Welp....my turn to Quarantine

 

So, it is a good 9 months into the Pandemic, and I have been happily Introverting and mostly staying away from people. But I made a few exceptions, and...oops. Yesterday I was told that someone I was in "close contact" with two days before that tested positive for COVID-19. So now it's my turn to really quarantine. 

The good news is that I was well-masked during the "close contact", and that person was masked as well. There was a good-quality air purifier in the room, and good sanitary protocols were followed. See, I am a massage therapist and I had chosen to work on a very small number of clients, knowing that they were tested frequently and being extra careful. I knew there was still a risk, but I chose to take that risk. Now, I will find out if the masking and cleaning were sufficient to stave off that risk. 

I am hopeful that I am healthy enough and lucky enough to not get sick. And if I do, hopeful that my body will be able to fight off the virus. But I have to admit it is a little scary.

The greater risk for me - other than my own health risk - is that I am my 85 year-old mother's caretaker. She doesn't live with me, but I buy all her groceries and drive her to appointments. I just re-scheduled a medical appointment that she had scheduled for next week, in hopes that I will make it through the quarantine and be able to take her to the new date and time. And fortunately I had just done some shopping for her a couple days before I was in contact with the now-positive person. And I do know that if I do get sick there are other options to help my mom (just not her preference). 

So here I am, looking at the calendar, and hoping that I will get through the next week to 10 more days without any symptoms, and without my family getting sick as well. And, here I am looking at my options in case we are not so lucky. Things like when and where I should get tested, who I can contact in case I can't help my mom when she needs it, etc. And in the back of my mind; what happens if I spread it to my family and someone else gets more sick.... 

I am super fortunate because I can take time off of work without losing my job or my house or going without food. My kids are old enough that if I get really sick they can take care of themselves. Again, I know how lucky I am. And although my mom won't like it, she *can* be helped by other people too.

So now I join the group of people who have had to quarantine because they were in contact with someone who tested positive. Fortunately the only people I was in contact with since that time are my family, and they have all been careful as well. Hopefully the story will end here and I won't be part of the spread. I guess I'll find out!