One of my kids is COVID positive. So we're all isolating at home for the rest of the week.
I guess I should be freaked out, but I'm not. She is basically asymptomatic. We're all fully vaccinated and boostered (which I guess is now a verb). Another kid and a parent were COVID-positive last year and came through without a hitch (although my mom had the "brain fog" for a while). Rightly or wrongly, my psychology regarding Omicron (and I'm assuming she's infected with Omicron) is that it's not going to make her as sick as previous variants may have. So I'm treating this as a (very minor) inconvenience. If we need to purchase anything, we'll have it delivered.
Hope whoever ends up with it at your house has mild symptoms and recovers quickly. A friend said her grandson, 3, got it. He was sick for three days, and then bounced right back after giving it to her and her husband. They took longer to shake it, so the worst part was keeping the kid occupied for the 10 days of quarantine that his day care required.
ReplyDeleteI think we'll all eventually get this strain. Anyone who gets it should have a thermometer and pulse oximeter handy. Thank God for vaccines.
ReplyDeleteGood idea. I got an oximeter after you mentioned this last year.
DeleteBetty was talking to someone she knows in the financial services industry today. He got the omicron variant about three weeks ago. Did not have to go to the emergency room but he was very sick for many days. He is still recovering with a secondary bacterial infection. He is able to do most of his work from home, but there were still days when he was too impaired to work. He is just shy of being forty.
ReplyDeleteOf course, there are many, many people who are having mild and asymptomatic cases, but because almost everyone is getting infected there are many people who are getting very sick even if they are not going to the emergency room or being admitted to the hospital. And then among the many very sick many are being hospitalized and causing problems.
Jim, I hope your daughter recovers uneventfully, and that no other family members, or the cats, get it. Will keep you all in our prayers.
ReplyDeleteWeirdly, during deer season about two thirds of the deer tested in Iowa were positive for Covid, but did not show signs that they had been sick. I'm assuming they were testing deer that the hunters bagged, rather than going around sticking test swabs up random deer noses.
Lol,
DeleteYes, the "Bambi's got covid" story made it to Michigan, too. Hunters were being advised to wear gloves and masks when gutting and processing, and to cook venison to 160F, though there is no evidence that there has been any deer-to-human transmission.
DeleteWe raced home as soon as mu husband was recovered and far enough after his positive diagnosis to be legal to travel - at least to travel wearing a mask. The grandchildren were going back to school the day after we left. Our 41year old son’s symptoms were gone in a day. The kids were both positive by the end of the week, including the vaxxed 6 year old. He had very mild symptoms for less than 24 hours. The 4 year old, un vaxxed, was asymptomatic. But, as Jean noted, they are home full time with their parents trying to work fulltme. My daughter in law hasn’t gotten it and so far I haven’t, but I have self- quarantined since getting home. Radiation started yesterday, 5 sessions total spread over two weeks. If I get Covid that would mess up the sequence.
ReplyDeleteIn reviewing what are now many cases of Covid among friends and relatives, the pattern is kids have no or very mild symptoms. Vaccinated and boostered middle aged folk have very mild symptoms and very short duration. My husband’s symptoms were worse, due to age and heart disease. The monoclonal antibodies were a gift - lucky he could get one of the two kinds that work against omicron. He is scheduled to get a pacemaker in about three weeks.
The two sons who got breakthrough cases ( one delta in November and one omicron in December) have both been under enormous stress for months due to work and lack of sleep. The delta son had moved from Australia, the 2 year old didn’t handle it well and woke up crying several times each night, newborn in June oldest is 4, kids four and younger), house hunt, purchase, move from rental to house and fix it up, their shipment from Australia took 5 months to arrive - you may have read all about the ships clogging the ports and unable to get in to be unloaded - referred to in supply chain problems discussions. The SV son was promoted a few months ago and apparently working so many hours he has also lost a lot of sleep. They also moved to a new house.
It seems that extended periods of stress may be hurting the immune symptoms of a lot if the middle life working people - they are at a point in their working lives when they have many more responsibilities both at work and in their family lives. The Australia son is just 37, but he always got more colds etc than his older brothers. The SV son is 41. The 37 year old actually had more symptoms than his brother but maybe because it was a delta breakthrough and not an omicron breakthrough.
Not surprised that it is the teacher who brought it home! Hope nobody gets severe symptoms.
