COVID19 Journal

3/30/20 Monday COVID 19 Day 16 A new week is here. I made myself get up the morning and elliptical. Nothing crazy, but it did make me feel better about starting my day. I also think it gives me more energy during the day. William had his 4 year old appointment (2 shots included). We debated cancelling, but the Dr. office said they were slow, had us go straight to the room, and assured us they were being extra careful. he didn't like the shots, but I am glad it's over with. We only saw one other patient/family there. There was no one in the waiting room when we walked through. He needs a follow up for hearing (speech therapy screening) and eye sight (they had a new electronic test to track eye movement and he "failed"). No idea if we'll be able to get to those during this pandemic. The pollen is still high but not as high as yesterday. Allergies are really hitting Chris hard. Of course we ran out of decongestant medicine. We grilled hamburgers for dinner. ...

3/24/20 Tuesday COVID 19 Day 10 I actually forgot to write a post today, so I am going back in time to write it. Today our company announced a mandatory cut in hours worked and pay, so everyone is taking a 25% cut. Bummer, but better than a full cut or losing my job. Things are getting scary with all the talk about running out of masks and ventilators. I know the numbers are low, but I don't really know how low. I am a numbers person, so I would feel better if I just knew what the numbers actually were.

3/28/20 Saturday COVID 19 - Day 14 Today's Chris' birthday. He ordered some deep dish pizza from Chicago and we will eat it tonight since we can't go out. Still got a cake at Publix, so that's pretty normal. We took a drive about 30 minutes away, to pick up some sod we are going to try to grow in our backyard. We stopped at Firehouse Subs on the way home to pick up sandwiches (no dining in the restaurant). It was nice to get out of the house, even if I stayed in the car. Little semblances of normal life until we are reminded that we are basically in quarantine the rest of the time. Chris also went to the grocery store (he had to pick up his cake). I was hoping he would get some yeast so I could try making some bread, but they were completely sold out! Also, no tp. We have enough for this week, but I would like to buy some when we find it. We started watching Tiger King on Netflix, it's the next show everyone is talking about, so it's nice to ha...

3/29/20 Sunday COVID 19 Day 15 Another day in the house. The pollen count is over 8,500, so I will be staying inside for the time being. Yuck! I feel like such a bum. Laziness begets laziness, and I just didn't want to do anything. I also had a stomach ache (probably from deep dish pizza, cake, and then cinnamon rolls for breakfast).  And a headache (probably from allergies). We moved out old kitchen table up to the office to use as a desk. The old desk we had was the one I had in college, and it just wasn't ergonomic, and I was hunching over all day at my computer. Chris went to play golf with Patrick. They had to take separate carts, but I am glad he could get out and play, since he couldn't take the boys (they wouldn't let them ride in a cart together.) On the president's briefing today, he extended social distancing guidance until April 30, so we won't be going back to work or school before that. I don't think they will go back to school this ...

COVID 19 Day 13 3/27/20 Friday We made it through another week. It doesn't feel like Friday, every day feels the same. There are no extracurricular activities or other events to distinguish the days. They officially declared that no schools would go back in the state until April 27, so we are at home for another month, at least. I haven't left the house in a week. It doesn't bother me at all. I have liked the extra leisure time not trying to rush to go to all the things. Pollen is getting out of control, and I am worried everyone with allergies, self included is going to think they have COVID19. Tomorrow is Chris' birthday so its a bummer that we can't go out to celebrate. I've been staying away from the news, so it seems like things are calming down. positive tests, hospitalizations, and deaths are going up, but they still seem slow in our county.

COVID19 Day 12 3/26/20 Thursday Good morning, pollen is back. Over 3,000 today... I woke up this morning with a headache, and immediately was thinking, oh no, is this a covid symptom? I am trying to avoid the news. I mostly am reading sentiment from Facebook. Probably not the best place to get my info. The sentiment in Newnan, Coweta, and Fayette, is that our local government needs to step up and start a mandatory stay at home because the governor isn't doing it. I do think more people have realized that this is real, and they need to stay home. I am lucky I can work from home, and my husband is "teaching from home." I was trying to decide whether or not I should take a leave from work, but decided to just stick with the 25% pay/hour cut. Part of me felt guilty as if I would be taking advantage of the unemployment insurance if I took it, even though it seems like I would eligible in GA. My husband is definitely getting stressed trying to entertain the kids. I ...

