COVID Diary and Reflections

I will start this post by saying COVID is real. It is out there. And it sucks to have.

For over a month, our family has been sick with COVID. It started with Ben staying home sick with a cold and cough on Monday, November 15.

Isaac was fine, went to school and tested negative during the thrice weekly antigen tests that school children take here in Berlin all of that week while Ben was home sick.

Uncle Sam came to visit that weekend, so Ben, Dave and I all went to the pharmacy to get Schnelltests (quick tests or antigen tests) the day he arrived in town just to be safe.

We all tested negative and had a great weekend together. Ben was feeling better and nobody thought more about it.

That was until I got a call on Monday morning the 22nd, shortly after returning home from taking Ben to school. Ben had tested positive for COVID. He had taken two Schnelltests to make sure.

Panic struck. I immediately grabbed a car share and drove up to school, had him collect all of his books and took him to a Testzentrum in the Friedrichshain neighborhood of Berlin that was listed on a sheet the school had given me. After several minutes of driving around to find parking, we were on our way to get him a PCR test.

Unfortunately, as another mum and her son also discovered, there was no test center there. So we got back into the car share and drove to the next closest Testzentrum located in the Rummelsburg neighborhood in Berlin. A neighborhood we had never gone to before – oh what an adventure!

While there, I also took a Schelltest, Just to be on the safe side. I rewarded Ben for having an awful probe stuck into the back of his throat with a S‘mores Hot Chocolate and a cookie. In the meantime, my Schnelltest came back negative. Hooray!

Since the free PCR test results would not be ready for 24 – 48 hours, Dave and I decided to take Ben for a second PCR test, much to his protestations, that would give us results by the end of the day, for a fee of €70 or about $80.

We wanted the results as soon as possible to 1) know how to proceed, 2) so Ben could end a potential two-week quarantine and get back to school ASAP, and 3) because Uncle Sam also needed to know so that he could test again and potentially isolate before returning home to his wife.

Just to be safe, we immediately quarantined Ben in the boys‘ room and moved Issac into our small office to sleep on the sofa bed. We communicated with Ben using FaceTime to limit our exposure and we all started wearing masks at home.

Around 10:00 that night, we got the PCR test result — Ben was positive.

Ugh!

I had already gone to sleep by that time, but woke around 3:00 AM and asked Dave what the result was.

We immediately went into overdrive. Emailing the school all of the necessary information that they would need to report to the Berlin Senat, while researching ways to try and stop the spread, as well as looking into what we needed to do to report the results directly to the Berlin Senat ourselves.

It was awful.

Isaac coincidentally stayed home sick that Monday with a cold, so we had him tested on Tuesday with a PCR test at the same Testzentrum I had taken Ben to the previous day in Rummelsburg. His test ended up being negative. Dave and I were both negative when we tested that day (antigen), too. Hooray!

By that time, I was starting to get a cold.

Isaac continued to stay at home from school and would be required to all week as he was considered a K1 – contact level 1.

Dave, Isaac and I continued to test every day that week. Always coming back negative. Maybe the isolation and Dave and my vaccinations (which were less than five months old) were working.?

Coincidentally, seeing our friends in the US post pictures of their vaxxed kids while Germany and the EU were still in the approval process for kids was VERY frustrating, to say the least.

On Thursday – US Thanksgiving Thursday – which we celebrated as a family while socially distancing with the windows cracked for added ventilation, something told us to test Isaac with a PCR test. Even after coming back negative that day with his antigen, we wanted to make sure.

So we took him for a PCR test. Another €70 and about five hours later, his came back positive.

Ugh!

The next day, I felt worse and had lost my appetite. Despite being careful and fully vaxxed, Dave and I both went for PCR tests. €140 and five hours later, I was positive and Dave was negative.

Ugh again!

We immediately moved Isaac back into the boys’ bedroom and isolated them both, while Dave changed the bedding and moved into the office.

So I isolated in our bedroom, the boys in their room, and Dave in the rest of the apartment.

That weekend, two things happened. Dave took another PCR test that came back negative and my health quickly deteriorated.

To spare you all of the fine details, I will try to briefly share what happened next. I was put on a steroid and an antibiotic as my oxygen level was too low and I had a bacterial infection as well. Not to mention a migraine headache that lasted for three days. I was not doing well at all. I only got up to shower when I felt up to it and to use the bathroom.

I cancelled all of my appointments for the next two weeks as I was now in quarantine, too.

But thankfully, I was well taken care of and was able to avoid a trip to hospital.

I sadly missed most nights of Hanukkah because I was too sick, so Dave shared photos with me.

As Brené Brown describes in her new book “Atlas of the Heart”, I was BLOWN. Not only could I not take care of myself, I couldn’t even process what needed to be taken care of.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Dave took care of everything. And deserves a medal for it.

