Luckily we haven’t been hit in our immediate family but we know so many people affected. A friend was among the first wave to be hit in Italy. They were spending the year there so didn’t have a network to rely on. The husband had to move to a hotel with the kids to avoid cross-infection. She has since recovered fully.
We were supposed to attend a good friend’s 50th birthday party in Mexico (dual resident of Mexico and our New England town) on March 15th but backed out. Many other people didn’t and the huge party went on as planned. The birthday boy now has the virus and describes himself as being like a rag. I have no idea how many people were infected but since it was a multi-day party I can’t imagine the news will be good. Some of the attendees have since returned to the States.
Almost everyone I know is a degree or two from someone who has the virus. A resident of my parents’ assisted living, Biogen conference attendees, travelers to Italy, people whose infection source is a mystery. I’m just hoping that a month from now we won’t be recounting a list of virtual memorials.
So sorry to hear about close family members with COVID 19. I posted earlier about my daughter who does research in a lab in major hospital in Houston. Last night we had a Zoom family meeting as a way to connect. BTW I highly encourage families to use it. My daughter basically said it’s only a matter of time that someone in her lab gets COVID 19. Crossing my fingers she’s wrong.
Just found out my daughter’s workplace, a health care setting, is testing two patients on their ward, as well as the nursing staff with direct care responsibility for the patients. Daughter is freaked out, as they all work closely together.
@jym626 saying a prayer for your loved ones.
We got the message on Saturday that a family member has Covid19 and is hospitalized and on a ventilator. Older relative who had been living in a retirement home. His kids are keeping us posted. We spent Passover with this family every year when my children were growing up and it makes it much more real to my kids. Reminded us all why social distancing and staying home is so important.
@mom60 - just finished my telework today and was trying to wade though the volumes of posts on the other COVID threads, and saw that your family member didn’t survive. So very sorry to hear that.
MY ds#2 is volunteering 2 days/week at a drive up testing site and THEY HAVE NO MASKS. This scares the cr*p put of me!
DH’s company has at least one positive case in the local (now closed) office. @Nhatrang posted elsewhere that several are also positive in their company, with 4 in critical condition. Please stay safe and stay home, folks.
There is a delicate discussion/debate occurring on one of my professional listservs. While my profession is considered “essential”, much of it can, currently, be done remotely. It is the right thing to do. But one provider seems to think that he should continue to see several of his clients face to face including those who have reportedly recovered from COVID-19 b/c they feel shunned by coworkers. Several colleagues brought up the “n of 1” examples to give personal reasons why he should consider modeling healthy behaviors, and perhaps an alternative approach is to help clients learn to cope with current feelings or isolation and anxiety. Research has shown that anxiety tends to rise proportionally to how much you try to resist it, or, as Jung said, “what you resist, persists”.
We are losing friends, relatives and coworkers. Our cc family here has seen members struggle with COVID-19. PLEASE, stay home and stay safe. And condolences to others (like our family) who have lost family members to this disease.
I wish I had a 2,000 mile rubber arm so I could (gently) smack my kid upside her head.
In my opinion, she needs to go to the doctor. She had the virus and has been back at work for about 1.5 weeks. We knew she had “bruised” feeling lungs when she exerts herself but hoped that this would slowly abate.
Last night on FaceTime she casually mentioned that she tried to run ten strides to pick up an item they needed in a hurry. That was enough to briefly put her out of action! That is not a particularly big exertion for someone who is used to lugging scuba air tanks up a hill.
Maybe it is wishful thinking on my part that a doctor listening to her lungs would be able to tell if she has slight pneumonia or whatever.
@“Snowball City”, from what I hear it can take a long time to recover from this virus, similar to the way it can take weeks or even months to recover from pneumonia or a bad case of bronchitis. She may just have to be patient and baby her lungs for awhile.
I just read something this am, Snowball city about the length of time it takes to recover. Based on SARS data, the projected pulmonary effects can take a year, but those patients show no deficits after that time. Sorry, I know this is slower than hoped for, and difficult for the young and otherwise energetic.
@jym626, can’t your D buy or sew a cotton mask? It’s not an N95 respirator but SOME protection. I’m going to try making masks from old tshirts. There are lots of patterns and instructions online, including Joanns (fabric store). One could even hand sew if no sewing machine is available. Online, next door has some sewers who are making masks and offering the up to neighbors in need.
DH is convinced he had it back at the end of February. He had cough, fatigue, sore throat and pinkeye but no fever, He’s got it from a Chinese coworker but the coworker didn’t travel out of the country. DH is still coughing a bit and his chest hurts occasionally. However, I didn’t get sick and none of his other coworkers did, so I believe it was a different kind of virus but who knows. I wish the antibody tests were available.
Its my DS, and he has the sewing skills of of one’s left shoe (ditto for his wife). I am sure he can come up with something (a torn t-shirt, something) but at least this weekend, when he was going to be on his next volunteer shift today and tomorrow, they have him doing a different volunteer task that he is a good fit for, which fortunately is online work. So he is not on site this weekend.
I have an amazing respect for the healthcare folks who are directly working with these patients and who are exposed to the patients and other workers/volunteers. Stay safe everyone.
Update on friend’s BIL: Day 21 in the ICU. Opened his eyes. They hope, HOPE to slowly decrease the oxygen being added to his blood. No idea if/when he’ll be able to be taken off the vent. And there is a high probablility that if he survives, if he had a prologued period of hypoxia he will likely have cognitive deficits.
Moving this over from the what are you observing thread. Two cases hitting close.
First - uncle. He’s been sick for over 2 weeks now and was taken to a hospital in an ambulance the day I gave birth.
He is severely overweight, has sleep apnea, and has had heart and breathing issues. He was told they didn’t have space and sent home with oxygen.
The scary part is he was doing a lot better late last week before he took a significant turn for the worse. Also he’s in Minnesota where the case numbers aren’t even high.
As of last night, he is doing slightly better. Slightly better = not worse and that’s what we’re holding on to.
Second - friend’s family (originally just toddler son, now both children and her husband). Original post:
As an update: her son is now well enough to get up and move around. He is able to get up and move as long as he’s always wearing a mask. That seems… difficult considering he’s barely 2. I’m not entirely sure how they expect that to stay in place long enough to not spread.
My daughter has finally decided that she needs to see a doctor about the residual lung pain. She has a really high pain tolerance so this is a big step for her. And, she fainted this morning before work. (I do not want our first line of assistance to be her cat.) Kid has a strong work ethic and she feels like she isn’t pulling her weight despite the fact that no one wants her to wear herself out.
Her work has broken into two teams that will never be on site on the same days. That way they are hoping to keep one team healthy if someone else comes down sick and is contagious.