Last weekend, before going to Hinesville for a (small) 4th of July celebration, I found out that Chris' ex-mother-in-law had been hospitalized and had COVID.
It was unsure whether she had contracted it at the hospital in Jacksonville or the nursing home she had been transferred to for recovery after her fall and heart attack. The one thing which was sure was that she had tested positive for the disease.
Chris' ex had spent a lot of time with her mother, of course, so she was now isolating, along with her family... including their son.
That meant no little boy at our gathering.
My first niece had asked me how soon after someone is diagnosed with COVID-19 can they be regarded as safe to be around others?
I had to look that one up.
Harvard Medical School had that information, and it was rather lengthy.
Basically, once diagnosed as diseased, the person is to isolate for at least ten days after they have fully recovered.
Fully recovered is defined as having tested negative for the coronavirus for two consecutive days after all symptoms have gone.
Note that release from the hospital does not mean fully recovered.
Hospitals, remember, need to move patients out of beds so new patients can move in.
What a sad, but largely preventable, situation for the ex's family.
Then, at 3:40 PM today, Christina texted me.
her: "Just found out Jr's mom has Covid."
me: "Great. Have to believe that whole family does now. What a shame, with Junior's birthday coming up."
her: "I know. I already rented the water slide for his party."
me: "Can you cancel it?"
her: "Yes. I can cancel. I just hate that Jr is going to miss out."
me: "I am, too."
her: "I am kinda glad he didn't want to come those past weekends now. Covid is really hitting home now."
me: "Well, at least it is not due to anything y'all did wrong. So, that is good."
her: "Covid has officially gotten too close for comfort for me."
Damn.
That means more time that Chris is not going to have with his son.
The boy is ten, so hanging out with two tiny girls was out of the question.
If he was going to be around a little one, might as well be the one at home.
So, he had not been to Hinesville for at least three weeks.
(That's a nice thing about blogging: I can look back to remember dates.)
To change the mental scenery, I contacted Jeff, as that's been awhile, too.
me: "Do y'all ever watch The Wall? It's a game show on NBC, not bad, though I have only seen 2. I saw the first of the season last night On Demand. The woman had lost her left leg, from knee down, at the Boston Marathon bombing. Very good show, thought Amy might like it."
ex: "Isn't that the one that looks like a huge Pachinko game?"
me: "Yes! Christina had recommended the show."
ex: "I saw it once or twice and I'm still unclear on the rules. I do, however, watch Match Game and Don't.
me: "The premise is one person is answering prestioms in a soundproof room while the other tries to rack up money on the Wall. Big trust issue. Love Match Game! I haven't tried the other yet. I like To Tell The Truth also. And, of course, Family Feud, with or without celebrities."
ex: "They come on late, so we watch them On Demand."
me: "That's what I do, too, but because I can't keep track of when they are on."
ex: "They keep moving around their times or days?"
me: "No, just my blonde roots doing their thing."
ex: "It's hard to keep track of what day it is, too."
me: "For real. If not for the computer telling me, I would be lost."
ex: "How was the Bananas game with Scott?"
me: "I did not have a ticket for that game. My first was to be the 7th but it was rained out before the gates opened. So, now I wait for Monday the 13th."
ex: "Our collegiate summer baseball team, the Traverse City Pit Spitters, had to cancel a few games because several of the players tested positive."
me: "Yeah, i am waiting for that. Bananas had an office full of sick staff before the season started. Waiting for that to happen to the others."
ex: "I don't know how the league can play if one team is out for a while. That monkeys with the equilibrium of all the travel."
me: "They are only playing three other teams this year, Macon, Lexington County, and Catawba Valley. Those two are SC. The Bananas have a pay-to-view service that lets folks still have the circus. I opted not to partake."
ex: "The Rome team let their ply by play announcer go."
me: "No doubt. Christina has had the virus touch her family. All through her boyfriend's side. First his ex mom-in-law, now his ex. His son lives with her."
ex: "Oh, no."
me: "Sadly, yes. The boy will be 11 on the 18th. They had been planning a big cookout and water bounce house. Now, he won't even be with his dad."
ex: "Oh my."
me: "It's a very sad situation. I hope the boy will only have a mild case."
ex: "The youngsters seem to, more often than not."
me: "I think that is because their lungs are in good condition. This virus just slays weak lungs. Most kids have not even had bronchitis, or been around smoke."
ex: "Ah, that makes sense."
me: "Science! I haven't read that, but evidently my brain has been figuring it out. Just another puzzle. :-) "
I just love that my brain has been working on that particular puzzle.
I'm sure it's because it has a vested interest in being prepared.
After all, my brain is in a human that had chronic bronchitis as a girl, as well as several other times in the past, usually associated with allergy season.
My brain's human was also a cigarette smoker for almost twenty years, as well as exposed to heavy cigarette smoke for most of four decades.
But, perhaps the biggest concern is that this human has had pneumonia twice, both times in the right lung.
All of those particular illnesses add up to damage of lung tissue.
SARS-COV-2 just loves that stuff.
It's an absolutely perfect home for COVID-19 to nestle in and start chewing, causing the human to cough relentlessly, hacking up bits of dead lung tissue as they do.
Yeah, there's a mental image to promote face coverings and hand washings.
Ugh.
Maybe I can find a nice movie to watch as a distraction...
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