Research is being done on the link between stress and immunity/inflammatory diseases, which includes some cancers. A lot of people in my support group believe their cancer was caused by stress or that it gets worse with stress.
DeleteHowever, stress is awfully hard to measure, much less define. And it varies by individual.
Oncologists do counsel patients, rather glibly it seems to me, to reduce stress. They'll rattle off things like sleep, good nutrition, meditation/prayer, exercise, yoga, more socializing with friends.
None of these things is bad for you, of course. So these suggestions give patients something they feel they can *do* in the face of a disease over which they really don't have any control.
Sadly, suggesting stress reduction makes lots of patients stressed out about whether they're doing enough stress-reduction.
A close friend of mine was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He and his wife are in lockdown until he gets his prostatectomy in April. A positive test means a 7 week delay.
DeleteSeriously, I don't know why I haven't gotten the O-boy yet. I go out to supermarkets, church, dances, hardware stores, restaurants. I still think it's a matter of time.
One of the retirees in my lunch club is around ninety and just got COVID. Was mildly sick for a day. Bill is quite the character. Was a HS classmate of Bob Newhart. He apologized via email for not attending our next luncheon. He was looking forward to introducing his fiancé.
Geez, I'm afraid to ask how old Bill's fiance is.
DeleteI'm guessing somewhere between 25 and 80. I'm 73 and consider MYself to be ready for the glue factory. Bill is definitely a positive thinker. Most CO2 deniers have to be.
DeleteAs happy as if they were in their right minds, as Dad used to say. His view was that the optimists of the world could afford to be happy because the rest of us were fixing the stuff they should be worrying about.
DeleteHere is a quasi-scientific study purporting to link personality type with immunity. It feeds into the common American notion (that I personally find nauseating and toxic) that we must all be relentlessly positive no matter what.
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/the-link-between-personality-and-immunity
Apologies again for typos. My iPad is flaky these days and doesn’t always respond to touch. The formerly in Oz son has 3 kids 4 and younger. Exhausting on top of the stress if expanding the company in the US.
ReplyDeleteWhen my husband got Covid, his primary care doc said he should go to the ER if the oximeter reading was below 93. We went when it was 90 when he woke up. They did a chest X-ray and ecg, referred him for the monoclonal antibodies and said to return if the reading was below 90 when walking. His was higher at the ER than when he first woke up. He took it before getting out of bed, so be sure to get up and walk first.
ReplyDeleteJim, please check in when you can and let us know how your family is doing. Sounds like you are all in pretty good shape at your house, and that should bode well for quick and full recovery for anybody who gets sick.
ReplyDeleteSo far, so reasonably good. My daughter has sort of bad-cold symptoms. The rest of us (three others this particular week - it changes from time to time, depending on which kid is home for a while or not home for a while) don't have any detectable symptoms. I'm hoping to ride it out the rest of this week. I have some liturgy duties this weekend.
DeleteIt's been extremely cold here in the Chicago area the last couple of days, which is further inducement to just stay inside. Although, in my post, I may have been too glib in noting, "If we need to purchase anything, we'll have it delivered." As a treat to ourselves, we tried to have some sandwiches delivered today from Jimmy John's (a sub shop chain in this area - not sure whether they are truly nationwide but I've seen them elsewhere here and there). "Freaky fast delivery" is a longtime business slogan for that particular chain. But turns out they are not delivering at all in our area. We're guessing it's because they have too many employees out with Omicron. So it was back to the usual lunch for us (leftovers in the fridge).
Glad things are not dire.
DeleteWe are awash in Jimmy Johns up here, but there is not now and never has been delivery, freaky fast or otherwise, out here to the cornfield.
Will you have to get a covid test before you can go back to your deaconing? I have lost track of the many recommendations and guidelines.
I don't think the Archdiocese would require me to be tested as I'm not the one who tested positive, but I've been wondering the same thing, and will try to figure it out in the next 1-2 days. It's kind of a pain because I'd have to miss work, possibly for several hours.
DeleteYou have been living with someone who tested positive and since you are in contact with many people, some of whom are probably immunocompromised. It seems the right thing to do would be to get tested. But it might depend on how long ago she tested positive. For my radiation checking I have to complete a series of questions every morning before getting there. One question asks if I have been living with anyone who tested positive in the previous 14 days. This is why my treatments were postponed - to get beyond that timeframe.
