Our Week - The One with Covid and Jacob’s Golf City Championship

Well, I had a good run, y’all, but after 2.5 years of miraculously avoiding Covid, it finally found me last week.  Boooo.  I guess I’m not one of those “Super Dodgers” after all.  :o(  I have to say, I’m kinda relieved that I’ve finally had it so I know how my body handles it, and now I’m hoping that means that I won’t have to worry about getting it during the holiday season and ruining Thanksgiving or Christmas. 

Always find the silver lining, right?! 

Well, are y’all ready for a very detailed account of a week with Covid?  Lol.  Y’all know I’m a details girl, so get ready for a long post even though I barely did anything last week.

Monday, October 10

Monday was the kids’ first day back at school after fall break and I was feeling pumped and ready to tackle all the things after being on vacation for five days.  After I dropped them off, I headed to the dentist, and then I swung by Publix to pick up some essentials for the week.  The rest of the day was spent doing tons of laundry and working on blog stuff.

After school, Olivia had dance and Jacob had piano lessons, and then we all had dinner together at home.  After dinner, I ran two miles and did an arms workout, and I was feeling fantastic. 

Well, about one hour after finishing my workout, that’s when things went sour.  All of a sudden, around 9 PM, my throat started feeling scratchy/mildly sore and then things went downhill from there for the rest of the night.  I ended up having a ton of drainage in my throat while I was trying to sleep, and I felt short of breath which was weird since I was just laying there.  I also just felt “off” in general all night.  I ended up laying there wide awake until 3 AM, and then I finally fell asleep for a couple of hours before it was time to get up.

Tuesday, October 11

When I got up Tuesday morning I was definitely feeling “off”, so I decided I should probably take a Covid test.  One of the people we were with at our tailgate on Saturday tested positive the morning after we were with them, so I knew we had possibly been exposed, and sure enough, the positive line popped up immediately and it was DARK.  Sigh.

We tested both kids even though they had no symptoms, and they were both negative, so Brian got them off to school, and I stayed home all day.  

I didn’t feel terrible for the first few hours – I was mostly just jittery – so I got some work done in my office, but mid-morning, my heart started racing and my breathing got shallow and rapid and that was very unsettling.

After lunch, I felt tired since I hadn’t slept the night before, so I tried to take a nap on the couch, but every time I would start to doze off, I would wake up gasping for air… it was like my lungs stopped working every time I went to sleep.  My resting heart rate was also hanging out around 100-110 so that was miserable.  My resting heart rate is usually in the 60-70 range, so that was almost double my normal resting heart rate.

I gave up on the nap after about 30 minutes and since my breathing and heart rate hadn’t improved, I decided I should probably go to acute care.  My oximeter at home said that my oxygen level was 95, so I wanted to get my lungs checked out to make sure I didn’t have fluid in them.

At the acute care place, the doctor told me that they haven’t seen any Covid patients lately at all, but that flu was everywhere (they’d had 48 positive flu cases the previous day alone), so he told me he thought there was a good chance it could be flu. 

While we waited on the test results, the doc listened to my lungs, and while he said there wasn’t any fluid in them, he could hear me wheezing, so he told me I needed to start using my rescue inhaler regularly.

Crazily enough, when the test results came back, I was negative for Covid and flu! WHAT?!

I told the doctor about how my at-home test had turned positive so quickly and I showed him a picture of how dark the line was.  And I also told him how I’d been exposed on Saturday.  He said based on all of that evidence it was highly likely that I did have Covid and that the test he’d given me was likely a false negative.

Because of all that evidence, he decided to treat me for Covid, so he prescribed Paxlovid (the Covid medicine) as well as some cough medicine in case I needed it. 

I was totally stumped about the negative test at acute care, so when I got home, I decided to take another at-home test to be sure that it was positive.  I surely didn’t want to start taking that Covid medicine if it wasn’t actually Covid!  I used a different brand than the one I had used earlier that morning, and sure enough, the positive line came up immediately and it was super dark just like the other one.  Definitely Covid.  No questions about it.

When I got home, B and the kids had just gotten home from school, and then B got Olivia off to dance and picked up my prescriptions.  While they were gone, I decided to cook since I’d already pulled meat out of the freezer, but cooking completely wore me out.  My breathing was still rapid and shallow, and my heart was pounding out of my chest, so it probably wasn’t the best idea.  I also started having body aches all over, so that wasn’t fun either. 

And if you were wondering, I wore a mask while I cooked and I washed my hands about 84 million times to ensure that I wasn’t getting any germs in the food.  Haha. 

After dinner, I rested while B did all the things – cleaning up after dinner, making lunches for the next day, filling the kids’ thermoses, etc. and then we all watched an episode of Nailed It together while all wearing our masks.  Sigh.  At this point, we’ve all had Covid, Brian most recently, but it’s been eight months since the kids have had it, so I know they’re probably susceptible to getting it again at this point.  Who knows, though!

After the kids went to bed, B and I watched an episode of Vampire Diaries, and then he slept downstairs on the pull-out couch while I slept in our bed.

