A New Way of Life

Doesn’t it feel like we are past the worst of the COVID-19 crisis? We are all relaxing now and, to be honest, I think most of us have let our guard down and aren’t all that concerned about contracting COVID anymore. Yesterday I started feeling like my throat was a bit sore. As the day wore on, I realized I had a sinus headache too. In the middle of the night, I woke and could barely swallow. I just knew I had COVID and so did my sister. She had said her throat was a bit sore too.

I began to worry. We are both older and have health issues we deal with daily. We both have pets and were counting on the other to care for them if we got sick. With both of us sick at the same time, what might happen to our beloved pets? What other people we might have exposed to the virus who are also compromised? We have placed friends, co-workers, and professionals we’ve interacted with at risk too. I hated the thought of having to go to them to tell them I’d exposed them to the virus.

All of this made me think about the need for having a plan to fall back on in the event this scenario is real. As it was, I did a COVID test this morning and it was negative. None-the-less, my sister and I are both still sick and it could go into something more serious if we aren’t extra careful.

I’m thinking through the elements of my new plan for responding to a positive COVID diagnosis. I’m making a plan now for friends to take my dogs if my sister and I get sick at the same time. I’m also looking at doing more COVID testing when I don’t feel well so I don’t expose my friends and family to the disease.

We aren’t out of the woods yet. Living with this virus is a daily thing and although it’s not as “front of the mind” as it was, we still have to take care, not only of ourselves, but of the elderly and/or frail friends we interact with. I don’t want to get the virus and I don’t want to spread it. End of story.