Happy Covid Bday

 I never liked the number 13 and for good reason. I felt like 13 was always associated with a bad day but followed by 14th when everything fell into place again. As a parent, my Birthday definitely took a backseat but I still looked forward to the extra love from friends and family. My daughter had zero interest in my special day other than the fact that she got to eat cake, well eventually. My husband was isolating with a slight fever and the paranoid person that I am I sent him immediately to wait in a 4 hour line to get a Covid test. He ended up getting a negative result and I was ready to celebrate my special day with him. I asked him to take over looking after our daughter since I had been up worrying, taking care of both of them and just felt a little tired and overwhelmed. I quickly realized I must have caught the same "bug" that he had because I had no desire to get out of bed to even cut my cake. The night before while cuddling in bed with my daughter I felt my thighs aching as if I had worked out at the gym on the stair-master. Let me tell you I haven't been to the gym in a pretty long time but I thought I was just tired. Perhaps I went up and down the stairs more than usual, delivering vitamins and meals to my flu patient. I had a slight fever and was so glad my husband felt better because I was literally checked out for the night. I had made a couple different soups but for some reason my husband all of a sudden didn't like my cooking. I still had no idea what was going on. The following day I felt better but wanted to get tested just to make sure. I took both a rapid test and a PCR test. The test came back negative and we both felt better. My daughter somehow was totally fine and didn't get sick. I spent the week cleaning, doing laundry and cooking. I continued to take my vitamins which made me feel better and energetic. Although we tested negative for Covid we still didn't want to give anyone the flu so we stayed home. 

A few days had passed and we felt a little tired but we figured that was because we were getting over a flu and slight fever. With a toddler in the house getting a full night sleep is pretty rare as well. We kept asking each other how we felt but we both agreed that since we are in our 40s we never feel that great. I was watching TV with my daughter when I got a phone call from the  Covid Lab. The nurse had assured me that if I took a Rapid Test during symptoms that I would get a positive but I didn't. I figured they are just calling to tell me my results but it was odd because I heard they usually only call people that are positive. I knew they were overwhelmed and computer systems were down so it was probably just a follow up call. There was also a part of me that felt anxious and scared. My husband was upstairs, I suddenly felt like I was about to faint, she told me my PCR test was in fact "positive" I was so shocked. Luckily we hadn't seen any friends or family in a long time so we didn't have anyone to call. The next thing I did was call my pediatrician to get my daughter tested. She also did a PCR as well as a Rapid Test and it came back positive. How could this happen? We were so "careful" to the point that everyone thought I was being too extreme. This was my biggest nightmare but at the same time we felt fine so we weren't too worried. We started counting what day we were on etc. kept checking our oxygen levels and everything seemed fine.

  I wanted to make a healthy meal for my family with whatever I had left in the fridge. While cooking I realized I couldn't smell the onion I was chopping. I quickly grabbed a Christmas candle I had on the counter and "nothing." No wonder my cooking had sucked I can't smell or taste and my husband couldn't either. I ran upstairs to smell my perfume and nothing! This felt pretty weird and I honestly don't know when I will get my sense of smell back. I miss the smell of coffee in the morning and my daughter's hair after a bath. 

My daughter felt fine she had a runny nose and felt a bit warm at night but nothing over 100 as far as fever. She was bored but she felt fine. I worried so much and cried for days. No one knew the long term effects of this virus. I worried about my husband who still has a lingering cough. I wondered why this came to my home because I was doing "all the right things" as a mom. I felt like I didn't do a good job of protecting my little family. There are a few things I will leave out because of privacy but emotionally this was not a fun ride for me. With the help of talking to family, friends and healthcare professionals, I felt better and realized that this was inevitable. I lived in a place with high numbers and it was just spreading like wildfire. I was thankful that our symptoms weren't that bad but still wished we made it to the vaccine before the virus got to us. We spent Christmas alone just like Thanksgiving but tried to make the best of it with the help of Charlie Brown specials. I had no desire to cook and had some pizza for dinner. All in all we don't wish this upon anyone. I appreciate everyone that is working hard to help those that are suffering from this evil virus and really can't wait to get back to our normal life. The main thing I learned from Covid is that I am stronger than I think I am. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger! I hate Covid but I survived it. We were lucky but many won't be so I pray for their health and recovery.