and of course when in Rome (or in this case Sturgis) dinner at Hot 'n Now. We never got out of the truck, just drove around, and Chauncey kept his mask on and we used lots of hand sanitizer whenever he sneezed. 

Late Sunday evening/really early Monday morning Chauncey's test results came in, he was positive for COVID-19. Not much of a surprise but at the same time it was nice to have confirmation, which meant I would need to be tested along with my in-laws. My father-in-law got tested that following Monday and got his results that Thursday (he was negative), I got tested on December 30th but it was a Rapid Results test (not available at every CVS, check their website for availability) so I got my answer within 30 minutes (negative). My mother-in-law works for the local school system so she's following their protocols as far as testing and when she can return to work.

So now it's been two weeks since Chauncey started showing symptoms and he's feeling much better. His foggy head, headache, fever, chills, and many of the major symptoms were almost gone after the first week; but he did develop a minor cough which was concerning. After talking to his primary physician's office, they said that he might have a cough for several weeks, but as long as he isn't struggling to breathe then he should be fine. He's taking an OTC cough medicine at night to help him sleep and that's been sufficient.

Kissing in the new year COVID style

I can only speak about Chauncey's experience with COVID-19 based on what he's said and my own observations, and I can tell you while his case was "mild" it was still concerning and stressful for everyone involved. He doesn't really get sick, so for him to be essentially bedridden for even a few days tells you how serious even this case was. Now he's at the end of when he could be contagious, but even though I tested negative I have to self-isolate till next week just in case I caught it after my test and just haven't shown symptoms yet. We're both being monitored by both the state and IU (our employer) and are following their directions as best as possible.

As for my own experience, it's not been fun but I also know it could've been way worse (I've got friends who have loved ones that are currently hospitalized with COVID and at least one who's had a loved one pass away). I'm always going to be concerned when Chauncey gets sick or injured, but once I started to recognize his symptoms as COVID-19, my stress level went up. 

I am so grateful that we were at my in-law's house as I had help taking care of him: getting him food/fluids, doing laundry, refilling the humidifier, stuff like that. Now he's more self-sufficient, which is good since I'm supposed to be self-isolating like I stated earlier, and really the isolating has been the hardest part. If he was in the same area as his parents or me, he was wearing a mask; we've been sleeping in separate places; I haven't been able to hold my husband's hand or kiss him in two weeks, our New Year's kiss was done through a piece of plastic wrap! We're very tactile people, so not be able to show affection that way has been hard on both of us. I can't imagine what it is like for folks with loved ones who have been hospitalized and they can't visit them at all. 

So this is where we are now, Chauncey is clear to go back out into public (wearing a mask of course) while I'm isolated for another week. Not ideal but we'll manage. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask, in the meantime wash your hands and wear a mask!