The week took a turn for the worse...This time I am not well.

[Cat_Mom_Jen]

Good evening everyone,

The title of this blog post says it all.  Since my last post to you all, I got very sick. 

I returned to work this past Thursday.  While I was off work, I noticed that I had been using my inhaler more often than usual.  I thought it was because Frank and Frances were both at the vet, bringing home with them the smells from the vet and dander from other pets.  However, when I returned to work on Thursday and realized that I was feeling worse by the hour, I knew something was wrong. 

After my lunch break, I e-mailed my doctor explaining how I was feeling and asked what I should do about it.  When I got home from work, I received an e-mail back saying that I needed to go to a walk-in clinic to make sure I did not have COVID-19.  I gathered my purse and keys and headed to our walk-in clinic here in town.

When I got to the walk-in clinic, a sign stated that patients coughing or had difficulty breathing had to go to the back of the building.  I had both symptoms, as well as body aches, so I drove to the back parking lot.  I walked up to the door and called the number on the door.  The time was 6:40pm, and the clinic closed at 7:30pm.  A woman answered the phone and informed me that they were not taking any more patients that evening.  To say I was upset was an understatement.  I was ill, and now I was feeling worse because I was panicking.  I texted my husband, and he suggested that I go to the ER.  I told him that it was too expensive, but I headed that way anyway because the other walk-in clinic, which closed at 8pm, was an hour away.  Once I got there, I discovered that six people were ahead of me, so I headed home.

As I was driving home, my husband was texting his boss about me.  Minutes later, he got permission to leave work early to come home and take me to the ER.

While at the ER, I had an IV with saline solution, bloodwork, a steroid shot injected in the IV, an EKG, a chest x-ray, a nebulizer treatment, and a swab test.

I also found out that my blood pressure was high, which meant that I was fighting something.  I did not have a fever.

I was prescribed prednisone and codeine.  I still have my inhaler. 

I cannot return to work until I find out that my test is negative.  My husband is in quarantine with me until I get my results.  Luckily, he is on vacation until next Saturday. 

My library branch had to close yesterday because my two coworkers had to quarantine.  My good friend April (April works at the main library branch.) had to stay home as well because she was in close contact with me multiple times on Tuesday.

On top of all this, Holden has been pukey today, but seems to be doing better at the moment.

On the plus side, we have only two more days of Frank's eye ointment, and Frances is fully recovered.

I am greatly worried about my family's (husband and cats/kittens) and friends'/coworkers' health.  If I come up positive, I will fight it. 

I have been pretty down these past few days because I had done everything I could to prevent this from happening.  I had done the following preventative measures:  I got my pneumonia shot back while I was on vacation in August, I got my flu shot ten days ago, I took vitamins daily, I wore my mask properly, I washed my hands, I wore gloves while I was at work, I used hand sanitizer, I wiped things down at work with disinfectant wipes, and I quit smoking. 

So, my family and I need your prayers, words of encouragement, healing vibes, anything to lift us up.

Jen

Pictured is Frank comforting Holden feeling pukey (with flash). 10/17/20