I had a terrible night Tuesday night.  I was exhausted, but every time I would start to fall asleep, my body would jolt awake, and I would gasp for air.  My lungs felt like they were working hard, but it didn’t feel like they were actually moving the air in and out properly, if that makes sense.  My oxygen measured at 94, 95, 98, and 91 as I took it throughout the evening, although, I’m not sure how accurate our oximeter is.  91 is technically emergency room territory, but I took it with a grain of salt because I really wasn’t struggling that badly.

Sometime after midnight, my Paxlovid kicked in (I could tell because it causes you to have a horrible bitter taste in your mouth), and around that time, my breathing also regulated.  I finally fell asleep after that, but I woke up every 15 minutes around the clock and every time I woke up, I was moaning out loud.  It was so weird.

Wednesday, October 12

Wednesday morning, I woke up at 6 with full-on body aches, a low-grade fever (99.7), and a sore throat, and I pulled myself out of bed around 6:30 because I needed medicine.  I made myself some breakfast to get something in my stomach, and then I took round two of Paxlovid and some Ibuprofen.  Once that Ibuprofen kicked in, I felt pretty good!  Just tired.

B got the kids off to school again, and I lay on the couch for an hour, but once my meds kicked in, I was able to go in my office and get some work done for a few hours. 

Just before lunchtime, I started feeling exhausted, so I lay on the couch for a while watching How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and then I ate some lunch.  After lunch, I lay back down on the couch, and I ended up getting in an hour-long nap that was REAL SLEEP for the first time in two days and it was glorious!!  It was super stormy all day long which was SO NICE because we hadn’t had rain in weeks prior to that.  I’m hoping I can finally get some relief from my allergies now!  Although, those are the least of my worries right now.  Haha.

After my nap, I showered for the day and got some more work done in my office and then I rested some more until B and the kids got home.  Olivia had a checkup with her ENT doctor for her thyroid right after school, and unfortunately, the nodule on her thyroid has grown significantly again these last three months so the doctor wants to do another needle biopsy to drain it.  She’ll have to go under anesthesia again, so we are bummed about that. 

While they were there, Brian also had the doc check her ear because she complains about it so much during the summer when she swims, and sure enough, he said that she still has a small hole in her eardrum that never closed up after she had her tubes in her ears, and she is going to have to have surgery for that, too.  Sigh. 

Fortunately, the doc said he’ll do both of the surgeries at the same time, so she’ll only have to be put to sleep once.  Her surgery is scheduled for mid-November, so please say some prayers that everything goes well.

Since I couldn’t cook dinner Wednesday night, B and the kids picked up Chipotle on the way home, and they ate that while I stuck to chicken noodle soup and buttered toast.  The Paxlovid didn’t sit well in my stomach at all for the entire five days that I had to take it, so I didn’t have much of an appetite for anything. 

After dinner, the kids did homework and played for a bit, and I worked on my Friends puzzle for a while.  After they were ready for bed, we watched an episode of Nailed It, and then B and I watched Vampire Diaries after they went to bed.

Wednesday night, I finally slept pretty well, which was fantastic after barely sleeping Monday and Tuesday night.

 

Thursday, October 13

I got out of bed around 7:15 Thursday morning because everything ached, and I needed medicine.  I ate a quick breakfast, took all of my meds, and then passed out on the couch for another hour.  By the time I woke up around 9, my Ibuprofen had kicked in and I felt pretty good. 

I hung out in my office the rest of the morning and early afternoon and then I got showered and headed downstairs to lay on the couch and wait for B and the kids to get home from school.  My shortness of breath came back mid-afternoon which freaked me out a little bit, but it went away when I used my rescue inhaler.  That has definitely been the hardest part of all of this.  I can handle the other symptoms, but the breathing issues aren’t fun at all.

Jacob had his last golf match of the regular season on Thursday afternoon, so he and Brian headed out shortly after getting home from school, and Olivia stayed home with me.  We’d tried to convince her to go with the boys because I knew I couldn’t be around her too much and she’s not good at entertaining herself.  She’s always stuck to someone like glue, and that someone is usually Jacob.  But since he was gone, I didn’t want her to try to spend too much time with me, obviously, since I was sick.

Thankfully, she played independently the whole time they were gone.  She drew for a while, and then she dressed up in her Halloween costume, and she told me/asked me about 84 million things from across the room – haha – but I was grateful that she was pretty independent for the most part.

Jacob ended up shooting a 46, which tied his previous best score.  He had two bogeys and seven double bogeys/maxes.  He had a chance at par and two other bogeys, but he missed some of the putts.  Brian said it was definitely his best round yet, though!  

After they got home, my mother-in-law stopped by to bring us dinner.  She made some chicken and rice with broccoli and garlic cheesy bread, and she also brought an apple dessert.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have much of an appetite all week since the Paxlovid upset my stomach, so I didn’t get to enjoy any of the dessert, but the chicken and rice and bread was really good.

