Covid Trapped, Living In A House Surrounded By Illness
I know this isn’t miles and points or travel related but I figured it was worth sharing my experience dealing with a house full of covid. I am sure it is something people have wondered about, and to be honest, I feel like it will be cathartic to write about it. So here we go.
Back Story
Last week while picking up my kids from school I was informed one of the teachers had gone home earlier in the day because they lost their sense of taste. It was protocol that the class would be out for a few weeks because of it. It was my son’s teacher, so he of course he was ribbing his sister that he got to be home for a few weeks. She pouted, as younger siblings do, until we reminded her that the same thing happened with her class just a few months earlier. I wasn’t too worried about it since the teacher stays pretty far away from the kids and masks are mandated in our county currently.
Things went per usual that evening except for the fact that my daughter wanted to sleep in my son’s bottom bunk bed that evening. My wife passed out in the bed lying with her at bedtime too. So all three ended up spending the majority of the night in the same room. That normally wouldn’t be a problem except for the fact that my daughter woke up the next morning with a 103 degree fever, congestion and a cough. We did an at home test and our suspicions were confirmed, she was covid positive.
If you remember it was my son’s teacher that had tested positive and not my daughter’s. But, my daughter and my son’s teacher had been in the same facility the Friday before visiting another school. So it is likely they were both exposed from the same source, at the same time.
Dealing With Quarantine While Waiting For The Other Shoe To Drop
We put my daughter in quarantine that morning but knew the damage had likely already been done. My wife is vaccinated but had yet to get her booster shot and she was one of the first people to get the vaccine, working in the medical field. So the armor has worn off a bit, although I doubt even two boosters could tackle this situation.
I did my best to give distance to all three of them the next few days, assuming the worst. My wife and son both seemed normal until a few days later when they each woke up with a fever and had congestion etc. We had them take an at home rapid test, which was negative. We decided to go ahead and get a PCR test lined up anyway for the following day, just to be sure.
While we waited for the results my daughter returned pretty much to normal after about two days. My son rebounded even quicker, breaking his fever the first night and being his normal self the following morning.
My wife’s symptoms continued to get a bit worse over the next day or so and then she lost her sense of smell. A few hours later her tests results came back positive and my son’s followed shortly after. All of a sudden I was left as an outsider in my own family. They now could all gather together freely since they were experiencing the same thing, I was / am left on the outside looking in.
The Isolation Is So Strange
The thing I really wanted to write about though is the weird feeling of isolation I am having. I feel like I have lost someone even though they are right there. I can hear my family outside the door right now, talking, laughing and of course coughing.
We aren’t being as diligent as we probably should be, but we live in a small house so there is no real way around it either. I still walk through rooms they are in, I even pop in to say hi to the kids for a second, but there is a feeling of disconnect there. It is a passing moment, like waving to a neighbor as you drive down the street.
I know this will be over soon, but it has an eerie feeling to it. Almost like I am on a trip but I haven’t even left my bedroom. I long for the hugs, snuggles and companionship only a family can offer. Which is only exacerbated by the fact that they are literally feet away but there is nothing I can do about it. I think that makes it worse. It would almost be better if I was in a hotel by myself. Out of sight, out of mind so to speak. Hey, I wonder if the Hyatt down the road has some rooms available…
Final Thoughts
We have been lucky so far that the kids had it about as mild as you can hope for. My wife got hit a bit harder but overall it hasn’t been anything too terrible. It is crazy that I am the last one standing, which is probably best since I am the most at risk with a pre-existing condition.
Even if I manage to get out of this covid trapped house unscathed, the situation was still a bit weird. I have felt the isolation, and a bit of the depression, many of us felt during the early days of the lockdowns. That feeling that everyone was so close but yet so far away. That disconnected from society feeling has returned. This may be a bit worse though. It is like I am on the outside of the house peering in at my own family, like a ghost in my own house. It is a strange sensation, one that I haven’t felt before. Luckily, I shouldn’t have to feel it much longer.
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I just got Covid, my symptoms weren’t too bad and I’m over it now but I’m afraid to fly out of the country so soon if I have to take a negative test to come back. I had to cancel my Dubai trip and booked a trip to San Juan instead. I’ve taken multiple negative tests so far but I just don’t want to risk getting stuck in a foreign country.
I don’t blame you. I would be worried about it too.
