Personal covid experiences

[Tree Frog]

My neighbor posted a meme on FB this morning that went something like this: "Anyone else know a criminal who said they tested negative when they really tested positive?" She took it down before I could screenshot it. She tested positive a few weeks ago, then within a couple of days suddenly tested negative. I think I now know why she was negative so quickly. No one else in her household tested positive.

[Not_a_Number]

4 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

ANNNNDDDD....

Dad texted me this morning that my stepmom's sister in law tested positive on Saturday. After she sat on the sofa at the funeral home next to my stepmom.

So far, dad and stepmom both feel fine, but my kids have a shortage of grandparents. My mom is gone, my dh's mother and father are both gone. my mother died at 54, dh's dad at age 62, his mother at age 66. This is scary. Dad and stepmom are both 64.

Oh geez. Fingers crossed for your family. You've had enough of a rough time with COVID as is. 

[Bootsie]

DH and I have a dear friend who is 82 whom we have not seen since March because of COVID.  He was diagnosed with cancer around the beginning of January and went to the hospital for some tests.  A routine COVID test was done at the hospital and he tested positive; the doctor told him to go home and come back in 10 days for the tests.  The oncologist then came in and said for him not to bother returning for the tests 😞 that there will be nothing they can do. 

He just got back the results from a second COVID test and it is still positive.  He says he has had no COVID symptoms--no cough, no fever, sense of taste and smell are fine--and that the only clue he would have that he has had COVID is two positive test results.  

[TCB]

A friend from school days has Covid and is in a hospital ICU in Manaus, Brazil. The hospital has no beds and very little oxygen. He has become worse and the last update said he would need to be intubated and they were fearful he wouldn’t survive the next 72 hours. They are hoping to medivac him to another city today. He’s a few years younger than me and fit and active. I don’t know his whole medical history but am unaware of any predisposing conditions. Please pray for him as he has a number of young children.

[Not_a_Number]

2 minutes ago, TCB said:

A friend from school days has Covid and is in a hospital ICU in Manaus, Brazil. The hospital has no beds and very little oxygen. He has become worse and the last update said he would need to be intubated and they were fearful he wouldn’t survive the next 72 hours. They are hoping to medivac him to another city today. He’s a few years younger than me and fit and active. I don’t know his whole medical history but am unaware of any predisposing conditions. Please pray for him as he has a number of young children.

Oh no 😞 . I'm really sorry to hear that. I hope he recovers. 

[TravelingChris]

On 12/20/2020 at 8:15 PM, MissLemon said:

There are lots of viruses responsible for "the common cold", which is part of why no vaccine has been developed. 

The good thing (if there is such a thing) about Covid-19 is that the vaccines are targeting the spike protein on the virus, which has not mutated very much. There have been more mutations in other proteins of the virus, but the spike protein has been fairly stable in spite of all this transmission. 

I bet others who have moved continents can also tell about the experiences but when we moved to Europe, all of a sudden both dh and I were getting lots of colds.  It is because there were different cold strains there then here in the US.  It was a very common experience for newcomers from the USA/Canada to that area.

[Amy Gen]

I saw one of my friends this weekend, who has recently recovered from COVID. He is a nurse, but more administrative, so he has been working from home for months. 
 

He got called in to work a long shift at the hospital because there was just no one else available. He was double masked but said he was so exhausted by the end that he must have touched the outside of his gloves before taking off his masks and somehow gotten it on his face. 
 

A few days later, he woke with the smallest tickle in his throat. He immediately texted his wife and daughters not to come into that part of the house. No one else who lives there got it. 
 

He said he didn’t even have an extra bad case, but it was the worst 11 days of his life. Thankfully, he is almost completely recovered now. 

[ScoutTN]

On 1/17/2021 at 3:16 AM, Ausmumof3 said:

Huh interesting.  I don’t know that age were testing positive at a higher rate (although it makes sense).

That age group has the highest number of cases here and has since early summer.

[ScoutTN]

My dh and dd tested positive today.

Dd has some very mild cold-type symptoms and is tired. 
 

Dh has the shallow, dry cough and has had a headache and fever off and on. 
 

No way to isolate in our very small house. I am diabetic and dh has a serious neuro-vascular condition. We are both over 50.

[wathe]

 

.

