UPDATED 20 APRIL 2022: I'm going to use this blog post as a diary that documents what I did to return to health. Actually, I think I need to produce an audio diary because then my raspy voice provides telltale clues. Scroll to the bottom to see the blow-by-blow revelations.
AFTER HEARING CASES of friends catching COVID, I thought that since I had escaped any infection during our masked phase that I was impervious. I can admit I'm wrong and now hope I can shake this virus within the next seven days so I can be back in the classroom to finish the semester. But if I can't there's always Teams to wrap up everything.
I join 14yo Mia in COVID land. She probably brought the infection back from a disco a few nights ago. We're both in quarantine in separate rooms. And if I keep coughing, I plan to move out to the cabin we built outside during COVID in 2020.
Now that two of us have COVID, we're taking some precautions.
Asking the family to wear a mask in public since they live with someone who is sick.
Once someone in the household has COVID, even the vaccinated who are still negative or asymptomatic — should wear a well-fitting, high-quality mask for 10 days in public in indoor or crowded outdoor situations.
Reducing exposure in the house.
I'm staying in one room and Mia is staying in her room. I keep windows open most of the day. But it gets a little chilly with the breezes.
Stocking up on masks and pain killers.
I have four KN95 masks and Ruth just bought a big box of replacements so we should be able to get through a week with fresh masks for every day. I moved the thermometer, Panodol, Lemsip, pulse oximeter, sanitizer, some rapid tests, and disinfecting wipes into the bedroom where I'm isolating. I crave easy peeler oranges.
Let me know if you have any suggestions. We can beat this virus while considering safe procedures.
Day One: Felt like seasonal flu.
I woke up with a scratchy throat, a cough, and a minor headache. So I had some Lemsip before taking a COVID test that showed I was positive. I didn't have an appetite but enjoyed a Lyons quarter pounder left at the bedroom door. I spent the day editing parts of the ICT in Education website.
Day Two: Aches and Pains.
I spent most of the day in bed with a lot of aches and pains. My body felt like it had been bruised and pummeled on the rugby pitch. So I took some Panadol Extra chased by a Lemsip Max and that helped. I downed two slices of pizza with two litres of water. Then I binged on the Netflix series Anatomy of a Scandal. I appreciated the rawness of the emotions that played out through the six episodes. Between episodes, I took a call from the heart clinic in the Waterford Hospital and told the clinic that because of COVID, I wouldn't be able to attend a consultancy session in the Waterford Hospital. It's taken more than a year to get that appointment and I reckon another year will pass before I'm seen for an issue that concerns me.
Day Three: Sweating all the time.
Friends had advised me to hydrate before I experienced a day full of sweating all the time. I treated myself to a warm bath and pretended I was in a steam room somewhere. I had an eight minute Teams meeting with Eugene McDonough about #ictedu and he taught me tricks with WordPress Table Plug-in. I couldn't get my favorite cupcakes today because Caroline has a staffing problem due to health reasons.
Day Four: Brain Fog is lifting.
Although I'm coughing when prone, I feel more alert all the time. I'm eating two easy peeler oranges and that confirms I have a sore threat. I'm gorging on raspberries and soggy lettuce with plum tomatoes. I've made my first cup of coffee in four days and that has cut through some of the phlegm in my throat. Being in quarantine with my daughter who is on the other side of the wall gave us an opportunity to explore our Irish-American ancestry. Mia wants to learn more about her great great grandmother who emigrated to America from County Clare. Katie McAuliffe died in Lancaster, Pennsylvania before her only child was a teenager.
Day Five: Raspy Voice but Clearer Head.
I exchanged a few voices messages with Greg Dickson about alphabet soup. I misunderstood his NLP reference but he figured out my PKM obsession. I shared some oral history ideas about family origins with Mia as she completes her history assignment. Mia uses the Microsoft Surface Book instead of her mom's laptop because the Surface Book's O365 connectivity offers a wider variety of PowerPoint templates. I had three slices of pepperoni pizza, two dozen raspberries, three oranges, and two liters of water. I need to drink more water. I converted my Monday class to a Teams meeting.
Day Six: Still Congested. Thankful for Garden Cabin.
The antigen test says I still have COVID so that means there's no way I can teach in a classroom on Monday. Because I've an occasional cough, I'm relegated to sitting outside or confined to my own space inside our hand-built cabin. Pam O'Brien and I talked about some very important tasks I should be doing now. Instead, I'm updating my blog and exchanging a set of short video clips with business coach Greg Dickson about the essence of effective personal knowledge management. Mia (14) hasn't finished her History project on the emigration of our distant relatives from Donegal and Clare to Pennsylvania. I want to post a summary of her research because it's interesting to see how Mia has leveraged photos on Flickr, oral histories, and census records from Ancestry.com.
[Bernie Goldbach is trying to prep for the last week of Spring Semester 2022 but COVID is getting in the way.]
