It started with a cough…then a phone call…a nap…and Law and Order re-runs.
You may have noticed a few weeks ago, I was not on the air. For a solid 14 days. It’s because we were in quarantine. First the baby didn’t feel well, then my husband and then me. It just made sense to stay home…just in case. This is how that went…
I’d like to think I’m a happy, fairly optimistic, positive person. On a daily basis, I feel like it’s my job to keep your spirits up, laugh a little and look toward the bright side, especially in times like this. The truth is…this whole thing terrifies me. The symptoms of COVID-19 can involve a cough, fever, tiredness, and difficulty breathing. Symptoms of RSV can involve a cough…fever…sluggish behavior, difficulty breathing (plus a few more symptoms). See the similarity? In some cases, in both COVID and RSV, patients can end up intubated and on a ventilator.
A couple months ago, we thought our daughter had just a run of the mild cold. But has the days progressed, new symptoms popped up, she tested positive for a respiratory virus called RSV. We ended up in the ICU with her because she was having trouble breathing. She didn’t need a ventilator, but close. We made it through that, she’s a trooper and a born fighter, but it was the scariest thing I’ve encountered as a parent.
Fast forward to when COVID started spreading in the US…then Vermont. At my husband’s job, they gave him the option to work from home. He decided that would be great and (before the daycares were shut down) to add a layer of security, the baby would stay home with him, too. In the first week she had cold-like symptoms. Then my husband got sick one night, fever, chills, cough. Then I got it. It hit me like a ton of bricks. High fever, chills, cough. I couldn’t move. It took every ounce of energy to move from the couch to the bedroom to try to sleep it off.After a conversation with our pediatrician and my doctor, they thought it was just an ugly bug BUT it made sense to self-isolate just to be on the safe side. So we did. We stayed put. When we felt better, there was play time with the baby, cleaning the house and lots and lots of Law and Order re-runs. I can hear the ‘doink doink’ sound effect in my sleep.
When more and more info became available about this virus, symptoms, potential outcome, trouble breathing, how contagious it is…It was eerily similar to RSV. It brought back all kinds of terrible memories from just a short time ago. Ya know what? No…not again. I’m not going through that again!
Do I wash my hands? Yes. A lot. Do I wear a mask while out in public? Yup! But I’m taking it a step further. We started limiting grocery trips and doing curbside pick up long before it was ‘a thing’. I was wearing a mask before the CDC recommended it. And if I do need to go into a store for something, I feel like I’m putting myself into a higher risk situation so when I get home, I follow a protocol that I’ve seen medical professionals use. Sort of a ‘decontamination’ procedure. As soon as I get home, the clothes go immediately into the washer. I go into the shower to clean up. Does it seem like a bit much? Probably. But after living through my tiny baby having a respiratory virus, I don’t want to do it again.
The procedure I follow daily and in ‘high risk’ scenarios to make sure the virus is not spread to my family is a bit intense, but…it helps me sleep at night.