Hang in there. Hopefully, your life with your family will return to normal soon.
Thanks Paula
Spike protein gene therapy shot does nothing but compromise your immune system, you still get covid you still spread covid, get ready for 55 booster shots in your lifetime that will do nothing also, that’s not what they’re telling everybody when they get the shot and by the way remember to keep signing a waiver so you can’t sue when something happens down the road
Very interesting prospective. Hope everyone gets well asap. So happy for the vaccines because as a person with pre-existings, this shizz is super scary.
Yeah luckily they have helped keep everything pretty mild 🙂
So basically it was a mild cold for your kids and a little flu for your wife. This is how it is for 97% of people and we existed with colds and the flu for at least 100 years with no shutdowns and all this nonsense. If your kids and wife got sick in 2019, you wouldn’t bat an eye. This really shows how ridiculous things have become. It’s impossible to fix or reason with demented people. Our only hope is to separate ourselves from their influence.
You should go read http://www.sorryantivaxxer.com. 3% (of the us population) is still more than 9 million people. And you don’t even talk about people with long covid or who have conditions like cancer. You just want to make it seem like it’s no big deal. That’s demented to me.
Wishing you all a return to good health soon. Thank gd for the vaccines and science! And thankful for all the medical professionals who are on the front lines of this pandemic. Hang in there. We are pulling for all of you!
Thanks Ronna
Blessings, Mark, and all the Ostermann clan.
The constant uncertainty robs you of your peace of mind, For those of us who have dealt with this unpredictable, unrelenting illness from the beginning that has been so sadly politicized, we understand that when it hits home, it is personal to the extreme.
You all are in our prayers.
It really is a shame that so much of it has become political. That is the world we live in these days though. Thanks as always Doc!
Yikes, hope everything goes back to normal soon.
Thanks Ing
Recover strong we all come out stronger on the other side from bad experiences. Is your wife the only vaccinated person within the household? News is quick to mention all of the Unvaccinated that catch COVID but they love to hide the facts when Vaccinated people catch COVID.
We both are.
Unfortunate that your family is dealing with this but happy to know that this is something that they’re managing well and are on the road to recovery.
I can relate to the feeling of isolation. My wife is an RN and during the beginning of this pandemic when there were so many unknowns, we decided it was best that she have the house and I moved in with her parents for a few months.
With her already dealing with the unknowns of Covid at work, the last thing I wanted to do was to disrupt her home life. Moving in with my in-laws was the easiest solution. Thankfully I have a strong relationship with my in-laws and they live really close.
My wife and I had many of FaceTime dinners when the weather wasn’t kind and when it was, we’d often meet in the parking lot of the local Target and have dinner, staying in our own car but close enough with windows down to see and converse with each other.
So yea, I know how hard it is. I never imagined life without her but living separately gave me even more of an appreciation for her and the line of work she does.
Hang in there, hopefully this will be something of the past soon enough.
Take care of your wife, your little ones, and yourself.
So many sacrifices people in the medical field (and their families) had to make in the beginning of the pandemic, especially with all of the unknowns there were. Thanks for sharing and glad you guys were able to get through it. It is awesome you were able to gain some appreciate for the relationship from it too. One thing we can count on from hardship is there will be some silver linings in there for sure 🙂
Damn! It is agonizing no doubt – hoping your fam has a quick rebound and recovery with zero lingering symptoms. The anxiety must be crazy high though – my wife got COVID from a coworker last Dec and somehow I didn’t catch it but the waiting game for symptoms to kick in was insane while quarantining (prior to being vaccinated). Stay well!!
Yeah early on, especially before vaccine, I could imagine waiting for the other shoe to drop to be pretty horrible.
Wow, sorry man.
Thanks Chris
Condolences bud, you’ve done the right thing all the way but still got a stroke of bad luck. At least they’re rebounding.
Thanks Christian, yeah we were pretty lucky that it has been fairly mild for everyone.
Best wishes to you and your family, Mark. I hope everyone is soon back to 100%!
Thanks Chris
Hope you all get well. And get through this as quick as possible. Hugs to you all
Thanks Maria!
I hope everyone recovers fully, and very rapidly, and that you avoid the covid. Good wishes for all of you.
Thanks Carl – been pretty mild for the most part so we were lucky there.
Oh no. Hope everyone is OK
Thanks Eric – appreciate it brother