Honestly I’m a little surprised it took me four years. I guess there’s something to be said for being a feral, stay-at-home artist who never goes anywhere or sees anyone.
OK, so, first, it sucks. I mean, it suuuuuuuucks. But. I’m vaccinated and since I thought I was just having one of my usual tenacious allergy attacks and have been treating it as such before I even knew it was The CoV, so it’s not as bad as some people have had.
I also, as I already said over on Facebook, know how to take care of my lungs thanks to asthma, and a lifetime of verying intensities of allergies/chest congestion. I may have forgotten to bring Covid tests with me on vacation but I remembered my Flovent and my Albuteral. Albuterol? SpellCheck seems to be taking a nap.
I started feeling what I thought were hot flashes on the cruise, on about Day Six of the cruise. If it takes 5-7 days from exposure to onset of symptoms, then, that would imply I got exposed somewhere between the last full day in NYC to the first full day on the cruise. The last two full days of the cruise I was getting really overly hot in the early afternoon, and again through the night as I was sleeping. Not a super worrying complication since I’m always hot when sleeping and, hello, hot flashes are a part of life at this age (AM I RIGHT FELLOW UTERUS OWNERS???). But then in London I started getting worse congestion than usual so I found a Boots (my grandmother used to have a dog named Boots so I giggle a little every time I say that shop name to my to myself) and got the British generic equivalent of DayQuil and Nyquil. Took some that first day, and tried not to do too much after St. Paul’s, so I’d have energy to go to Hamilton. Still kind of felt like shit the next day but went ahead and walked down to see a couple of bridges and then rested the afternoon. And in retrospect, knowing that it’s Covid and not just a cold or allergy attack, it makes sense why I’ve been feeling so sluggish and brain-no-worky.
Side note, I feel hella sorry for Jeff when my brain goes no-worky, because I tend to do things like stand in the middle of the sidewalk turning around in a big circle while not understanding why I’m not understanding the map directions on my phone and yelling FUCK a lot at the sidewalk. Or I keep standing in front of the elevator door like a dumb cow in the rain chewing her cud, waiting for something to happen, when I’ve been in the same elevator six times already and KNOW it’s a door that doesn’t automatically open and you have to push/pull it yourself. yway!
Anyway!
Many many people told me I should get a Covid test, but the Boots was already closed after dinner and I didn’t have it in me to try something else farther away (I didn’t know this when booking the B&B but we were in the financial district so everything was shutting around 8 PM). So a cocktail of NyQuil/Afrin/Albuterol it was, and in the morning as soon as I got up I went down to the Boots and got more meds, a thermometer, some vitamin C (in case it was a cold), and a pulse ox thing because I am getting winded easily (but am also recovering easily). I felt stupid buying the thermometer and pulse ox since I have some at home, but they’re not doing me a lot of good at home, are they?! Maybe I can ship them to Donna the day before I leave, and they’ll be here for me when I come back to England in November, lol. And I also got a Covid test. Anne had said something about how there were tests that did Covid, Flu, and something else, but all they had were straight-up Covid ones; one packs or five packs. Well, who just gets a one pack? How are you going to retest for verification with that???? So I got the five. And after I got back to the hotel and tested, that fucker lit up like a Christmas Tree, so I definitely have Covid for the first time.
(Another side note: repeated O2 testing levels have me solid between 97-99, which is a lot better than it felt when I was wheezing after having to go up a flight of stairs. Like I said, I’m getting winded so easily – but I’m recovering quickly, as well, so I’m not considering it a medical emergency. I did tell Jeff that if it gets below a certain level – 92 – I should seek medical care ASAP.)
As much as it’s sucking (I am a whiny baby! I want a nap! I’ve been congested my whole life and I hate it so much! Why is snot a Thing?! Why are fevers?! I feel like my skin is roughly the same temperature of the sun! I am a giant ball of sweat! This is like a hot flash dialed up to a thousand!! My brain has gone as stupid as it was when I was on Gabapentin for the Shingles!) it could be a whole lot worse. Like I said above, I’m vaccinated, and I’ve been taking care of myself – I doubt I could have walked so much yesterday to the bridges and back if I hadn’t been. I’ve got more than one friend who’s had it worse, and gotten Long Covid to boot, so… my whinging is nothing compared to that. And I’m in fucking… England? Scotland? I’m writing this on the train and honestly I have no idea where I am. My point though is that I’m not in a hospital, and don’t feel like I’m likely to need a hospital if I’m already halfway through it.
Yes, I am on vacation. But the next six days is in Glasgow, at WorldCon. And while I will miss hugs and dinners and hanging out, almost all (if not all) of the panels are on the hotel room TVs so at least I’ll be able to catch some panels from the room as I rest. Hopefully the room will have a nice view… even just a tolerable view with some green would be nice. And there’s room service, Jeff can bring me food, and I have to check Scottish guidelines but I’m pretty sure that if I mask up while I’m out I can run down to get myself some food/drink/more meds from a nearby shop. I mean, I have a friend who, when she had Covid, wore a mask to read her kids bedtime stories and the kids didn’t catch it. So running into a shop and using contactless pay to grab a few things is probably safe for others. All of that to say that it’s irritating, but if I rest for the next week, hopefully The ‘RoRo won’t interfere with the rest of the vacation. We have three day-tours planned for Inverness; two are easy – distillery tours – but one is to the Isle of Skye to see the Fairy Pools… unfortunately the one I want to do the most! But I opted for free cancellation on all of them Just In Case, so…. it’ll be what it is. Gosh, what if I have to come back in a couple of years to do the things I didn’t get to do this time?
And mostly….? I’m glad that Jeff seems to have been spared. I’d feel bad if I dragged him on this trip AND gave him Covid. I really wanted him to have a good time on this adventure. I was hoping for him to be able to see some things and have some experiences he’s wanted for a while, and to be able to look up his family over here. And maybe show him that I am a person who can relax and have fun every now and then….! Not that Covid is in any way fun or relaxing. But adventures are! Oh, wait, but, Covid is an advenure… albeit maybe not a fun one. OK, I don’t think I’m doing a good job making my case here, haha. My point is that I hope Jeff still has a good time, and maybe doesn’t want to throw me out the airplane by the time we fly home.