It Caught Us

The audience information that was emailed to us with our Broadway tickets said that masks were optional but encouraged. I chose to wear one. I'm really thankful I did. Remember I said that Shari, Bryan's mom, stayed home from the show on Wednesday because she wasn't feeling well? On Thursday morning her throat hurt so much she thought she had strep throat. Ron, Bryan's dad, took her to urgent care to check and within a short time we had an answer: COVID.

As soon as Bryan shared that news with me I walked upstairs and took a test since I had started coughing the evening before. Guess who else got a positive result?

Bryan and Topher both took tests as well since we'd all been sleeping in the same room. They were both negative. Bryan's dad also had a negative result, but he had symptoms so he decided to isolate anyway. Both Ron and Shari kept to Topher's room, which we had converted to a guest room. I stayed in my room. That left Bryan sleeping on the couch and running the house.

Looking at the timeline, there's no way that Shari got me sick, it was just a crazy coincidence that she and I got it at the same time from different places. We were glad that they were staying with us while they recuperated instead of being stuck in a hotel.

I was congested, but not horribly so. I probably wouldn't have thought to take a test if Shari hadn't tested positive, mostly because I've tested negative so many times with worse symptoms. I did have that cough though. I kept telling myself it wasn't that bad until I realized all the muscles on the left side of my core hurt whenever I moved. It was from coughing so hard. My other two main symptoms were exhaustion and dizziness. I would lie in bed while it felt like the room was spinning around me. And I was so tired that just sitting up in bed took more energy than I had. I kept thinking, "Has my head always been this heavy?"

I called my doctor the day I took the test, but I didn't hear anything back until Friday. She called back and we had a phone visit. She said that because I have asthma I qualified for a prescription of Paxlovid. Both Bryan's parents had gotten it from urgent care and said that it was helping. I said yes and Bryan picked up the medicine that evening. I had to take all three of these pills twice a day for five days. I do think they helped, though they gave me a really horrible taste in my mouth the whole time I was taking them. That's actually how I remembered to take them, the awful taste would go away and I would know it was time for another dose.

On Saturday morning I woke up to Bryan coming out of our bathroom, a new test in his hand. He had just tested positive as well. That meant that all of the adults were now in isolation and the kids were in charge. We did have to make quick trips downstairs for food and my one request was that they not "go all Lord of the Flies." Topher went a little nuts from too much TV and not enough grownup intervention, but they all survived. The bright side? Bryan and I got to ring in the New Year together.

Ron and Shari came out of isolation on Sunday, which meant they were able to watch church with the kids while Bryan and I watched upstairs in our room. They also did a lot to help restore order to the chaos that was creeping in downstairs. My last day of isolation was Sunday. I still need to wear a mask if I'm around other people (so anytime I'm outside my room) until Friday. Bryan's parents were well enough that they flew home on Monday afternoon, a necessary change from their original itinerary that would have had them leave last Friday morning. Today will be Bryan's first day out of isolation.

I tried to get right back into the business of my regular responsibilities on Monday, but my body was not on board. I drove Ron and Shari to the airport, a thirty-five minute roundtrip and had to take a nap when I got home because I was so worn out. I wanted to put away the Christmas decorations (they're usually all put back in the basement in time for us  to ring in the new year), but it took me three days to pack it up. The tree is up, now only dressed in lights. I'm still really tired, but I do feel like I'm improving. Bryan has had a worse case than I had. I don't think I ran a fever at all, Bryan has been running them on and off for days. Yesterday he finally started to perk up, though he's also completely exhausted. His doctor gave him a note that said he couldn't work until today. I don't think Bryan would have had the energy to sit up at his computer long enough to do his job.

All the kids have taken tests throughout the week. So far, they've all been negative.