By Victoria Cosham

For the past 3 weeks my family (my husband, mother (77), my daughter (4)) and I,  have been quarantined.  On Wednesday the 9th my husband started feeling achy, the next day he made a  doctor’s appointment and a covid test was ordered and he immediately isolated himself in Esme’s room. Upon his positive result, all the windows were opened and fans were turned on.  My husband wore a mask when he went to the bathroom or received his food and we wore ours when we delivered items and were in the hall.  The bathroom was bleached after each use, he had his own supply of water and gatorade and snacks in his room to limit contact to tea and meal drop offs.  My mom had a concert scheduled for October 1st that had previously been scheduled for March and was cancelled due to Covid, it’s now been re-scheduled for November 19th.  

\At first he was just achy, no other symptoms, then the chills started, then the fever, then the body aches got worse, and he developed a cough, then lost his appetite, then partially his sense of taste.  Our interactions were over the phone or in 15 second conversations as he walked to and from the bathroom.  He was tired and uncomfortable and in pain, nights were the worst.  We couldn’t see him and only got communication when he gave it, so not knowing if it got worse over night  was scary.  

The first week my mother, Esme and I didn’t leave the house, I ordered groceries from Amazonfresh, signed us up for the Imperfect veggies box, family members and friends dropped off items I couldn’t online at the front door. I focused my energy on being efficient and productive and trying to make sure everyone had what they needed.  Within the first hour of his results I’d ordered pulse oximeters, thermometers and large jugs of water.  We ordered an air mattress because 2 weeks on a toddler bed wasn’t going to work.  

Esme didn’t handle the initial pandemic shutdown well. She missed Common Ground, she missed playing on the playground, she missed trips to Target, she missed trips to see her extended family.  She regressed in some ways- went from loving baths to hating them and started throwing tantrums.  I felt if we focused on being together we could get through what we initially thought was 2 weeks.  Until she looked out the window as the sun was going down and started to cry about missing the sun.  We all did, so my mom, Esme and I started going on drives to nowhere- limited by an hour round trip due to bathroom restrictions, but for self-care and our sanity. This time was different for me and my mom too- we had the virus in the house, we are both high risk for complications.   We breathed an initial sigh of relief when we made it through the first few days symptom free which meant that Common Ground was safe.  But there remained a looming sense of fear, loneliness, and isolation in our home.  We all held our breath waiting for it to get worse or better, the days dragged and the end seemed nowhere in sight.  

A second sigh of relief came when my husband’s symptoms started lessening.  My husband’s company requires 2 negative tests to return to work, so we scheduled tests.  With the possibility of being asymptomatic, I wanted to be sure I was negative before I returned to work.  We went for our tests (in separate cars)  mine was negative,  things were looking up, his was positive.  We reached back out to the health department who instructed us to stay quarantined another week, just to be sure.  We also found out there was a possibility he could test positive for 3 months because of the first infection, a new fear.  My mother’s results were negative, another sigh of relief.   My husband got his first negative on Saturday and his second this week.  Esme went two and a half weeks without a hug from her daddy, they got to have  a sleepover in her room earlier this week because once she could be around him she didn’t want him out of her sight.  

Friday was the first day the four of us rode in the car together in months, and went on a drive to somewhere- the Cox DIY hayride.  We highly recommend it. Life is so stressful now for adults and kids this is a risk free good time.  We were able to have fun as a family, safely (30 seconds of  masked socially distant instruction) and stress free. We got to laugh and feel a sense of calm and joy that has been missing from our family for these past three weeks.  We know Covid has the potential for further health complications down the line, but today we were able to make a memory and enjoy each other and not think about it.  

These three weeks have been heavy and trying and stressful, with lots of tears and breakdowns.  We are looking forward to a return to work and school and community meetings.  We don’t know how my husband contracted the virus, thankfully no one he was in contact with before his isolation tested positive. We will be continuing curbside pick up for groceries and Target runs, just to limit any further risk.  We are so thankful to everyone who prayed for us, checked in with us, dropped things off to us, or sent things to us.  Thankful that the virus didn’t spread and that as bad as it was, my husband’s symptoms were mild and he was able to recover at home.