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[[COVID-19 THREAD]]
I don’t share my personal life with my followers on this account, but I find it necessary in these times to portray how serious the COVID-19 pandemic is.
A few days ago, my mother tested positive for COVID-19.
I don’t share my personal life with my followers on this account, but I find it necessary in these times to portray how serious the COVID-19 pandemic is.
A few days ago, my mother tested positive for COVID-19.
We’ve fallen into a new routine that I’d like to share. There is a TL;DR, a list of resources, and donation links, but you can continue to read a detailed account of my experience and advice below that.
TL;DR: Take COVID-19 as seriously as you can. Come to emotional terms with the concept of sickness and death, and stay HOME. Don’t minimize it. Have a plan in case someone gets sick. That stuck in limbo feeling you're having? Valid, but prepare regardless.
Resources that continue to help me today:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/steps-when-sick.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/guidance-prevent-spread.html#precautions https://www.reddit.com/r/COVID19_support/
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/steps-when-sick.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/guidance-prevent-spread.html#precautions https://www.reddit.com/r/COVID19_support/
A compiled list of organizations combating the effects of COVID-19 that you can make donations to: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tasneemnashrulla/coronavirus-covid19-organizations-help-food-medical-aid
At this time my online store has been closed. If you'd like to buy me a cup of coffee at this time, I'd appreciate any support. http://www.ko-fi.com/hikazio
Very few people would agree to have their entire lifestyle turned over, especially not one involving an infectious disease. I live in New York. Everyone here had some inkling that the pandemic would reach some critical level, but as humans,
we can’t help but cling to some hope of invulnerability. But an inkling is never enough to soften the shattering blow of reality.
Mom displayed mild allergy like symptoms, but nothing comparable to the information provided by the government to assume she had been infected.
Mom displayed mild allergy like symptoms, but nothing comparable to the information provided by the government to assume she had been infected.
We were lucky that we had access to a testing facility nearby, and out of an increased level of concern we should all be taking, she was tested. 3 days later, we received the results. Positive for COVID-19.
It took a full day to accept this new reality.
But she showed almost no symptoms!
What do we do about our family business?
Has she been in physical contact w/anyone?
Who had passed it onto her, do they know they’re infected?
Am I infected?
But she showed almost no symptoms!
What do we do about our family business?
Has she been in physical contact w/anyone?
Who had passed it onto her, do they know they’re infected?
Am I infected?
Once the waves of disbelief, anger, and anxiety had subsided, we began a new routine. She is quarantined in their room. I provide her with any necessity. Mask, gloves, and slippers are always on when approaching their room. I sanitize surfaces multiple times daily.
If they need to leave their room, I sanitize the areas they’ve walked around. I write down daily changes in symptoms.
And despite the physical labor, this is the easy part. I had always taken a small caretaker role in this home, so it felt familiar.
And despite the physical labor, this is the easy part. I had always taken a small caretaker role in this home, so it felt familiar.
The hard part is listening to her apologize profusely, and telling her it wouldn’t be their fault if I get infected. The hard part is trying to convince her that I’m not trying to cage her, but that it’s imperative that we stay in, for the public good.
The hard part is that I can’t access a thermometer because they’re high in demand. The fastest shipping stated it would arrive Wednesday. Now it’s changed to Friday. I apologize to her for the delay, as knowing their temp would've coaxed their restlessness.
My head turns quickly towards my mom's door with every cough, and I panic when she can’t hear me and fails to respond when I call for them through the door. Thankfully, her symptoms have been consistently mild, but the worry remains.
It is the uncertainty of it all. “Will we have a hospital bed, or a ventilator if it comes down to it?” I wonder, as our medical system sinks further into sand, and those working on the front lines die from an illness the government did not prepare them for.
I worry about my own changes in temperature, try to breathe deeply and relax as I discern whether I have COVID-19, or if I'm having anxiety related symptoms. My mother worries when I clear my throat, and she apologizes again.
Most of all, there is always a seething anger when I read about those who refuse to take this pandemic seriously, because it hasn't affected them in a way that is tangible yet.
I recently read an NYT article about a woman who's husband tested positive for COVID-19, that articulates the dissonant feeling of "living in the future", and looking at those in the "present" who haven't been affected yet by COVID-19 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/magazine/coronavirus-family.html
It's like pounding on a glass window from the outside, trying to tell people that this is REAL. People are sick and DYING. Yet maybe it's the fear of even thinking about death, that people rather not see, and thus minimize the severity of the pandemic.
I'm sharing my experience with you because it is rough, and it is VERY real. I have the "easier" experience because the symptoms are mild, but many are not as lucky. And I hope you can all see that we need to be PREPARED for this.
My advice to you:
1) Have THE TALK with people in your home. Talk about illness, death, talk about who will take care of what.
2) If you live in a high risk location, see about getting a thermometer and cold/flu medication early (buy only ENOUGH leave some for others!)
1) Have THE TALK with people in your home. Talk about illness, death, talk about who will take care of what.
2) If you live in a high risk location, see about getting a thermometer and cold/flu medication early (buy only ENOUGH leave some for others!)
3) Find the nearest testing center near you and bookmark it. Also bookmark your closest hospital/clinic in case of emergency.
4) Make sure you have support. It could be someone who drops off necessities, or just someone to talk to.
4) Make sure you have support. It could be someone who drops off necessities, or just someone to talk to.
5) If you are, or someone you know in your home is an essential worker, it's a difficult talk to have, but you need to talk about sanitizing and distancing in your shared home. I would say the caution we took even before testing allowed me to remain uninfected
6) Stay informed to a degree that you can prepare for what may come, but not so much that it becomes a detriment to your mental health.
7) STAY. HOME. Please, if you're not an essential worker, consider the lives of other people and stay the fuck home.
7) STAY. HOME. Please, if you're not an essential worker, consider the lives of other people and stay the fuck home.