DeleteAnne, hoping that you are weathering the treatments ok. Covid adds an extra layer of anxiety to everything.
DeleteI did get myself tested on Friday, and I tested negative. On the strength of that result, I was a deacon for mass this past weekend. I was supposed to do baptisms as well, but it seems no parents registered to get their kids baptized yesterday. Smart move on their part.
DeleteStanley: I'm 73 and consider MYself to be ready for the glue factory.
ReplyDeleteWell, I certainly hope not! I'm a bit older, having had the 74th recently.
I'm also not sure that someone who goes dancing regularly, to church, to restaurants, to NYC to see all the sights, on kayaking or some kind of boat trip in the outer banks, a trip to Alaska - etc all in the last three or four months is anywhere close to being ready for the glue factory!
Haha, Anne. I should have been more specific. I kind of meant that I'm out of circulation when it comes to the romance and marriage gig. I have friendships but desire no more than that. It keeps the anxiety level and drama considerably down. But life in general is still of interest and I remain rather active, as you say. But I value what solitude I have as much as my social life.
DeleteBetty and I are isolated together except when we have to go for our many medical appointments. One cannot be too careful about them. In September Betty had a home visit from nurse employed by her insurance company; she has an advantage plan. Although the hour exam was conducted outdoors, and the nurse was vaccinated and wore a mask, her contact protocols were not the best. Betty was a medical technician for 30 years; she knows best practices. About five days later Betty had virus symptoms, the next day she went to the emergency room. It was a non-covid virus, but Betty was already developing pneumonia because of her compromised immune system.
ReplyDeleteLast week I had to go to my ENT specialist for a regular scheduled appointment. Today Betty went to get a skin cancer removed. All the medical people involved were very careful. I always tell them that I live with an immunocompromised person and ask not to wait in the waiting room for any length of time. Most everyone has been very accommodating.
However, shortly before Christmas my foot doctor was upset when I asked him not to engage in our usual chatter doing a visit. He complied but told me he thought I was being paranoid. The reality of the omicron surge is the majority of people whether vaccinated or not will get the virus with no symptoms at all (or at least during the early part of the incubation period) where they can pass it on to other people. I assume all medical people may be infected and behave accordingly. That is reasonable caution since I behave as if I were the compromised person. It might be paranoid for healthy young people who are vaccinated with a booster.
Jack, A friend broke her ankle badly in September. Cast replaced with a boot and PT in December. Two weeks ago her physical therapist notified her that she had Covid and that my friend had been exposed. Fortunately she didn’t get it - self- quarantined and then tested before going back out in public. Her son has had an organ transplant and is on immunosuppressant drugs - so he isn’t in the family bubble - which could have been breached. Luckily they have all been very careful about not getting it themselves and shielding their family member from even remote exposure.
DeleteI suddenly find myself with four doctors and a dentist. I have pushed appts for anything I am not likely to die from in the next year ahead on the calendar in hopes of getting beyond the Omicron hump.
DeleteIt'll still be out there in March or April, of course, but I hope to be dealing with a less stressed hospital system when I get it.
The trick is not to push things too far ahead, or the docs will drop you off the patient list or start ordering a bunch of tests bc it's been too long since yr last visit.
Meantime, I am spending the rest of the winter "getting our affairs in order." Raber hates this periodic review of our Final Things, and especially since his own brush with the Grim Reaper earlier this year. So I am going about it in a less bald fashion than usual.
I am also knitting a lot of fingerless gloves. I gave some to the kids who put groceries in my trunk, the mail lady, and the coffee shop drive thru window girls. Literally raveling that sleeve of care, as it were. People seem to like them. It gets rid of my yarn stash, one less affair to get in order.
My wife was crocheting before I met her, and we've been married a long time now. During all those years, I have lost count of the hats, mittens, scarves, blankets et al she has crocheted for our kids. When I asked her recently what she was crocheting, and she replied she was making a blanket for one of the cats to sit/shed on, I mentioned to her in a faux fit of pique that we've been married for 33 years, and she has never crocheted me a single darn thing, and now she's making stuff for the @#$%^ cats?!
DeleteApparently, I successfully guilted her, because now she's making me a "Loyola scarf", as worn by fans at the Ramblers' basketball games. The scarves are huge, so it's going to take a while. (If you've ever seen any of the Harry Potter movies, the Loyola scarves are similar/identical to the big fluffy "House scarves" worn by Gryffindor students at Quidditch matches).
