COVID-19
It’s Erin’s birthday. Mike and Sadie are throwing her a party. Andrew and Gavin are there but I am home. Because I’ve spent the last 9 days sick with COVID. The last 9 days of 2022. After almost 3 years, getting the initial vaccination and the bivalent booster and taking precautions like wearing a mask on public transit, it finally got me. I’ve been to many public events like shows and basketball games in closed spaces and didn’t wear a mask. But all I did was go to one of Gavin’s basketball games, that are not well attended, and work from home. I’m pretty sure the contractor that was finishing our bathroom gave it to me. When I told him I have it, his response was that it’s not big deal and he’s had it three times. Add on to that attitude that his wife is a nurse and that definitely seems like the most likely source for it. I’m pretty pissed off about that.
I’m finally feeling better today, but I’m still testing positive. Last night my head hurt so bad that when the neighbors turned on their water and I heard it running in the pipes, my eyes hurt. My sinuses have been so fucked up from this.
My brain, too. Day 0 was on Gavin’s birthday, the 22nd. It was a Thursday. I worked the entire day, but noticed that I was really exhausted towards the end of it. So exhausted that I was having a hard time typing what I meant and I’m a really great typer (typist?); I used to do transcription. I told Gavin I would make him hamburger & white sauce for dinner and it took me a ridiculous amount of time. I was now super snotty also. I thought it was allergies or maybe a head cold.
Friday I was sending messages with the same words typed multiple times. Even after proofreading! Sometimes the same single word repeated multiple times and others two or three words in a row repeated after each other. I was super snotty. But I woke up fine, so I guess my slow functioning brain thought I wasn’t really sick. By the end of the day I was exhausted and went to sleep early. We had plans to go snowboarding on Saturday, so I wanted to make sure I took care of myself.
Saturday morning (Day 2) I again woke up fine and had energy. Still really snotty, but that happens. We opened presents and then I made a cup of tea. That’s when I noticed I couldn’t smell the tea, even though it was a very strong smelling tea with cloves. I couldn’t taste the tea either. So I took a COVID test and yup, that’s what it was.
It kinda continued as this wave of feeling alright in the morning but then after I get up and going, I’m quickly exhausted. And now my head kills again. I didn’t even make it to 6pm.
As bad as it’s been, I am so grateful that I have it this easy. I have a boss who actually cares about me and an employer that allows me the time I need to take care of myself. That I have discretionary time off, so I don’t have to worry about whether I'm going to be able to afford to take time off to care for myself. That my child is a teenager and can care for himself. That I have a loving and kind spouse who has cared for me in the ways I’ve been unable to. We have two bathrooms and so many comfortable places to sleep, so it’s not a real bother to anybody else that I have to isolate. I remember when I was a single mom with a toddler working part time for shit pay with zero paid time off living in a studio. COVID is an entirely different story in those situations. It upends entire lives. I can see how getting COVID could lead to homelessness, because I’ve been in that situation.
I hear of employers that require you to go back to work as soon as you have a negative test result, or even only after 5 days! And what about people who have run out of the legally obligated sick pay? The COVID extended sick time is no longer a thing, even though COVID clearly is. The reasoning behind ending that was that people should get vaccinated so that they don’t get sick. Most people I know are vaccinated, and plenty have gotten it and had it last 10+ days.
Beyond the shitty employers, fellow shitty humans piss me off even more. For example, we have a big event at work coming up in February and the entire company is invited to visit the SF HQ for the week. One person posted on the Slack channel about a notice that popped up while they were booking their flight that said that people need to be vaccinated and/or have a negative test. This person was not happy about that. Like, WTF!?!?! The test is so easy and you can get them shipped to you for free. And you’ll be potentially saving people’s lives by making sure you aren’t sick before you travel and spread that shit. But you just can’t be bothered with concern for others, huh? Fuck outta here with that shit.
My mom and brother have become those kinds of people. I remember talking on the phone with my mom shortly after she moved in with my brother in AZ and she was like “Did you hear they are going to require children to be vaccinated to go to school?? That’s ridiculous!!” to which I reminded her about when the Hep A vaccine came out and they literally lined all all of us up and gave us all the shots in the multi purpose room during school. She was super down for that. Because -DUH- science is awesome and saves lives.