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The whole fam got Covid

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Before I start, I want to say the biggest thank yous to our amazing neighbors, Korean ladies’ squad, and our Bible study friends for showing up in practical ways to help our family in a sickness bout! We’re not good about asking or accepting help, but this time I reluctantly and gratefully accepted. I’m so glad I did because our recovery is going faster more smoothly than if we toughed it out ourselves. We are incredibly blessed and humbled by God for all these people and communities to journey through life with us.

Also, thank you readers for your kind words of support and get well wishes on my last post. I immensely appreciated your empathic words and read them over and over again!

Last weekend is a blur to me as all the days blended in together. When I wrote my last post, Chris and I were convinced we had the flu, a terrible bout of it.

I laid in bed the next morning moaning and groaning from all the chills, body aches, headache, and coughing. This flu was getting worse; maybe these are Covid symptoms? Got the test kits out and swabbed: 15 minutes later, both our tests showed two lines. Isolate from the kids on Saturday. Elliot just hangs out watching his YouTube videos but Ellis is weepy. She sent me a picture of her mask with spots of wetness on the top part of her mask. I thought she was informing me about a runny nose. No, they’re her tears. She misses hugs.

Sunday morning at 6, Ellis texts me saying that she just threw up. She looks pale. In all, she threw up 3 times. So we swabbed her for Covid and she tests positive.

My mind went full blown bonkers at this point. If she gets respiratory issues, she will need to go to the ER and perhaps hospitalization. The nightmare I’ve been avoiding for 3 years has finally manifested itself. The fears: I’m not in any condition to take her the ER, and even if I did, they probably won’t let me in? I have no idea what the hospital’s protocol is. I don’t have it in me to be bedside while I feel my body aches with each step I take and wince from the cough pain. Ellis will freak to be at the hospital by herself. All the random snippets of stories I heard about Covid and family not being allowed…they were screaming in capital letters in my head. That was at the height of the pandemic on 2020, but what if it’s still true??

Since Ellis tested positive for Covid, I held her in my arms and she fell asleep. More than anything, she needed to rest and calm down since she throws up from anxiety, which experience shows that it can soon spiral out of control. She started to snore and I fell into a delirious sleep, waking up every so often moaning and groaning. Few hours later, I heard Elliot coughing, footsteps hurriedly running to the bathroom, and him retching. He’s sick too but nothing came out; just dry heaving. We tested him, but his results showed Covid negative. Elliot was still convinced that it was a false negative, so we tested him again that evening. Still, negative.

Sunday morning will go down in the books for me as one of the most hectic and helpless feeling moments in my life. I’ve had a few of those that I remember distinctly, and this will be one of them. I was assured that Chris would take good care of Elliot if I had to take Ellis to the hospital, except I wasn’t confident that I could do it this time. That’s how physically awful I felt. I called the weekend on-call pediatrician, and I was told that since Ellis was fully vaccinated, she might have mild symptoms and may not need hospitalization. BUT if she starts panting and has trouble breathing, take her to the ER. If possible, take her to the Stanford one since they have a pediatric cardiac unit and know her history.

I understand doctors want to cover all bases with their suggestions, but the thought of driving Ellis to the ER with breathing difficulties struck me with intense fear. Shouldn’t I call the ambulance instead? How bad does her breathing have to get? Will her condition change quickly? So much questions, unclarity, and ambiguity; if it does happen, we’ll have to make an informed decision quickly to get the help she needs. This means I need to be alert and vigilant, except I’m everything but those things as I stood there in the kitchen in my red oversized Christmas sweater, the ugly Christmas one with baby kittens on it, black sweats with frayed hems that I spontaneously cut with jagged-edge scissors last summer, and mismatched socks. Too tired and sick to care.

But do you know God was in the kitchen with me Sunday morning?: when Chris and I were whispering how to handle the ER issue if it arose. When I turned away from Chris to answer Ellis’ call, I looked up at the ceiling to the point where I couldn’t reach back anymore with my mouth agape and sighing in desperation. I don’t remember what I rambled on about or what I prayed exactly…it was a mumble jumble prayer of panic, fear, worry, and literal dizziness.

While I slowly slurped my very badly-cooked bowl of oatmeal, I just sensed or heard, open the door and get some fresh air. Alright. Once I was done, we put our chairs in a triangle shape and sat in them with slumped shoulders, Ellis with a blanket over her legs, masks on for all of us, just looking at each other. No lively conversation. Just sitting there with the sun on our faces and the light breeze blowing around us. It was just what we needed. We saw some friends, jumpy squirrels, and something other than the four boring walls inside the house. It wasn’t a drastic step, but the change of scenery revived our sagging spirits. It gave us a boost of hope that if we feel down and cabin fevered inside, just open the door and sit on the patio chair for a minute. God’s answer was so simple and refreshing.

It didn’t mean the day didn’t have its trials, because we were still sick and couldn’t figure out what was causing Elliot’s symptoms. But that was a reminder from God that reprieve is available when I felt too overwhelmed to think and that it’s right outside the door in His beautiful nature.