Day 9 3/23/20 Monday Monday. Back to work, which means my office at home. We got a steady rain this morning, so I hope that washes a lot of pollen away. William still has a cough, but it doesn't seem to be getting worse. Otherwise, everything seems pretty normal at home. This is a surreal experience. I am still working from home, Chris and the boys are hanging out, doing some school/learning activities. I do not see them going back to school in a week. My eye seems a little less irritated, but the same amount of red. Still hoping this is just due to pollen. The count today was still "high." I decided to open a new pair of contacts today and wear them. I don't enjoy wearing glasses. My company announced that everyone will take a 25% reduction in hours and pay for April-June. It's not fun, but better than losing my job. The more I read online, the more it scares me that the virus has mutated and is infecting younger people. It is so crazy right now how...

Day 8 3/22/19 Sunday It's Sunday, so another "weekend" day, but again the days all kind of seem the same.  I am not full time working today, but keeping an eye on email, because working for an airline is a 24/7 thing. GA cases 555, Deaths 20  8 cases in Coweta My eye is about the same still, a little discharge this morning when I woke up, but not crusted over. I have had viral pink eye before, and it was much much worse, so I am hopeful it's just allergies. Chris started smoking a pork butt over night. It was 9 lbs(!) so we plan to freeze some of the meat. Pollen is still in full swing, the count today is 2462, but it's supposed to rain today, so hopefully that washes some away. Afternoon: The rain was hardly even measurable, maybe enough to clean the air, but not enough to wash it away. William sounded wheezy, so we did an early nebulizer treatment this afternoon, and I did't notice the wheezing afterwards. This is a terrible time for pollen...

Day 7 3/21/19 Saturday OMG the pollen is crazy today. My eye is about the same, no better, but no worse. My sister in law sent me an article that talked about conjunctivitis being a symptom of Covid19...ugh. Well, I am glad I didn't go into an eye place, and expose anyone if it is Covid19. I used the eye drops this morning, doesn't feel like it's working, but who knows. I will say this is very bad timing for having a lot of the same symptoms of allergies. I am trying not to be a hypochondriac, but also this is a little unnerving to hear. I helped Matthew and William make time-lapse lego building (Speed Build) videos this morning, and they thought that was pretty neat. Luckily it was pretty easy to edit on the iPad and it doesn't look terrible. Chris went to Home Depot for mulch, and said the whole world was there. Ugh, they are going to have to put everyone on house arrest for this to stop spreading. After he got home, we ate lunch and spread mulch. Then we decide...

Day 6 - 3/20/20 Friday Things are still feeling normal, until I turn on the tv or read the news. This is messing with my mind, and I know it's not good for my mental health. William has a productive cough. I don't think he has corona virus, he doesn't have a fever. But he has a history of a cough going from fine to scary really fast, so we are doing daily nebulizer treatments already (albuterol and budesonide). I think we are official cancelling out spring break beach trip, so that's a bummer. I just don't think there's any other time we can reschedule for this year. Watching the news and reading more stories out of Italy, everything seems to be getting worse.  I did a video conference with a nurse to talk about my red-eye, conjunctivitis, or whatever it is. She thought it was allergy related (the pollen count is 1800+) and prescribed some allergy eye drops. It's about the same today as it was yesterday. Not super itchy or gunky. I got the eye drops an...

3/19/20 Day 5 I saw a suggestion on social media to try journaling to deal with anxiety and another article that recommended chronicling the events during these crazy times. So that's just what I am going to do. I don't own a notebook journal and I have terrible handwriting, so I am going to fire up the old blog and relieve some stress. I think we're on day 5 of schools being shut down, which means my kids and husband have been home. Schools closed last Friday and today is Thursday 3/19/20. 8am I woke up to get ready to work, unsure of whether I would be going into the office or not. Based on every recommendation I have heard, I should not be going in, but I feel like I am more effective at being able to jump in and help with something if I am in the office. Plus my boss has been in every day this week. The office has been emptier and emptier every day. I felt like I was able to appropriately "distance" myself (6 ft). One look in the mirror and I was like, w...