No joke. I count myself lucky to have gotten away essentially unscathed both times.
I’m glad you did, too!
One thing you can tell yourself, in all seriousness, is even if the symptoms themselves are more annoying from a vaccine, having to isolate for however long from being positive with covid is way more annoying.
My mother, uncle, and aunt died of covid. My mother and uncle suffered acute dementia before they died.
A lot of friends have had long or medium-long covid. My boss “recovered”, but he still has a cough and isn’t using his standing desk because he now finds it too tiring. A friend just finds it harder to focus and do her job since her bout with covid.
I’m still trying to avoid covid, personally. In particular, long covid terrifies me.
All my 30-something friends have been fine. It’s the 45-65 year olds who’ve had lingering problems. And the ~80ish folks who have died.
I knew your mother had died from it. I didn’t know about your uncle and aunt. I’m so sorry.
Like you, I am very respectful of this disease and did know people who died of it when it first came to town. My parents have both had it twice (my Dad turns 92 soon) and don’t seem to think it’s that big of a deal. I’m very glad they’ve done well with it, but I know how bad it can be. And like you, long COVID terrifies me.
In truth, I live a pretty isolated life as it is. It probably wouldn’t be much of a hardship. I can see how it would be for lots of people, though.
The isolating is a nightmare for people with school-age kids. But for me, too, it wouldn’t be that big a deal, unless i caught it at a very inopportune time.
Probably why neither of us has caught it!
Also, i still wear a mask.
I go out dancing with germ-ridden college students every Tuesday night. I had twenty people at a party in my basement the other day. But i usually wear a mask when I’m out, including in my own basement.
I would, too.
I don’t wear one if I’m hanging with friends outdoors, but I do wear one anytime I’m in a place with lots (or even not very lots) of people indoors.
It’s rare to see masks around here, even in doctor’s offices.
It does my heart good to know that there are still a few other people masking regularly. I sometimes feel like a freak, even in the oncologist’s office!
We never stopped masking in my office. There was a time I considered it but I told the staff I would only do it if they got boosters and at least one refused. Now I am glad because the rates are increasing again. I have at least one patient a week testing positive and my parents who are fully vaccinated both got it. I am about the only person I know who has not had it but I am still careful. I went to dinner with a friend last week and she chose a place in a mall and I told her she was crazy.
Also the number of cases reported is artificially low. Most people are testing at home and getting care there without reporting it.
On Friday my gf’s mom notified her sons and daughter that she tested positive for Covid, her first time ever. She assured her kids she was fine. The thing is, there’s a weird family dynamic where she doesn’t want to worry her kids, and they always fall for it. Always.
I went to the barn for privacy and called her. She admitted to me that she was short of breath and fell once from being dizzy, hurting her neck. I told her it sounded like she needed to go to the hospital via ambulance and she agreed.
I sent a message to my gf’s group chat with her brothers and my gf arranged the ambulance, etc. Latest update, she’s in a cervical collar (due to her fall) and nasal oxygen. She’s resting comfortably with an MRI of her neck planned for today.
Well, we have good news today. My MIL is feeling much better. She no longer requires oxygen and will be going home tomorrow. Her MRI ruled out a cervical vertebral fracture for which an initial X-ray was equivocal.
The nurse mentioned that vaccination is responsible for MIL’s quick recovery. During early COVID, older patients who came in looking like MIL were the ones who did not go home.
Whew!
Glad to see some good news. And a good thing that you got her to go to the hospital.
My MIL is a very funny woman. She realizes she wasn’t honest with her kids, but then was with me. She and I have since discussed this.
My gf drove to the hospital today to take her home (everyone double masked). My gf first met with a social worker, who asked my gf “who exactly is kayaker?”
My MIL told the social worker all discussions should go through me. Thanksgiving is going to be hilarious.
I finally had an experience that actually made me question my continued mask wearing.
I went to a clinic run by a major local hospital in a blue state for my yearly checkup, and not only were masks not required, I don’t think any staff member I encountered was wearing one.
More than anything else, that did make me wonder…
I had an eye exam yesterday, and was a little surprised that most of the staff, including all the medical staff, were wearing masks. The ophthalmologist complimented my mask and asked where I’d gotten it.
(I was wearing a KF94 mask with a fun print on it.)
For me I never found a good conclusion on the effectiveness of reusable masks and environmentally I wouldn’t want to be going through loads of disposable ones. But I only really wear one in hospitals and such now anyway.
Anyway I actually came here to have a dig on the vaccine concerns. On YouTube we have John Campbell who was heavily pro vaccine etc now being heavily against them saying he’s just following the evidence, and Susan Oliver on the other side saying he’s a grifter and rebutting a lot of his stuff. But then you have more from his side pointing out flaws on hers and saying she’s a Pfizer shill so… I don’t know what to think any more. I tend to lean towards the “COVID vaccines are very safe” side as the skeptic side is generally the same side as other types of people I dislike. But I’m also aware that’s a bias. So I remembered how this forum tends to be extremely “facts and logic” based.