Edited January 26, 2021 by wathe

[Ausmumof3]

Quote deleted sorry 

 

That sounds terrible 😞 

Edited January 24, 2021 by Ausmumof3

[ScoutTN]

1 hour ago, Thatboyofmine said:

Turn off central heat/ac now.    Please keep us updated.  Praying...

It's winter. We will not be going without heat. We always keep the windows cracked during the day, though.  We live in about 1300 sq ft with only one full bathroom. We all share the public rooms for work/school.  Dh's work is programming and uses a LOT of internet so no one can use a computer online in the bedrooms when he's working. 

Edited January 24, 2021 by ScoutTN

[Not_a_Number]

2 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

It's 30 degrees outside. We will not be going without heat. 

Any electric heaters you could use?

[Acorn]

6 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

It's 30 degrees outside. We will not be going without heat. 

Dh is in quarantine but our house doesn’t allow him to really separate from us. We are using the heat at intervals during the day to increase over our usual temperature and then turning it off and opening windows. We’re in Dayton OH, so probably similar temps to TN. I am so ready to move. Next house will definitely have 2+ bathrooms.

PS,(eta)

I hope your family feels better soon.

Edited January 24, 2021 by Acorn

[ScoutTN]

7 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

Any electric heaters you could use?

No way. I was in a house fire that began with one of those. Horrific.

Edited January 24, 2021 by ScoutTN

[ScoutTN]

1 minute ago, Acorn said:

Dh is in quarantine but our house doesn’t allow him to really separate from us. We are using the heat at intervals during the day to increase over our usual temperature and then turning it off and opening windows. We’re in Dayton OH, so probably similar temps to TN. I am so ready to move. Next house will definitely have 2+ bathrooms.

All four of us have to be in the public rooms for school/work. Our gas heat is very efficient and doesn't run lots. Our house is tight and we do keep the windows cracked, except on very cold nights. 

[mommyoffive]

Wathe~ Oh gosh that is so scary with the new strain.  And so many sick.   I am so sad for the nursing home residents.  Did they already have the vaccine there?  And the staff? 

[wathe]

15 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Wathe~ Oh gosh that is so scary with the new strain.  And so many sick.   I am so sad for the nursing home residents.  Did they already have the vaccine there?  And the staff? 

Vaccine was too little, too late.  Nursing home staff were offered vaccine late December, uptake rate was lower than hoped for, and most wouldn't have had their second dose.  Residents not until much more recently (there were concerns about transporting the Pfizer vaccine) and I think most hadn't been vaccinated in time or at all.

ETA As per the health unit, "As of Jan. 16, all residents of long-term care homes in <snip> have been offered their first dose of immunization against COVID-19".  The outbreak started Jan 9.  Too little, too late.

 

Edited January 25, 2021 by wathe

[TCB]

4 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

My dh and dd tested positive today.

Dd has some very mild cold-type symptoms and is tired. 
 

Dh has the shallow, dry cough and has had a headache and fever off and on. 
 

No way to isolate in our very small house. I am diabetic and dh has a serious neuro-vascular condition. We are both over 50.

Can he get the monoclonal antibody therapy? I think there is some evidence that it works and is safe so worth a try. If you are high risk here your dr can refer you for it and it is administered in a special therapy unit in the hospital as an outpatient thing.

[ScoutTN]

28 minutes ago, TCB said:

Can he get the monoclonal antibody therapy? I think there is some evidence that it works and is safe so worth a try. If you are high risk here your dr can refer you for it and it is administered in a special therapy unit in the hospital as an outpatient thing.

I will get him to investigate this and ask my doc about it too. Thanks! Dh is the typical male with regard to initiating anything with doctors ....

[TCB]

Our friend in Manaus was evaluated by the medivac dr who felt he would not do well on a flight, due to his condition, so he has to stay where he is for now. He has 12 children - he and his wife adopted a whole family of children there and had 6 already. Things will be so difficult for his wife if he doesn’t survive.    Please continue to pray for him.

[Not_a_Number]

2 minutes ago, TCB said:

Our friend in Manaus was evaluated by the medivac dr who felt he would not do well on a flight, due to his condition, so he has to stay where he is for now. He has 12 children - he and his wife adopted a whole family of children there and had 6 already. Things will be so difficult for his wife if he doesn’t survive.    Please continue to pray for him.

