A Forced Slow Down

May was a very busy month for us and as I peered out into June and July, all I saw was busy, busy, busy. Don’t worry, it still looks like that, and with an ever growing pile of field work at work for a thin crew of field-bios-who-also-double-as-project-managers-and-other-indoorsy-type-biologist-job-descriptions, things are very chaotic. I was actually looking forward to last weekend with my parents and niece and nephew for the Labor Day weekend but if I had known that a late Thursday night headache would turn into a positive Covid test on Saturday morning, well, I would have done things differently. But here we are, a house full of Covid soup!

I took a test on Friday that was negative but since I still felt off on Saturday morning I decided I should take another one, so when I crawled upstairs after waking up late Saturday morning I didn’t return downstairs unmasked (to go outside and get some fresh air/water a few plants) until Tuesday morning. We sent my family home after I took a second test Saturday morning to make sure the first test was right (it was!) and Chris had to go down and break the news to them (unfortunately, my mom also has covid now. 🙁 ). We attempted to contain it at home but of course that was already too late but we figured it was worth a try, so I stayed upstairs and Chris and Forest lived downstairs. Rusty and Dusty, the cats, were my constant company and I was grateful for it! But Chris started feeling iffy on Monday and by the time I woke up Tuesday I could hear that he and Forest hadn’t gone off to drop Forest at Summer Camp and instead Forest told me Chris “has the covid.” Forest officially tested positive this morning but we’re pretty sure he was positive late Tuesday night after a negative test that morning or by yesterday because he started sneezing and developing sniffles.

So, yeah, a forced slow down this week. It’s been mild, which is such a non-descriptor because mild can mean so many things. But, a lot of congestion and lethargy, though Forest doesn’t act much different. I’m finally on the tail end of it while Chris is dealing with the heavier symptoms I had a few days ago. And if you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time we may or may not have had it in 2021, before vaccines. Forest tested positive at that time and we all had a range of very similar symptoms. Chris and I never tested positive through two PCR tests and the J&J trial he’s in said that their blood testing showed no antibodies from an infection. But I did some reading and it seemed like that data could be all over the place depending on when and how close to infection you tested. So, for a while I felt confident saying maybe we didn’t actually have it in 2021 but now I’m still unsure and at home tests weren’t even available then. But after having some similar gastro issues at the beginning this time and the overall congestion, I tend to think it is definitely possible we had it in 2021, despite the negative tests. But it was a reassurance that we got positives this time, especially when we’ve gone through other illnesses over the last year that had us wondering is it/isn’t it and to have finally gotten something so definitive.

That said, I’m finally starting to feel more myself. The congestion is easing, I’m still tired. Chris has gotten into the lethargic stage and Forest is acting like nothing is going on, which is basically how he was the last time except for the random fever he spiked about a week into it. If he stays like this, he will have been sicker in late January from the random virus we had at that time.

In the meantime, I’m trying not to panic about the impending busyness of June. And hoping for no Long Covid after effects! Oh, and mask up for a few weeks at least—it is pretty bad out there! I had been masking up most places but I didn’t wear one to Forest’s last day of school activities and I’m pretty sure that’s where I picked it up. But who knows, it is everywhere right now! Stay healthy, y’all!