Harry Potter scarves! I knitted six of those when The Boy was 10 for him and his little friends for one of the HP movie or book releases. Raber made some hand-turned wands that--note to dimwitted parents like us--you really don't want to unleash six kids in a movie theater with.
DeleteI make blankets for the Humane Society cats sometimes. Our cats wouldn't deign to sit on them.
My mother-in -law was a prolific crochet-er. Her specialty was afghans. In fact I am sitting under one of them as we speak. Every member of the family has at least one, and she often made them for her church friends. They are a token of love that survived her by more than a decade.
DeleteIn a recent post, Dr. Campbell quotes some anonymous researchers from India that the Omicron form of COVID is more transmissible than measles. (They haven't published their research yet)
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrVGymR-jFU
skip to minute 20 for description and chart
He says that if people are in a room with someone with measles, then 90 percent of them are likely to be exposed to measles. That means for the coming weeks simply going to church means being exposed to the Omicron variant because it is highly likely that someone there has already got a mild case of it and will infect most of the congregation.
If you don't want to get Omicron you should not be going anywhere especially to large gathering like church. If I were in Jim's shoes, I would not worry about preaching because it is very likely that many people in the congregation have Omicron and that they are likely to infect others.
If Jim is present at small gatherings, e.g., a baptism, he should probably have a discussion with the participants about anyone there that doesn't want to get the virus, and what he and others need to do in terms of isolation and testing to minimize that possiblity.
Jack, thanks. Regarding our masses: our attendance has more or less leveled off at about half of its pre-pandemic average. It waxes and wanes, depending on what is going on with the virus. Yesterday, attendance seemed down a bit. Some people are reappearing in the congregation whom I haven't seen for a couple of years, and some others who have been coming to mass for the last year+ are deciding to stay away. Of course, the latter group dealing with infections may explain that.
DeleteA year or so ago, our other deacon started up a ministry which offers drive-up communion on Saturday afternoons. I've assisted with that a few times. I really like it because I get to reconnect with parishioners who are not comfortable going to mass. Nearly all of these are elderly parishioners who, in my opinion, are being smart.
A factor in all this is that, in the Chicago Archdiocese, the Sunday obligation hasn't been reimposed. I hope they never reimpose it. It seems wrong to me to burden people with an obligation that flies in that face of public health advice (and the virtue of prudence).
Regarding baptisms: the parents whose infants we baptize attend a pre-baptism preparation session. In that session, I hope they have the discussion you're recommending. I led those sessions for many years, but stepped away from it a few years ago. Except: some parents do not want to attend an in-person session, so they request a Zoom session. Apparently, I'm more tech-comfortable than anyone else at the parish who would conduct the session, so I lead those occasional Zoom sessions.
The archdiocese requires that everyone who steps in our building be masked. For the most part, people comply. In Illinois, it's sort of expected. In my view, as bad as the pandemic has been in the US, without institutions - churches, employers, government - setting and enforcing masking requirements, and now in the case of employers, vaccination requirements. Individuals don't use good judgment.
Sorry, looks like I didn't finish my final thought there. What I am trying to say is, without institutions imposing requirements like mask mandates and vaccination mandates, the public health picture would be much worse than it is.
DeleteGotta love dogs. They're training them to sniff COVID. It's still in the development stage but they seem to run above 90% accuracy.
ReplyDeleteMy husband got his second Shingrix shot today. Come to find out that neither Medicare nor supplemental insurance covers it very well. He had to sign a form in the clinic saying that they had explained to him that his cost would be $200. He had already had the first shot several weeks ago. It was only $160, the cost has gone up for the second one. So far I haven't bitten the bullet and gotten mine. I did have a mild case of shingles a few years back, but I guess that doesn't guarantee immunity. I suppose I will get the shots eventually, maybe when Covid abates a bit. Hopefully tomorrow K. won't feel too crappy, I hear the second shot is rough for some people.
ReplyDeleteKatherine, how did your husband handle the second shot? I am going to get it too at some point. I did know that Medicare doesn’t cover it and was told to shop around for prices. Not the same everywhere apparently. My husband had shingles about 12 years ago. His doc says he should get shingrix too
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