Oh geez. Sending all the positive energy. How old is he? 😞 

[ScoutTN]

3 minutes ago, TCB said:

Our friend in Manaus was evaluated by the medivac dr who felt he would not do well on a flight, due to his condition, so he has to stay where he is for now. He has 12 children - he and his wife adopted a whole family of children there and had 6 already. Things will be so difficult for his wife if he doesn’t survive.    Please continue to pray for him.

Praying!!

[Corraleno]

DS was just notified that starting tomorrow the university requires that he be tested 3x/week! He has to show up at the testing site on campus at 7:30 AM every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. He thinks this applies to all athletes, but he's not sure. He is not a happy camper right now. ☹️

[TCB]

14 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

Oh geez. Sending all the positive energy. How old is he? 😞 

I think he’s 48. May be off by a year either side.

[JennyD]

6 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

My dh and dd tested positive today.

Dd has some very mild cold-type symptoms and is tired. 
 

Dh has the shallow, dry cough and has had a headache and fever off and on. 
 

No way to isolate in our very small house. I am diabetic and dh has a serious neuro-vascular condition. We are both over 50.

Oh no, I am so sorry to hear this, ScoutTN!  I really hope that they feel better soon and that you and DS stay healthy.

Seconding what another poster said about the monoclonal antibodies.  One of DH's students tested positive a few days ago and she was able to get them so I know they are available locally.   I would definitely look into whether your DH can get infused ASAP.

[ScoutTN]

18 minutes ago, JennyD said:

Oh no, I am so sorry to hear this, ScoutTN!  I really hope that they feel better soon and that you and DS stay healthy.

Seconding what another poster said about the monoclonal antibodies.  One of DH's students tested positive a few days ago and she was able to get them so I know they are available locally.   I would definitely look into whether your DH can get infused ASAP.

Thanks, JennyD! 
I haven’t even been able to convince my dh that he needs to let his pcp and neuro docs know he’s positive yet. 

[JennyD]

34 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

Thanks, JennyD! 
I haven’t even been able to convince my dh that he needs to let his pcp and neuro docs know he’s positive yet. 

Oy.  

FWIW here's a list of TN facilities with monoclonal antibody availability.  Looks like they're pretty widely available. 

[Bootsie]

24-year old friend of our family is pregnant and just tested positive for COVID.  So far she is asymptomatic.  

[Ausmumof3]

8 hours ago, TCB said:

Our friend in Manaus was evaluated by the medivac dr who felt he would not do well on a flight, due to his condition, so he has to stay where he is for now. He has 12 children - he and his wife adopted a whole family of children there and had 6 already. Things will be so difficult for his wife if he doesn’t survive.    Please continue to pray for him.

Are they still having trouble getting oxygen there?  Praying 

[TCB]

2 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Are they still having trouble getting oxygen there?  Praying 

The last I heard, a day or two ago, was that they were getting some oxygen tanks but that the supply was still precarious because of such a high demand. I also heard that they have doubled the number of beds in the ICU. Thanks for praying. I heard later on that the dr felt he would not survive the flight. 

[TravelingChris]

I am praying for him, TCB>

[SKL]

On 1/24/2021 at 10:44 AM, TravelingChris said:

I bet others who have moved continents can also tell about the experiences but when we moved to Europe, all of a sudden both dh and I were getting lots of colds.  It is because there were different cold strains there then here in the US.  It was a very common experience for newcomers from the USA/Canada to that area.

Yeah, I pretty much always get sick (but not hospital sick) when I travel internationally.

[TCB]

18 minutes ago, TravelingChris said:

I am praying for him, TCB>

Thank you!

[TravelingChris]

35 minutes ago, SKL said:

Yeah, I pretty much always get sick (but not hospital sick) when I travel internationally.

I do too. 

[mommyoffive]

57 minutes ago, SKL said:

Yeah, I pretty much always get sick (but not hospital sick) when I travel internationally.

We do too.  It has ruined every international trip we have taken.  Sigh.

[Laura Corin]

5 hours ago, SKL said:

Yeah, I pretty much always get sick (but not hospital sick) when I travel internationally.

I get ill every autumn,  except this year, after the foreign students arrive bringing unfamiliar bugs.

[Guest]

My sister, BIL, niece and nephew all have COVID. She says it is quite unpredictable; one will get a little better and then worse again. One of the children has a fever. Sister says her cough is unbelievable. BIL, who is a chef, lost taste and smell. All find it very exhausting. 

