August 1-August 9, COVID Week 21.. Testing Positive

So on the first Monday of the month of August, I was up and dressed for work. I had been in to work the Saturday before and took that Friday off to run errands and drop off my van to check the air conditioner. I wanted to make sure it was functioning properly after a rough trip up and down the Smoky mountains. Fortunately the system was running fine according to the auto mechanic-no leaks spotted. 

But I was not. Before I headed out the door to work my boss called to tell me not to come in since I apparently tested positive for COVID. Great. The test was completed the week before on Monday, but they just got the results back. So technically I was "sick" for at least 7 days if not more because I had been tested the week before on a Monday after returning to work from our Tennessee vacation and that test came back negative. So not sure exactly when I was supposed to be infected. But officially the CDC counts 10 days of quarantine from the day of testing. And then they throw in 3 days extra for a buffer. However, my nursing home requests 16 days of quarantine before coming back to work(or 16 days off work). And naturally I no longer have any paid time off for COVID(or anything else for that matter) since our therapy departments were "sold" to a  contract company and we lost all our vacation and sick time.  I think it is amazing that I just had this conversation with the contract company's District Manager out of Virginia and HR out of Texas via telephone about the increased risk of catching COVID and no financial coverage. The government came out with the CARES ACT to pay essential workers for time off due to COVID, but only if your company has 500 or less employees. My fellow OT that was diagnosed back in the spring had two weeks paid time off  with funding from the CARES ACT and was asymptomatic. Unfortunately myself and another OT staff member were diagnosed with COVID in July after the contract company took over and we are not eligible for any funds. They did offer to let us take our paid time off "in the negative" meaning we would have to owe them for time off, but we only get two weeks of time off that includes vacation and sick time combined the whole year. We had more time off working directly for the nursing home. I mentioned my concern and increased risk about catching COVID, especially since our facility started taking in more patients from the hospital, and some patients came in positive for COVID while others seemed to pick it up a few weeks later  in our facility after being hospitalized. No rhyme or reason with this virus.I did see a note in the company's COVID manual that recommends those already diagnosed with COVID treat the high risk patients due to the possibility of increased antibodies and decreased risk of catching it again. Just like we used to keep the pregnant staff away from those with shingles, or those that never had chicken pox to decrease their risk of catching it. The company offered me a part time, on call position, but that does not guarantee I would not be exposed to someone with COVID, and they don't seem to be using the part time staff members that we already have. They would prefer to keep all of us working our full 40 hours or more, but I have not seen them pay overtime yet either. 

  I was not the only therapist that tested positive this week-also the PT I work with on the COVID isolation floor tested positive as well. So 4 out of 6 therapists now have been diagnosed with COVID. We are starting our own herd immunity. The only advice I got from our new managers was "stay socially distanced" and "wear your PPE". I asked how a therapist is supposed to stay socially distant, especially when I am assisting with a shower or toileting. I was told to "move in" and then "back away". Very scientific from someone who sits behind a computer all day. I did fill out an online Unemployment Application per their recommendation, although the benefit recently ended. So don't know if that will get me anything. But it was worth a try. A bit tedious however since you have to download your tax return and fill out lots of questions about your previous employment for the past two years(and I have worked for 3 different companies in the past two years!). A bit confusing. We'll see if it was worth it. 

