Covid Scare - August 2020

                “So, he tested positive?... And when was the test?... And we hung out 5 days ago?... okay… Thanks so much for calling and letting us know. He’s asymptomatic, still?... Good. I hope you guys stay healthy and safe. Thank you.” Wifey hangs up the phone and looks at me. “Well, poop.”

                “What should we do?” I ask.

                “One of us needs to go get a Q-tip brain puncture…. Not it.” Wifey laughs as she puts her finger onto her nose.

                “I’ll do it.”

                “Fine by me.”

                I did the walk-up testing at LTCC that afternoon and then we started waiting… and waiting… and waiting. Not knowing whether of not you have Covid is nerve-wracking. You overanalyze every little feeling and start to make yourself sick with worry. We had some Ginger Ale designated for anytime someone in the family felt nauseous.

                “I’m obnoxious! I want Ginger Ale,” Michael protested.

                This led to an enjoyable lesson in homophone words and some corny jokes whenever our kiddos were acting super silly: “Mommy, look at me I’m so obnoxious, you better give me some Ginger Ale!” Jane would scream while streaking through the house with stuffed animals jammed inside her clothing.

At one point I started coughing repeatedly and Wifey ran over with the thermometer.

“I’m good,” I say choking back some tears. “I was just (cough)… trying to open this (cough)… plastic wrapper and I (cough)… swallowed some plastic.”

“Let me get you some water.”

“Thanks.”

We also had to basically shut down all outside contact until we had my test results back. We disenrolled from kiddo camp activities. We dug deep into the pantry for food. Wifey went for a run with a mask on and got heckled. I was supposed to work in Reno, so I drove down with the required equipment and just had others unload it from the back of my truck, while I helplessly watched with my windows rolled up.

The whole 6 days that we waited for my test results were surreal. Lots of discussions ensued about the pros and cons of contracting Covid and if we were just asymptomatic. We thought a lot about our responsibility to keep people safe by staying away from them. The rare times that we did go out, we chose locations, times, and activities where we could be sure that we would be completely separate from other people.

It felt like a sad irony of sorts. We hadn’t been out doing anything that we thought could have exposed us. We had been really careful. No eating out at restaurants at all. No haircuts; I’m starting to look a bit like John Lennon (which I think I’m okay with). Masks in public always. And only socializing with a few select friends and family and in even in those situations, not sharing food, not touching, and meeting outdoors. But Covid still found us. And that, I suppose, was the real lesson: you could be diligent and follow guidelines and while certainly this will reduce your chances of contracting the virus, it can’t eliminate them.   

Thankfully, my test results came back negative. I was able to responsibly return to work. Our kiddos were able to go back to their activities. And Wifey could go for a heckle-free run. Since our little Covid scare, I’ve been getting tested every other week. It just feels like the right thing to do because the reality is, we really don’t know. There are so many people in and out of Tahoe right now and with “school” starting in the limited form that it is, it just makes sense to have the information. Between Wifey and I, we know personally now at least 6 people who have been infected, none of which we’ve had contact with recently, but it’s still unsettling. Having routine testing gives us at least some data points and my most recent test results were processed faster than the first, so that helps too.

“Dad?”

“Yeah, Michael?”

“Why can’t we go to school? I miss my friends.”

“You will be able to go to school, Buddy. And you will see your friends again…” I reach out and mess his shaggy hair. “Just not yet. We will see how other parts of the country that are going back to regular school do, first. If it looks safe and teachers and kiddos aren’t getting sick, I’m sure you’ll be going back to school really soon. If it looks like people do get sick wherever schools are opening back up, then it will take a bit longer.”

Michael seems to think about this for a while. “I guess that makes sense.”