He coordinated my medical care. Ran back and forth to the Apotheke (pharmacy). Wrapped Hanukkah presents. Brought me fresh fruit and tea every day. Picked up an oximeter and care package from a friend. (Thank you, Audrey!) Went up to Pankow to get Isaac’s books from school. Ordered whatever we needed from those quick delivery folks. Did the family cooking, cleaning, laundry, dishes and grocery shopping. Homeschooled the boys. All while sleeping on the sofa bed in the office. I’m sure there is more, but I was stuck in bed and was so sick to notice much.

Thank you, dear! 🙏🏼

I also want to thank our friend Joe who is an ER doc in NYC for the countless texts with advice at all hours of the day and night.

As well as my friend, Petra, who is a doctor here in Berlin for treating me over the phone and for writing the prescriptions I needed.

I also want to thank my in-laws (John and Martha) for the gorgeous roses, my book club for the stunning bouquet containing my favorite color, and our upstairs neighbor, Julie, for the plants and treats she brought to me, which greatly brightened my days.

I also want to thank the countless friends and neighbors who brought us our favorite bagels, as well as snacks, homemade cookies, meals, hot chocolate, treats for the boys, a face mask and serum for me, and supplies to aid in my recovery.

I also appreciate my friend Uli who brought the holiday lights of Berlin to me through her beautiful photos.

I am thankful for my fellow Wayfinder Life Coaches for their continued love, support and streaming suggestions.

And my family and friends who checked in on me. I received texts daily asking how I was doing.

Thank you all! It really did make a difference and contributed to my well being and healing.

I spent two weeks resting and watching shows and movies on my laptop.

Including Angela Merkel’s farewell Tattoo, which brought tears to my eyes. I admire her so much!

I also finished an annual custom calendar that I make for our family as Hanukkah and Christmas gifts.

I saw Berlin’s first snowfall from my bedroom window.

And I reflected on what I was thankful for each day despite being so sick.

But this ordeal was not over.

Dave was feeling sick and a week after my positive test, he went for his third PCR test. You got it, another €70 and a five hour wait. (Trust us, we are super thankful we can get PCR results back so quickly!) His test came back positive this time. It was now December 3.

Ugh!

Two weeks of quarantine for him.

But things are looking up. As I write this on the eve of his last day of quarantine, he is feeling better and never got as close to sick as I did. Thank God!

The boys have returned to a normal school routine, have their last day before the Christmas break tomorrow, and no longer have to test at school as they are considered ‘genesen’ or recovered, however we have decided to have them test regardless.

And I am relieved that Uncle Sam, who was boosted the week before his visit, stayed COVID free despite spending two nights with us and hugging both boys goodbye the same morning that Ben tested positive.

I am feeling better. While I still cannot taste and I am just regaining a slight sense of smell, I am physically better.

I can do household chores, but with breaks. And can leave the apartment. I was even able to buys a few presents on Tuesday for Isaac for his 9th birthday.

Vaccinations for children were given here in Berlin starting this past Wednesday. (A little too late for us, but a big win in the fight against Corona). We plan on getting our boosters either later this month or next as well as getting the kids vaccinated by the end of January, given Omnicron.

Some have told me that our vaccinations must not have worked because we got COVID. Believe what you may, but I trust that I avoided the hospital or worse because I was vaccinated. And that Uncle Sam didn’t get COVID from us because he was boosted.

I think it will take another week or two or perhaps longer to regain a somewhat “normal” level of my stamina. But I have time.

You see, while our original Christmas trip to go downhill skiing in Germany was cancelled because of Corona restrictions, we have decided to take it easy and stay in Berlin this break.

We have a few low-key plans with friends, but don’t plan on doing much.

And that is what I am taking with me into 2022.

Do Less!

While the world didn’t stop and my life wasn’t ruined by taking a month “off”, I want to take this lesson with me into the New Year.

Doing things out of fear, shame, or for others. It’s not worth it.

I want to be very intentional with my time in 2022. Like being a (physical space) minimalist since 2007, I want to take this practice and apply it to my time.

Less scrolling, more learning German.

Less obsessing over COVID numbers, more focus on numbers while playing Rummikub with family and friends.

Less looking at pictures of Kate Middleton and the royals and more focus on my hobby of photography.

Less packing my schedule with busyness and “shoulds”, and more filtering my activities as “coulds”.

So if you don’t see or hear from me quite as much in 2022, know that this is intentional for my own well being and the well being of my family of four, not a reflection of how I feel about you.

And if we do spend time together, or share a text or a call, know that I cherish our interaction.

Please don’t take offense. And do reach out. Just know that I will be stepping back from things outside of my family and well being a little bit next year. And it may take me a little longer to respond.

Taking ‘Turtle Steps’ as my teacher, Martha Beck, calls them. Small actions to create change.

Happy New Year!

Bleibt Gesund. Stay Healthy.

Love,

Shannon