Well I was not allowed to go back to work all week, and the MD Dept of Health called to tell me to stay quarantined for the rest of the week. The contact tracers called to ask me where I had been the week before. Mostly I go to work and come home. They did not have to be rocket scientists to figure out  where I could have picked up the positive test when I told them I worked in a nursing home with rehab patients brought in from the hospital.  But then they needed to know who else I was in contact with so I had to try and recall my previous week's activities including a trip to the grocery store(exactly which one and what time), a trip to the sofa store with Tom(we're shopping for new sofas in order to give our current set to Allison when she moves out). Fortunately no one else was in the large sofa store Saturday afternoon except the salesperson we talked to while perusing the couch options. I had also stopped by to see our next door neighbors, Dan and Gloria while taking Cookie for a walk, and had them over one evening for drinks. So the contact tracers have to do just that. Contact everyone they can to let them know they came in contact with me. Plus our family had to all get tested. I had emailed my doctor to see if I needed to be tested again, or if the family needed to be tested, but I did not hear from her for 2 days. Instead, the MD Dept of Health recommended Tom and the kids get tested immediately so they all made drive up appointments with our medical provider.  No resistance this time for appointments after they told the nurse that I tested positive. Apparently I did not need to be tested again at this time since it already was positive. Naturally everyone started feeling some type of symptoms-Tom was coughing and felt short of breath;, Allison had an upset stomach. Scott was fine. Turns out none of them tested positive for COVID. And I was not exhibiting any of the symptoms they look for including fever, muscle pains, shortness of breath, coughing. I usually have some slight cold symptoms or upset stomach normally. And it's rare if something doesn't hurt. It does not help constantly breathing into a mask, changing and wearing hot PPE, sweating and going in and out of the air conditioning at work and at home, taking 2 showers a day and skipping lunch most of the time. And recently I was treating a 300lb patient by myself- a lot of physical work getting the person dressed and out of bed which wears on the back and hip. But if I truly had the COVID virus, and the test was not a false positive, I thank God the symptoms were mild and that my family did not contract it from me! And maybe I have some antibodies built up in my system. Oh joy, now work won't have any trouble scheduling me to work with COVID patients!

So for the next few days, we all received a phone call from the MD Dept of Health checking up on us. I locked myself up in the master bedroom and everyone seemed to do a good job forgetting about me. I did not want to move throughout the house, including the kitchen and our food source. So the family forgot to feed me. I have been there before, unable to get up and down the stairs after knee surgery. I am pretty sure I could die upstairs and no one would notice. Except for the dog. I kept Cookie quarantined from me as it was recommended by the CDC and she just laid out in the hallway whining because I would not let her in the bedroom with me. Poor baby.  I used my time wisely while locked in the bedroom. I caught up on sleep for two days during Tropical Storm Isaiasis, It rained steady for two days, which made it very comfortable for napping. Fortunately we were not as affected by the storm as our eastern shore. They had some flooding, power outages and a few F1 tornadoes touch down with minor damage. Only 1 person in Maryland died in the storm when a tree fell on their car. I was grateful that we did not lose power. Instead I stayed in the bedroom and watched every daily court show from Judge Mathis to Judge Judy, The People's Court and Divorce Court to just name a few. I also caught up on a few tv movies I wanted to see including Ant Man and the Wasp, Dunkirk and The Scouts Guide to Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse. I think rewatching Invasion of the Body Snatchers felt the most like living in the Pandemic.  When I wasn't napping or watching tv shows or movies, I was cleaning the bedroom. I have been slowly making my way through our master closet, but now I got down to business on reorganizing. The donation organizations like the Red Cross have begun to pick up items again, so I made a pick up appointment at the end of the month. I figured Allison might have some things to donate as she started cleaning out her bedroom for her upcoming move to her apartment. I got a bit distracted though as I have been sorting through old photos and letters from friends and family. It's fun to reread yearly Christmas letters and see how everyone's lives have changed, including our own! I am also separating some keepsakes for Allison and Scott including photos and school reports for them to take with them one day when we eventually move and/or downsize our living space. After Allison moves to her apartment at the end of the month and Scott returns to school, Tom and I will be a lot closer to empty nesters!  And the master closet will be a lot more accessible! I hope. 

By the way, thanks to Scott who finally started feeding me. I mentioned that I was not supposed to roam around the house, especially in the kitchen where everyone hangs out!  After that it was carry out the rest of the week. I can see how easy it can be to gain weight on house arrest when someone remembers to feed you. I diligently remained upstairs until the 10th day, and then snuck out occasionally on the following 3 days. Mostly to get outside for some some fresh air while taking out the recyclable trash. And while I was standing in the driveway, one of Allison's friends pulled up with her mom to drop off a chocolate cake and some ribs. Sadly, Allison was invited to her friend's birthday party, but since we were on quarantine, Allison decided to stay away, even though she tested negative. So they brought the party to us. Very nice. And Awesome 7 layer Smith Island Chocolate Cake! 

