COVID Scares, Hyperbaric treatment & a Parking Pass

Things are humming along this holiday break! I am still not sleeping well, but I am getting just enough sleep to not feel miserable. I kind of enjoy waking up and getting things done. 

In the mornings, I am usually able to do my PT exercises, put away the dishes, and make coffee quietly before the cat even stirrs. 

On Wednesday, I also did my "spit test" for school COVID testing. COVID talk has been non-stop because there were several cases at school including two of my very close colleagues. One colleague is not feeling well at all; and the other is asymptomatic. They work closely, so this is a testament to mask-wearing and viral-load. 

I had 12-minutes of contact with one colleague within the contact tracing timeframe. Apparently 15-minutes is the magic number, so I narrowly escaped quarantine. (Note: Both Chris and I tested negative on the Friday test, and again on the Wednesday test.) 

Meanwhile, there were a good number of students in the upper school who also tested positive. Luckily, Chris did not teach any of them, but that too was a narrow escape. Many, many, many of our colleagues and families from school are spending Christmas in quarantine. It is sad, frustrating, and a true sign of the times. 

Furthermore, Chris' Dad had a COVID exposure as well and is in quarantine. This has been extremely upsetting for us. We are super worried about him. Southern California is not doing well with managing COVID. We are trying to send support to make it easier to quarantine, so that no one is tempted to go to the grocery store.

The nature of his exposure is also hard for us to swallow. There were two. In one case, it was an indoor mask-off meeting in a conference room. My heart sank because we believed that Chris' Dad was not working with other people in the office. The other exposure is horrific: he was in a meeting with a client awaiting a COVID test, but the client didn't tell them. That is negligent and disgusting on the client's behalf. I simply cannot believe that someone would do that. I also can't believe that anyone is having a meeting indoors in Southern California. GO OUTSIDE! YOU CAN! 

I've spent the last few days worrying a lot about COVID. I've made some meals and care packages for a few close friends in quarantine--at least I have somewhere to direct this energy! (Check out @makebakesewgrow on insta for all of my covid-worry/steroid-induced creations!)

Speaking of energy, I am still on the steroids. My face is MASSIVE. I was told I might "puff up" but this is kind of crazy. (See picture on the left, versus one on the right.) As I mentioned, I am still not sleeping very well, but just sleeping enough to not feel badly all day. I am trying to channel my energy into cooking and doing things that I like.

Wednesday, was more of a chore-related day. I did finish making some biscotti, and then had a very long appointment about beginning hyperbaric treatment. This is to help my nerve damage from the radiation.  The theory behind this damage is related to inflammation--this is why they put me on steroids. I can't be on steroids for too much longer because it is contraindicated for the immunotherapy. 

The hyperbaric treatment is kind of a big deal in terms of commitment. It is every weekday for about 12 weeks. It takes 2 hours. I am not allowed to bring anything with me (not even a book). I am not super looking forward to sitting for two hours. They said that they put on a movie for us (there are 12 in the chamber at a time)--which causes me more anxiety than it really should. I can't imagine what movie would be appropriate for us all. I think I am going to have to learn to meditate for real. 

The last errand I ran was for a handicapped parking pass. It is official. I am special. While I am able to walk, it's slow. I *can* still do stairs, but I need a rail and can't always alternate my feet to go up steps. Also, I fall. I am doing PT to help strengthen what I've got. I've lost what I've lost. And, I hope, this hyperbaric treatment helps me moving forward!