Sometime early March I had decided I was going to schedule a vaccination against Covid-19. I am not sure what made that decision crystalize. I have been teaching 4th grade remotely this year, deemed “high risk.” I have spent a large portion of the last year in my house. But, not the whole year.

I have ventured to grocery stores, and even to visit a handful of family members. We took a cautious trip to Indianapolis to pick up Ella in January. But, largely my winter coat is barely dirty and my biggest excursions were around my first floor, or to play chauffeur.

The decision to take anything, a medication, a supplement, or a vaccination, is never made lightly here. We have seen the real effects of all things on our bodies, and we are cautious. We walk a fine line of risk/benefit analysis which can be exhausting.

I live and work in a suburban community near the heart of New York City, where the rules keep changing, conspiracy theories run amok, and liberals and conservatives are often so focused in their own views that no one sees a middle ground. I live in a city that a year ago rushed to close everything, that never tried a gradual opening, and now, a year later sits with numbers that are pretty much exactly where we were last year.

Numbers that if you ask me, are still disturbing.

We are exhausted. We are in dire need of normalcy. On this my neighbors and I agree.

So, as the weather started to show signs of spring and I drove past droves of unmasked clusters of people everywhere, I committed. I understood then that for me, the risk/benefit had been decided. I would get the vaccine to try to protect myself from what felt like inevitable exposure as local numbers continued to climb.

I have long since given up rational conversation on this emotionally charged, over politicized, yet very real health issue. You might be surprised in a conversation with me to learn where I stand. You might assume you know. You’d likely be wrong. But, I digress. If you ever want to chat it out like grown ups, we will FaceTime, or zoom, or sit on my deck. Whatever you’d like.

But, like all of the best laid plans, my plan to vaccinate came to pass a little too late.

As I was seeking an appointment at a site closer to my house, I came to learn that securing an appointment for a vaccination rivaled seeking concert tickets for my favorite artist back in the day. I kept it open in a browser window for almost 2 weeks.

On March 12th I was 6 days into a self imposed “Facebook Break,” exhausted by the some of the drama I was struggling to scroll past. And, if I might add, just generally exhausted.

Felix came home from work that night and just did not look well. He was a little warm and tried to tell me that he had a bit of food poisoning from a bad turkey sandwich. I sent him to bed with 2 tylenol. He asked if I was coming. I carefully set my bed up on the couch. I knew. I just knew.

By the next morning I arranged a covid test for him and was far less than surprised when he was positive on the rapid, and already symptomatic. Meghan and I tested negative later that day, with a PCR sent out to be sure. He alerted his shop that he was positive and would be out of work 10 days. We set ourselves up to quarantine. I was internally terrified.

We geared up with lysol wipes, hand sanitizer, double masks and the like. We separated as best we could. And, even as no one in his shop came up positive, he was certain NYC Transit was likely his exposure spot, as unavoidable as it was. He was doing ok. We thought it was going to pass through as no big deal. Right through Monday we were even ordering dinner.

Tuesday Meghan didn’t feel well. Aside from some minor stomach upset I was feeling well. But, I decided to take us both to be tested again. As we were waiting for the rapid, the initial PCR came in negative. And, almost as soon as I was swabbed my rapid had a positive. Meghan’s followed a few moments later.

Tuesday night, we called the doctor for Felix. But, they don’t see covid patients. They don’t have video visits. Just a phone call. They ordered a lab panel. But, the earliest appointment to get the labs drawn was still a week out. No one was willing to help. They wouldn’t give him any meds. We were on our own. Maybe I should’ve known the office would respond this way. But, I didn’t. And honestly, 10 years into this rare disease world, my expectations of the medical community are quite low. Sadly, often with good reason.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and probably Thursday I cried an awful lot. This is the kind of thing that everyone wants to “help” with, but you can’t bring a single person anywhere near you. As I yanked on my big girl pants and did my best to keep things together. I shortened my day and taught my class each morning, figuring I needed them as much as they needed me. Plus, there are no subs in this remote world. So, I thought moving all that air around just might help my asthmatic lungs.

Meghan slept most of the time and she and Felix felt terrible. By Thursday though, youth was winning and Meghan was coming around. Felix, on the other hand seemed worse. He just couldn’t get around much at all. He was having a hard time eating just about anything. He was having a hard time walking from the bed to the couch.

In the spirit of keeping things interesting April, our older dog had surgery on Friday the 19th. It was a full disclosure surgery with next to no exposure on hand off Thursday, and pick up Saturday.

I can not begin to recreate the weekend. It just happened. One minute at a time.

Maybe I should have been afraid earlier. Maybe I should have pushed earlier. Maybe our doctor’s office should have stayed in touch. But, eventually we knew what had to be.

I brought Felix to the Emergency Room on 3/24, 11 days after his positive test. That was a hard ride. I left him with his phone, a charger, and a copy of his health care proxy paperwork. I pulled over to gather myself a few minutes outside of the facility and he texted me he’d be there “at least a few days.”

I heard a lot of things in my ear the next few days, the most helpful came from my pastor, my brother-in-law, who by virtue of this remote world has been able to fill both rolls for us here. Mostly though, Meghan and I just functioned.

The fear had been for us. The fear had been for me with my asthma. The fear had been for Meghan and I with our Cowden’s Syndrome. The fear had not been for our larger than life Felix. The one who NEVER EVER got sick. And yet, there was the world, on its ear.

Felix came home on Palm Sunday. We will all get more lab work than usual the next few months. We will hope this thing is not going to stick around to make life more complicated. But, as with all things, you just never know.

So, this virus is not nothing. That we can tell you.

What to do with that information is really not an easy thing. Nothing is linear. There are no simple answers.

What I can tell you is that it looks a lot different inside your house.

It was hard to tell our parents we weren’t doing ANY indoor gatherings right now. It was hard to tell them we were not adding any more risk into anyone’s world. It was hard. It was uncomfortable. Because we had gotten VERY comfortable taking few, if any precautions with our families. Fortunately, it worked out. I shudder to think…

We are exhausted. We are healing. We are grateful.

We believe in God. And we believe in prayer.

And I can tell you this virus, however you want to feel about it, is a potentially deadly weapon.

We won’t be clear for our vaccines for a few weeks.

We will be on line and ready. Because if this thing comes after anyone I love, I HAVE to know, I did EVERYTHING I could to stop it.

I can tell you for sure after Covid in the House – it is a different perspective here….

Happy Easter folks! And, nope, we do not iron when we’re home alone! 🙂

#beatingcowdens