I ended up texting my lad’s wife. She texted back saying my guy felt about the same and was relaxing. I hope that’s it. I don’t know what they would think if I had an oximeter sent to him. He likes being very independent.
@greenwitch I’m glad your D is getting better. Like you I just want it to be done with full recovery. It’s the relapse that seems to be super scary if I’m understanding the progression correctly, esp among the younger folks.
My D likes my oximeter (I have 4 of them because my O2 rates are known to fluctuate in any given day). D likes to use it for a quick check on her pulse rate. They are pretty inexpensive and available.able at most pharmacies and on line for $20-$100. They’re nice tools to have and very small, usually run on AAA batteries.
My friend’s BIL is on day 24 (i think) in ICU. They tried to turn down the vent to test to see if he could breathe on his own. He failed the test 
@jym626 sorry to say that that’s not a good sign.
What You Should Know Before You Need a Ventilator
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/opinion/coronavirus-ventilators.html
Oh yes, I know that. Its painfully sad, and the likelihood that he, at 70 (he had his birthday while in ICU), on day 24 (if not more) in the ICU, is not currently responsive (I don’t believe), still has a fever, had some wacky bilirubin levels and cannot likely be weaned off the vent… well… The family is trying to remain positive in their post on the CaringBridge updates.
I ordered a pulse oximeter today from Amazon – will arrive Sunday. $49.99 – not the cheapest, but quick delivery was more important.
@scout59, @jym626 and others with loved ones or friends suffering from the effects of this horrible virus, I’m so very sorry. This thread fills me with sadness.
Yes, this thread is so very sad. @scout59 , @Creekland and others, my thoughts are with all of of you who are grieving and/or worrying for loved ones.
@scout59 - so sorry for the loss of your friend.
@Creekland - it is hard to be separated as we navigate illness and ambiguity. Best to your family and your son. @jym626 , sorry the news isn’t more encouraging.
Thinking of everyone facing illness now.
Lucky here so far. Husband tested positive at start of the week. He’s upper-mid 50s, lean, no aggravating conditions. Has experienced no fever, some chest discomfort/pressure, some coughing, fatigue. His symptoms plus mainly his work in a medical setting warranted a test. He was at a drive-through sampling setup fifteen minutes after getting off the phone with our provider’s office.
He’s been well enough to put in a full workweek from home. Wiped out at the end of the day. Seems progressively better. A physician who introduced himself as working triage at our local hospital called this morning with the results. Says husband is clear to go back to work on Monday. Symptom onset was late Saturday 4 April, so it’s Day 6 or 7 now. I’ll be watching like a hawk to make sure he doesn’t take a turn, but again we’re very lucky so far.
I haven’t been tested. Am being advised to self-quarantine at home for 14 days. My plan was to spend the entire month staying home anyway. Very occasional cough, throat and nasal irritation, fatigue, mild GI discomfort.
Someone here (thank you!) posted a quote from a friend who advised, among other things, water intake of three liters a day. The minute my husband started feeling off I got a one-liter reusable, filled it with water, and stuck three rubber bands around it. You finish it? You get to take off a rubber band and fill it up again. Keep going until you’re out of rubber bands. He’s been hitting the quota without fail all week. I am not sure if that means I’m scarier than covid-19.
I’ll follow up with how things play out. Many many thanks to everyone who’s shared experiences and information. So, so helpful. Best wishes to all.
My lad texted this morning to say yesterday (a day I didn’t hear from him) was worse, but today seems better. He also added that the kids (other dude’s kids) are better. This goes along with kids usually getting over it easily. I’m hoping today being “better” for my guy means he’s getting over it.
I’m not surprised that he didn’t respond to me when it was worse. He probably inherited that trait from me. It’s why I get a bit more worried when I don’t hear from him. I reminded him to call someone if it gets worse again to see about getting a test if he can, and that mom/dad can assist with medical bills since he doesn’t have insurance (dropped it when he took his new job last Nov and found the exchange to be too costly).
This all assumes he has it, of course. I’m also hoping they get an antibody test available to the public before too long so he/we will know for sure. Until then, without a test one doesn’t know. In areas where they are testing most tests are still negative, not positive, even when they are just testing people with symptoms. I think it’s a fallacy to believe oodles of people out there have already had it without seeing the results of antibody tests.
My elderly parents’ retirement community now has 3 cases among residents and 9 among employees. Very scary. Everyone is sheltering in place, no outdoor visitors are allowed, and they’re delivering food to the doors of residents, but if the virus is circulating among those doing the drop-offs it would be very easy to infect additional people. My parents are in their late 80’s and have multiple health issues. They’ve already acknowledged that if they get this they’re likely goners.
Our newspaper indicated our food pantry normally spends about $35,000/month on food. So far they’ve spent over $650,000 on food in the past 4 weeks with no end in sight with 1/4 of our state currently unemployed due to COVID-19!
Just found out a former neighbor died of it. We’d lost touch, but were very close when kids were growing up together. Very sad about that.
For the food pantry, instead of using their website and providing them my CCard, email and phone, I mailed them a check to their snail mail address, so hopefully I won’t received continuous solicitations from them. I really hate countless phone calls & emails.
This way (paying by check), there’s no processing fee assessed by a CCard company so hopefully more of the donation will go toward food for our hungry in our state.
@Creekland I can certainly understand your son’s delay in responding / contacting you. I’m walking the fine line updating our adult out-of-state kids about my husband. Don’t want to stress them but don’t want to keep anything from them. Around once a day works for us, whether any changes or not. Since we’re off and on together through most days (“hey, look what I made with frozen chopped celery!”), that usually includes a recap at the end of the day. Any marked worsening, I’d have to tell them as soon as it was apparent.
Best wishes for his improvement.
I had noticed on Facebook a few weeks ago that a college friend of mine lost her dad. I remember thinking how sad it would be to not be able to hold proper services. In yesterday’s Hartford Courant the dad (and his wife) were featured in an article. Both had been admitted to the hospital with Covid; she went home, he did not. They never saw each other after being admitted. It’s unknown how they picked it up. Heartbreaking.
I saw that article.
Update to my posts #69 and #86: a friend’s wife (she is a healthcare worker who was intubated) is at home but still testing positive.
Just making a final update. No new news on my son (hopefully that’s good), but I’m not going to be getting on this site anymore for at least quite a while.
There’s no draw college-wise with my lads post graduation and high schoolers won’t be asking college questions from me for some time either. There’s a slight possibility I’ll check on the pre-med site as my lad heads toward residency, but that’s all I could realistically see in the future.
In all honesty, it was being on the beach with lots of time in Feb that had me looking at it again (curiosity), then the draw from the Covid threads that kept me here.
Wishing everyone the best as they tackle the future. If anyone were to want my personal email, send me a pm. I’ll try to check that for a day or two - just in case.