Update: Pediatrician’s office visit for Elliot on Monday afternoon: he tested positive on their test kit. The rash is Petechiae, ruptured blood vessels from straining while coughing. She pressed on them and they didn’t change color as the skin normally would. The spots should fade as he recovers.

while waiting for Elliot’s Covid test results at pediatrician’s office

The whole family has Covid now. It’s easier in some ways because we don’t need to isolate from each other or wear masks at home. We’re slowing down and taking a forced breather. Blessing in disguise. Hoping we kick covid’s butt this week and we get back to health soon!

Categories: Faith journey family Mom lIfe Nature observations and thoughts Personal growth Raising kids

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singlikewildflowers

Welcome to my blog! My name is Esther and I'm so happy you are here. I'm an avid nature photographer and a daydreaming thinker. My posts revolve around photos of nature's beauty, homeschooling adventures with my 2 kids, sporadic reflections on my child's heart condition, Bible reading reflections, gardening feats, and other mish mash things. Hopefully you'll leave encouraged, pensive, or smiling at the simple things of life. Thank you for stopping by and hope you'll find some interesting posts to read!

30 replies ›

    1. Thank you Jo!! It’s surprising how Ellis is faring better than Elliot, who has no preexisting medical conditions. The recovery process has highs and low and like our pediatrician tells me, it’ll get worse before it gets better. I think we’re at the worst period…praying things will look up soon!! Thanks for your well wishes!! šŸ™‚

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    1. Thank you Fran!! It’s been nuts at our house for the past week. I wish I could relax and just rest without worrying about others, but it’s hard when you hear the little people coughing like maniacs.
      I’m glad you all recovered well. That must’ve been extremely tough for your family too. Whew, this Covid is kicking our butts and pushing our immune systems to work harder. Take care!!

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    1. Thank you!! Kind of forced to rest as much as I can and physically am not possible to do much. I did manage to vacuum yesterday and was so proud of myself. Dust and crumbs drive me crazy so doing that little bit of cleaning made our surroundings tidier. lol

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  7. Oh what a horrendous week you had. I hope you all continue to heal. Try to get as much rest as possible. Sleep is your best friend. You and your family are in my prayers. šŸ˜€

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  10. Lifting you all in prayer for continued recovery. May you all be kept safe & with peace of mind to rest & recover.

    Appreciate your openness & honesty in sharing your despair and anxiety – in our weakness, His strength will see us through. May his angels continue to surround you & bring you practical & spiritual comfort.

    Sending you lots of positive energy & big hugs!

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  11. Well thank goodness it is not this time last week – you are stronger for these trials Esther, but I am sure you will gain a gray hair or two or three. I hope everyone is feeling better now. Will this mess up taking Easter break from school next week or do you feel the need to make up for this week of time lost? Hugs to you and blessings for the family!

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    1. Speaking of grey hairs, I think I got a few more and more hair loss. I’m surprised with how much I’m shedding when I wash my hair.
      These experiences are making me stronger and more resilient, but I don’t want any more new experiences that will test that. No thanks! I was too overwhelmed. Elliot sprained his arm in January and Covid in March. We need a break!! Next up: orthodontist follow up and Ellis’ echo. We’re taking a semi-break and doing our regular thing. Kids still took their online classes during covid, so I’m counting that as their lessons. No outings planned for us except for walks and gardening.

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      1. That’s good they could still do the online lessons. I remember you were on a strong vitamin pill for hair loss – Vitamin D I think and you took it only once a week. Maybe it was working but continual stress is not helping in the hair loss or in your overall well being. This year, barely into the second quarter, has not been kind to you or your family. Did Chris suffer any bumps or bruises from the car accident? Now he will have to deal with getting another vehicle,

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      2. I took the weekly vitamin D for the hair loss. lol. You have good memory, because I forgot all about that. Once I’m better, I may get a recheck on that level. The hair loss is significant. Stress and health affect hair health…it would be so nice to have luscious, full hair. Ahhhh, the vanity speaks!!
        Thankfully Chris was unhurt in the car accident. The car was totaled. Isn’t it amazing that he walked away unhurt?! Insurance was able to cover the claim and we got a replacement of his original car just yesterday. It’s been full week, to say the least.

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      3. I do remember we discussed the hair loss at length. When you’re done with this bout of Covid, then return and get another prescription. Chris is lucky and that’s amazing your insurance company did a replacement car that quickly. I’ll bet they are having to fill a lot of claims, for flood damage to cars espcially.

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      4. Once I’m feeling better, I’ll need some bloodwork done.
        We are so grateful that life has returned to normal after a week and a half. I was one weary soul when the whole thing went down, but thankfully it was a time of forced rest and family bonding. God works in miraculous ways! As for the insurance claims and those who experienced flooding, I don’t know how that would work out. In CA, it may be uncommon to have flood insurance because it’s so uncommon. Sigh…nature is so beautiful but too much of it is fierce and dangerous.

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