[ScoutTN]

My dh still has cold-type symptoms, but is getting better. Cough and night sweats are gone. Significant fatigue.

My dd has a tiny bit of congestion and that’s it.

Ds is positive with no symptoms at all.

I tested negative and feel fine, at least so far.

[Guest]

My sister is still sick. BIL is better, except for exhaustion. Kiddos are fine. But sister gets fevered at night and says she still had huge coughing fits. 😞 

[fairfarmhand]

My dad and stepmom are ok. I forgot to come back and update. 
 

my dhs aunt and uncle age 79 have covid now. They both have Heath issues. Last I heard they were getting infusions.

[Happy2BaMom]

Update on my brother: he was quite ill for a week, and was tested twice, but each time the test was neg, so they think he just had a bad flu bug. He's fine now.

Niece, age 28 & healthy, came down with it about two weeks ago (tested pos) and was flattened for a full week, but did not need to be hospitalized. She is on the mend, and I'm hoping she will fully recover, with no lingering systems.

 

[Spryte]

My cousin has it, started mild, having ups and downs now.  I’m getting third hand info, so I don’t know much about symptoms. He is a bit younger than I am, very active and fit.  I hope he will be fine.

FWIW, he was exposed while traveling.  Person they had hired for the trip (close quarters) tested positive immediately after, and informed everyone on trip. I would imagine they did not mask, or if they did it might have been inconsistent.   

[Not_a_Number]

1 hour ago, fairfarmhand said:

My dad and stepmom are ok. I forgot to come back and update. 

I’m really glad to hear. Thanks for letting us know.

[TCB]

Our friend in Manaus, Brazil did not make it. He died this morning. I am confident he is in a place of no more suffering and death, but am so sad for his precious family. He leaves behind 12 children, 6 of whom have already lost one set of parents. So very sad.

[Not_a_Number]

2 minutes ago, TCB said:

Our friend in Manaus, Brazil did not make it. He died this morning. I am confident he is in a place of no more suffering and death, but am so sad for his precious family. He leaves behind 12 children, 6 of whom have already lost one set of parents. So very sad.

Oh, no. I am so sorry 😞 . 

[Ali in OR]

2 hours ago, TCB said:

Our friend in Manaus, Brazil did not make it. He died this morning. I am confident he is in a place of no more suffering and death, but am so sad for his precious family. He leaves behind 12 children, 6 of whom have already lost one set of parents. So very sad.

I'm so sorry to hear this. I was just reading an article about Manaus in The Economist. They were hit hard in spring and someone published a pre-print hypothesizing that they had herd immunity there (based on testing from people giving blood, but The Economist points out that's not a random sample). They wrote that 76% of people had antibodies, and it's possible that article changed people's behavior as they thought they were safe. And then the second wave hit (and I think later in the article it said that the % of people who've had it is only about 15%.) 

[Acadie]

On 1/24/2021 at 9:10 PM, Corraleno said:

DS was just notified that starting tomorrow the university requires that he be tested 3x/week! He has to show up at the testing site on campus at 7:30 AM every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. He thinks this applies to all athletes, but he's not sure. He is not a happy camper right now. ☹️

Wow, that early time slot stinks! I wonder if he could request a change. Are they using deep swabs or just the front-of-the-nose swabs? Dd18 was tested 2x week in the fall with the short swabs and didn't mind it, but she was scheduled for afternoon.  

[Corraleno]

1 hour ago, Acadie said:

Wow, that early time slot stinks! I wonder if he could request a change. Are they using deep swabs or just the front-of-the-nose swabs? Dd18 was tested 2x week in the fall with the short swabs and didn't mind it, but she was scheduled for afternoon.  

It's the deep swabs. That'll definitely wake your brain up at 7:30 AM!

[melmichigan]

My sister and BIL have covid.  My sister is in day two, already treating low O2 levels with albuterol, so far successfully.  BIL will get the antibody infusion on Monday.  My DD has stayed with them from the start of covid (she was already there when it hit) tested negative yesterday so we are just keeping our fingers crossed that she doesn't get it as well.  My nephew and his roommate are still waiting on their test results but are asymptomatic at this point.

Edited January 30, 2021 by melmichigan