COVID-19 Pandemic

3.24.20

My how quickly the world can change in 2 weeks. The US and the rest of the world is currently trying to fight the spread of this new coronavirus that originated from the Wuhan province of China. It's been in the news since December but now it dominates every type of media and is slowly bringing the world to a stand still. The world is in the midst of trying to find a balance of stopping the spread and saving lives but also preventing a complete economic collapse. I suspect that within the next 2 weeks, this country will be on lockdown. It's hard to stick to the facts because each news outlet has their own agenda and a tendency to sensationalize a lot of topics but this is a big deal and I'm afraid it's not being taken seriously enough by those who can do something about it. Obviously, the current course of events are being politicized by both sides but we really need a united front to move forward and beat this, rather than finger pointing and blame. There will be plenty of time during the aftermath to do that. Also, social media is out of control...

So what is my current status? I am quarantined until Saturday the 28th. I arrived to work on Tuesday the 17th (St. Patricks Day) only to be pulled into my boss' office so he could let me know a patient that came through the lab on Wednesday the 11th (when I was in charge) ended up testing positive for the virus. I had had a cold since the day of Simone's bday party (the 8th) and was still coughing so it was determined that based on my cold and my brief presence in the room when that patient landed, that I should go home to self-isolate until further notice. With that original track, I should have been off quarantine tomorrow but now (see above), it's been extended as of last night because it was discovered that I had face to face contact with Jimmy on the 13th who ended up getting COVID19 that weekend. Prior to this development, I had been cleared by Occ Med early due to a staffing need and went back to work yesterday.  Good thing I wore the one mask all day. We only did 3 patients...unheard of on a regular week day. This is all so uncertain and eerie. So now I'm back to last week's schedule and will just pretend this is the real vacation that I had planned for this week to begin with. I have plenty to keep busy and I'm loving this time at home with Xander although I'm super bummed I had to halt work on my bathroom and reschedule my derm procedure to have the freakin BCC taken off my forehead. Had to be responsible and contact those I had been in contact with over the weekend while I was unaware of my "exposure"...my yoga studio, my electrolysis lady, Ashley.  I'd also love to be able to grab things at the store but who knows if anything will be left? Ok, I'm exaggerating a little but really, when I went to the grocery store last (2 Sundays ago), there were a lot of things gone. Meat supply was low and there was no TP to be found. Also, antiviral cleaning supplies are scarce. I actually gave away some things last week...expired antibacterial hand wipes and a can of lysol. Also sold some hand sanitizer from Bath and Body Works. I have had many offers to deliver things so it's all good. I may have to utilize the offers because I can't go until Saturday without whipped cream. Some fresh fruits and veggies would be nice, also.

So here's what my quarantine has looked like:
Wed. the 11th: Charge at work, helped land cath lab alert from Springfield, super tired from STEMI the previous night but didn't want to go home too early because work had started on my bathroom (old tub ripped out).
Thurs.: Regular work day, went home to work out rather than go to Margarita's for Friedy's welcome back.
Fri.: Super tired and cranky because I slept poorly. Was a good day with JJ and I got to leave work a little early to pick up Xander at Dayna's. He spent the week there so I didn't have to worry about him while bathroom work in progress.
Sat.: Barre, Newbury, swung through Newport on my way home to grab a grinder for dinner...Brian Coronis recognized me. Went to Ashley's Saturday night to hang out and provide support as they were dealing with what MB had done to Adam (that's a whole other shit storm). Basically, some coworkers made complaints that were not true, HR got involved, and Adam was demoted 2 positions with a big paycut, all transpiring in less than a week.
Sun.: Grocery shopping, made a batch of chili with plant-based "ground" because my ground turkey was no where to be found.
Mon.:Work continues on my bathroom, I replaced my regular smoke detectors (hopefully I'm negative because the guy at Home Depot who helped me was close to my face), and I went for a run which was difficult because of my cold.
Tues.: Got home (should have swung by Lucky's), notified people I had been in contact with, took a nap.
Wed.: Played phone tag with Occ Med, went for a long walk while remaining distant.
Thurs.: Replaced curtain rods in living room, spare bedroom, and hung a curtain in my bathroom.
Fri.: Made scones, washed all my bedding, went for a run.
Sat.: Deep cleaned kitchen, worked out in basement.
Sun.: Deep cleaned living room, ordered Lui Luis for dinner and they delivered :)
Mon.: Work, re-quaratined.
Tues. (today): Shovelled remaining snow in my driveway, explored trails near Mink Brook in Hanover on my show shoes.

On a positive note: I started birth control last month and my period last week was a lot better. Glorious.

3.25.20

Picking up where I left off last night...also my last entry when things were "status quo". I was supposed to show up for PPE training at 10 today but when I signed up on Monday, I didn't think I was going to be placed under quarantine again. Oh well. My plan for today includes finishing this, cleaning my bedroom and some type of workout...either a remote yoga class or the ol' elliptical. Dayna dropped off some essentials (i.e. whipped cream) today and I am forever grateful.

I had a normal 2 weeks prior to all this shit happening. The weekend that followed my last entry, I was on call Friday and Saturday. It was super annoying because I was in charge Friday and was made aware of a STEMI that was coming from the north country but the ETA was dependent on transportation by ground because DHART wasn't flying. I ended up going home to eat dinner and take a shower. Once the page finally went out, I took my sweet time going back in. By the time I punched in again, the patient still hadn't left so we decided to nap. The patient didn't land until close to midnight so I didn't go back to bed until about 230. We did a couple of cases Saturday including a STEMI that landed but then we sent to the unit because she was in respiratory distress then a floor patient. When we were done, I ran in prehab then went home and stayed there for the night. On Sunday, PA Crain and I hung out at Dayna's house for a little bit then I did my grocery shopping before calling it a day. Monday, I meal prepped, got the spot on my forehead biopsied (ended up coming back as BCC that Friday), and went for a run.

The following weekend, I went to Barre Saturday morning, did stuffies and my grocery shopping. Sunday was Simone's birthday party. We hung out, drank margaritas and wine and ate pizza and ice cream cake. My mom also explained to me why Ray was no longer living with her. I stopped by Ashley's around dinner time to buy raffle tickets for a Maple Ave. fundraiser. Monday, I headed back to Ctown to get my taxes done, signed paperwork to refinance my house (now I have a fixed 10 year loan at 2.99%), and went for a shortened run because my motivation was lacking.

I'm not sure if I'll wait a month before writing again...I may write more often as events unfold in the world and my area in the days/weeks to come. I love being confined to home (I was made for this) but this is so surreal. Until next time...wash your hands and stay safe y'all. #socialdistancing