Being forced to stay home is not such a problem for our family. Tom and Allison have both started new positions at Northrop. Tom decided to switch to the Space program since he was not being challenged in his previous department. Allison officially starts her last intern rotation next week, so she has been trying to orient her replacement on the job requirements. Her current boss does not want her to leave! They even planned on giving her a gift and taking her out to lunch, but we are quarantined. Maybe later. And Tom also stays very busy with his last formal PhD class, writing lots of papers on different types of research surveys and tools. He said this has been the most helpful class he has taken in the whole program. Glad it worked out this way. When this is done, he will begin to concentrate on writing up his own thesis. Scott is just happy to hang out in his bedroom connecting with his friends via computer. And we drag him out 1x/wk to cut the grass! Allison and Tom are also very happy to have the hockey teams playing again. The Stanley Cup Finals will resume next week! It is very strange to be watching hockey, baseball and basketball all at the same time. With a few added extras including the PGA Golf Tournament and NASCAR racing. And the family can always find something interesting on Disney+. 

Mostly the family is well practiced in the art of quarantine. Maryland is still at Phase 2 so limited activities and no special place to go, except shopping. And masks are mandatory inside as well as outside now in crowded spaces. However, since we spend a bit of time on the computer, we are all very practiced in the art of online shopping. Maybe too much. I managed to find replacement planters for the front of the house that I have been looking for since we bought the original planters in Charlotte about 30 years ago. They were a particular pattern I really liked that I could not find. While searching for planters for Allison's patio, I managed to come across the exact match. Although the new planters do not have a full bottom, so you can't just dump in dirt and plant something. You have to put another container inside, so technically these are called plant boxes, not planters. Which may be why I never found them. Anyhow, I decided to pop out the bottoms from my old boxes and put them in the new boxes since they were the same size. They really did need replacing since they basically fell apart when I picked them up. So I got planters! Allison is on her own. On Sunday I was officially off quarantine per the state Dept. To celebrate, we decided to take Allison to Costco for some apartment shopping. She needed some kitchen and bath items including pots and pans and cookie sheets and bath towels and bath rugs. (She got her Grandma B. Christmas check early this year!).  She has some kitchen items already from her college condo days. We also stopped into our large outlet mall to pick up some hand soap and small hand gel for Allison and I as well as for Scott for going back to school. I waited too long to order from Bath and Body Works with my 20% coupon and everything was sold out online!  Or twice the price on Amazon. Looks like all the back to school shoppers have been busy. Fortunately they had a supply on sale in the store, and I was able to use my coupon, and get a free bottle of hand lotion for Allison! She also stopped into a book store to get the new Twilight series release, Midnight Sun. She got the last one on the shelf, but we should have waited to buy it cheaper at Costco. Who knew. We also dropped off Cookie at the groomers. I tried to make her an appointment online before we head to Michigan to drop off Scott at the end of the month while she stays with Ripley, but they were booked until mid September. Instead I called our groomer directly and she squeezed Cookie in on Sunday afternoon. Cookie was not in dire straights for a hair cut, but she was getting a bit shaggy, and it continues to be very hot. This time she only took 2 hours to clip, so we picked her up on the way home from our shopping trip. 

I was not able to stop into my Mom's place to drop off her supplies this past week. I tried calling, but no answer. I think they allow her to wander out of the room. Hard to keep some of the residents with dementia cooped up in their apartment all day since they don't understand the circumstances of quarantine. Mom didn't seem to mind wearing the mask though when we visited last through the outside door. Unfortunately, every time 1 person tests positive for COVID in the facility, it pushes the schedule back two weeks. So our facilities recently allowed  the residents to go outside and visit 6 feet apart with masks, but because they had staff test positive in my building and hers, visits were pushed back inside. chatting through the window only. And even though our facilities are testing weekly for COVID, the MD Dept of Health said nursing homes in our state are not doing enough. I wish we could get the rapid, self testing kits to use ourselves daily rather than take our temperatures. That would seem more practical. 

So I will let you know when I get to go back to work!