We succumbed, quite unexpectedly, to c0v1d after returning from our trip to the Adirondacks. Andrew started to feel a cold coming on halfway through the trip, but was still able to hike and enjoy our little family vacation. By the drive home, he was popping Tylenol and napping in the car, but was otherwise still fine.
While he definitely had a bug, we had no reason to suspect it was anything other than a simple cold. However, his sister and her kiddos (one of whom is a baby) were currently visiting his parents, and we wanted to make sure it wasn’t you-know-what before we spent time with them. I ran out to CVS for an at-home test and we were both shocked when it revealed a positive test.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending upon how you look at it), that same evening, I’d started to have those ‘cold coming on’ feelings as well. My test that night was negative, but we had Andrew’s sister drop groceries off at our house for a quick, socially distant visit from the driveway.
We reached out to friends who’d already had it for advice, and we both started taking the high-dose vitamins the following day. One day later, I had a positive test, but still felt OK. So, I was two days behind Andrew, who by this point was pretty sick. He was tired, slept a lot on the couch, and I kept busy making a giant pot of chicken soup, taking care of our kiddo, and arranging grocery drop-offs.
Thankfully, the weather while we were in quarantine was mild and allowed for short walks and time spent outside in the fresh air.
Andrew lost his sense of smell and taste on day five, while I was still feeling alright. The following day, the fatigue hit me and I even took an afternoon nap, something I never do unless I’m sick. Within a few days, I noticed my taste and smell were ‘off,’ and soon after, were both gone. That was a truly strange sensation. The fatigue stayed with me for a few more days, but I was able to run again on the last day of my quarantine. In the two weeks following our quarantine, we continued to deal with some fatigue off and on, and our taste and smell returned gradually.
Overall, I’d say we had relatively ‘mild’ cases, in that we never had trouble breathing, major GI symptoms or had to go to the hospital. Andrew says it’s the ‘sickest he’s ever been,’ and I don’t doubt that. He was laid out for a few days, and experienced some GI trouble that I didn’t. I definitely experienced more fatigue than I ever have before, and dealt with a severe stuffy nose toward the end of it. Overall, our illnesses followed the same trend as they usually do in our house–Andrew is dying and I’m fine. (Insert winking emoji here.)
We did, however, experience some frustration with being cooped up for so long. There was a lot of coloring and Cocomelon-watching while daddy slept on the couch.
We even had our first crayon-on-the-wall incident. Magic eraser to the rescue!
While c0v1d is no picnic, I am thankful that we were able to quarantine together at the same time, instead of finding out one of was positive just as the other emerged from quarantine. I’m also grateful to everyone who helped us, with food and toy drop-offs, and even helping get our cars to and from their respective auto-body shops! (We had previously scheduled maintenance, and while it was a pain to organize it, it made a ton of sense to have them in the shop while we weren’t going anywhere, anyway…) I’m perhaps most thankful that Maelle, who likely also had c0v!d, is still young enough to be (basically) unaffected by the pandemic. That won’t always be the case, and it weighs heavily on my heart.
We pray everyone who experiences this illness has a quick recovery, and is blessed with the support system we have.
thehealthypineapple 
That photo of Maelle and her masterpiece is adorable!
Maelle told me she had drawn on the wall! I did not realize it was memorialized!