Per usual, I’m always behind all the trends. I didn’t get COVID-19 when all the cool kids were getting COVID. No, I get COVID when it’s basically considered old news. Granted, that’s probably when you want to take part in a pandemic — after all the thrill is gone.
I tested positive for COVID exactly one week into my mother’s hospital stay. The source is a mystery to no one. Despite all precautions, I clearly got COVID from hanging around the hospital which is understandable. Hospitals are simply crawling with sick people.
What this means is I cannot see my mother and, worse, it threw my mother into isolation as soon as I informed the hospital. Obviously, those are all good precautions. Nonetheless, I would like everyone to know that I am over five decades old and I miss my mommy.
Isolate
I’m also the big baby that loves to stay home. Home is my favorite place. Go big or go home? I’m going home. Don’t threaten me with a good time. That aside, the moment I am confined to home my attitude becomes that of a grounded teenager. At that point, I want nothing more than to leave home.
I am on day five. People are sweet. They video chat. They check-in. They leave care packages on the porch.
Mr. Wonderful continues to live up to his monicker. He caters to me while keeping his distance. My full-time nurses are two fluffy dogs and a large cat. The dogs are very snuggly and loving. The cat wandered by and bit my hand lightly once. I’ll take it. I feel like he’s pulling for me.
Getting COVID after everyone else has already had COVID means I get the benefit of everyone’s remedies: hot packs, cold compresses, epsom salt baths, tea and honey and gargling with apple cider vinegar. I guess none of them can hurt.
Getting through
Taking part in a pandemic in modern times means binge-watching television programs. This isn’t like when I was a child and it was basically me and “the Price is Right” on the sofa.
No, we have so many options now. In the first two days, I watched three seasons of a teenage drama. I am now on to science fiction. That makes fever dreams funny. I go in and out of waking up to time travel. It’s trippy.
I have so many lovely messages asking how I’m doing. My standard answer is that I do have COVID, but I’m doing much better than someone who just had a stroke. That is my new benchmark. Things can always be worse. Knock on wood.
My big goal is to get out of isolation so I can get up and go visit my mom in the hospital. The hospital where I may be exposed to more COVID. For mom, this is a chance I will take. I have trained for this my whole life.
I grew up knowing that if we stepped on a crack we might break our mama’s back. Now I get to add to my skill set when I find out how long I can hold my breath while I’m in the hospital common areas.