Right after she left, my Momma and Daddy also came by to drop off some potato soup that we could eat on Friday.  So grateful for our village who keeps us fed when I’m not able to cook!  Poor Brian has been carting the kids to and from school, getting them to all of their activities and appointments, and holding down the fort at home – all while working his full-time job.  Sheesh.

After dinner, the kids finished homework/played/showered/read, and I worked on my puzzle for a bit since I was feeling good enough.  We all watched an episode of Nailed It followed by Vampire Diaries for B and me, and then I went to bed.  And I slept amazingly for 9.5 hours, only waking up 3 times to cough.  I was so grateful that I never had much of a cough the whole time I had Covid.  Typically, when I get sick, I always end up having a horrendous cough that keeps me up night after night and it usually ends up lasting for weeks.  I thought it was so weird that I didn’t have that issue with Covid. 

 

Friday, October 14

Friday morning was the first morning that I didn’t wake up at 6 feeling like I had been hit by a truck, so I ended up sleeping until 8.  After breakfast and meds, I headed to my office to work for a bit, and then rested on the couch until the kids got home from school.  I didn't have many symptoms at all on Friday... I mostly just had a sore throat and some very mild body aches.  I even felt good enough in the afternoon to get up and get some housework done.

Jacob had golf practice after school, so B took him to that, and Olivia kept me company.  The boys brought home Five Guys for dinner, and then the rest of the evening was spent working on the puzzle, watching Amazing Race and Nailed It, and then watching Vampire Diaries with B.

 

Saturday, October 15

Saturday morning, Jacob had his city championship and trophy presentation, so he and Brian headed out bright and early.  I was so sad that I had to miss it, but what can ya do? 

I woke up Saturday morning feeling really great and the only symptom that was lingering was a mildly irritated throat.  Since I was feeling so good, I decided to test just to see where I was, and unfortunately, I was still positive.  This time instead of being positive immediately and the line being super dark, though, the line took five full minutes to come up and it was pretty faint.  Definitely an improvement!

Olivia and I had breakfast and watched ESPN College GameDay all morning while the boys were gone, and then we all had lunch together when they got back.  Jacob hadn’t played his best as he was nervous for the first few holes, and he ended up with the max score of 48.  His school came in second place overall for the season, and Jacob was awarded the “Living the Values” award for good sportsmanship.  This was the first sport he's played where every kid didn’t get a trophy, so this award was extra special. 

After lunch, the kids put together their haunted gingerbread houses.  We didn’t realize it at the time we bought it, but the one Olivia picked out required us to crush hard candies and melt them in the oven to form the windows and doors.  Won’t be doing that again!  Lol.

By the time those were done, it was time to watch the Georgia game and the Alabama vs. Tennessee game.  B and I were just as excited about the Bama / Tennessee game as we were our own.  Haha.  We tried flipping back and forth between the two for the first few minutes, and then we just decided to pull out the other TV and get it all set up so we could watch both at the same time. 

Tell me you love college football without telling me you love college football…

Hahahaha.

We had pizza delivered for dinner since we couldn’t leave the games, and then Jacob and Olivia played outside until dark while Brian and I watched the ends of the games.  Maui always knows when we don't leave the house on Saturday afternoon that we're going to have takeout delivered, so she parked herself like this around 5 because she knew somebody would be coming to the door.

We ended up whooping Vandy as expected, and Tennessee ended up beating Bama for the first time in 15 years in a crazy nail biter of a game.  We were all on the edge of our seats and we’re neither Bama fans nor Tennessee fans.  Haha.

After the game, we watched a couple of episodes of Nailed It with the kids, a Vampire Diaries, and then more football.

 

Sunday, October 16

Sunday morning, we had donuts for breakfast that Brian and Jacob had picked up Saturday after golf, and then we watched two episodes of Nailed It.

I decided to test again Sunday morning after breakfast, and I thought I was in the clear until the last five minutes when the faintest of faint lines popped up??  It was so hard to tell that I had to call B up to look at the test with me, and he confirmed that he thought he saw a line, too.  Boooo.

 

I spent the morning getting organized for the week ahead and then Brian headed off to tennis while the kids and I had lunch and got ready for the day.  Since I was still possibly contagious, I locked myself away in my office for the remainder of the afternoon watching How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days and Wedding Crashers while I got some blog work done, and the kids entertained themselves.  I love their ages so much right now… it’s so nice that they can entertain themselves now! 

We made breakfast for dinner, and then after dinner we went for a walk on the trail in our neighborhood.  The kids played on the playground until it was almost dark.  That was the first time I’d set foot out of the house since Monday night, so it was reeeeally nice to get out and get some fresh air.  We finally took a picture of Jacob with his Student of the Month yard sign, too!  He got Student of the Month for October for sixth grade... this is his third year in a row to receive this honor!

When we got home, it was two more episodes of Nailed It with the kids, and then I headed to bed early while B stayed up to watch House of the Dragon.

And that was my week with Covid.

Happy Tuesday, y’all!