Our Family’s Covid 19 story.

So the “rona” finally caught up with me and my family right before Thanksgiving. There have been enough stories of doom and gloom in the news scaring people about the Covid 19 virus. I think our story is more typical and I think it’s important to get those stories out there if simply for balance!

Our experience started with a regular guest coming into our home for the Feast of Christ the King. Mr. Pete makes his famous King Ranch Casserole for that and we usually celebrate together. This is a person who although doesn’t live with us, is frequently over. She works at my son’s restaurant. Also, keep in mind that my daughter works retail and has since the pandemic started. My son works a second-shift factory job and my youngest also works weekends at my son’s restaurant and ran cross country with the local high school team and attends a church youth group.

On Thanksgiving day, we were notified that our friend had tested positive for COVID. My son’s restaurant voluntarily closed down for a week.

By then Mr. Pete was feeling sick and the rest of us were feeling a little off. I was able to schedule Mr. Pete for a COVID test at Walgreens, but it wasn’t easy. He had to wait until the following Monday to get the testing done.

So on that Monday, 8 days after exposure and 3 or 4 days after symptoms started, he finally had a test. We drove up to the drive through, they gave him the test and instructed him on how to get his own sample with a stick probing each nostril. Then we had to wait.

In the meantime, Izzy and Noah took the week off from work. Izzy had headaches and a scratchy throat and a cough. I felt pretty good and was even getting on my elliptical three or four times that week. I couldn’t do that the second week though. I was just too tired.

By Wednesday, two days after the test, Mr. Pete was feeling good. Great even! By Friday we had his test results and he was positive. It was 12 days since he first had symptoms, so he quarantined two more days for a total of 14 days. During that time, he put in a new bathroom floor for our upstairs bathroom. Since he works in a shop with just his business partner (who had also gotten COVID from his son the paramedic), he was able to keep his business going.

Izzy started having bad headaches and a sore throat. Rosie had a sore throat and felt lethargic. Noah waited to get sick. I had a headache, a slight sore throat, a slight fever of 100.4, and just felt light-headed and tired. I haven’t been back on my elliptical yet, although I did go for two short walks last week and even took the dog for her regular one-mile walk.

12 days after exposure, the city also set up a testing site and Noah and Izzy went to get tested. Luckily they went early because the traffic for the testing backed up pretty quickly. Some people waited for over an hour to get tested from their car. The nasal probe was done for them (ouch!!). They got their results back in three days. Izzy was inconclusive. Noah was negative; he never even got sick.

Per Izzy’s employer’s human resources department, she was able to come back to work when she had no symptoms. She went back on day 17 after exposure with no symptoms at all. We tried to get another test but it’s nearly impossible to schedule now at Walgreens or CVS now. People must be staying up until midnight to book their tests and I just can’t get in fast enough online to book an appointment for her.

Rosie simply stayed home. When she felt better, she started running again. She missed one week of piano and two weeks of art lessons. She finally went back to work and to her art class 20 days after exposure, but she started running with friends on day 16 with no symptoms.

As a family, we had a small Thanksgiving with just us and Miss C. and her dad. We missed two weeks of mass. Luckily we had a lot of food in the house from before the holiday and easily rode it out.

And now we’re fine. About the worst thing that happened was Mr. Pete had another health issue, and because of COVID, he wasn’t able to go in and have it taken care of. We did the best we could at home, but it’s just crazy that a true urgent condition can’t get treatment because of COVID concerns. He finally got seen for that last Thursday.

I will say that we took a lot of Vitamin C and zinc. Mr. Pete also took Vitamin D. I made turkey bone broth too because that is true healing food. I don’t think the dietary and supplemental preventives are mentioned as much as they should be.

I don’t think we’re extraordinary. I think this is what probably happens in most families, but of course what use would that be to the governor or the media – it’s not dramatic or flashy. And the best part is now we have actual immunity.