I woke up today symptomless!!! I feel normal, as normal as a weirdo like me can feel.
I had 11 hours of sleep last night and feel like a new woman. I have the normal morning nose itchies but did not cough at all last night. I spared myself the cold cough drops during the night to avoid the asthma wheeze.
HOT OFF THE PRESSES: Yesterday, the CDC updated it's guidelines and shortened the quarantine timeframes 5-days down from 10 days. The guidance also cites: "The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to the onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after."
What does this mean for my specific timeline?
1 -2 days prior to the onset of symptoms: I would have been contagious 12/21 & 12/22.
2 - 3 days after the onset of symptoms: I would have been contagious 12/25 & 12/26.
According to the CDC guidelines and knowing that it is 12/28, I am not contagious anymore--what a relief. Even though I am siloed off in my Covid Loft, it still made me nervous being around my parents. We are still practicing the same protocols-me staying up here and wearing a mask when I go fetch items on the stairs.
5-day quarantine: I was exposed 12/20. First symptoms 12/23. Positive test 12/24.
Given this new guidance, technically, I can leave quarantine today. I am not going to leave today though. I booked my flight for tomorrow, 12/29. I want to give myself 48 hours of rest and hydration and a 2-day buffer on top of what the CDC recommends just to be extra safe before I hop on a flight and head home. I don't want to take any chances on spreading this to anyone.
Here's the plan:
Sleep, hydrate, sleep, hydrate.
Yes, I will be in my PJs all day today.
No, I did not shower yet today.
Yes, I am laying back down as soon as I am done writing this.
I will test on 12/29 and hope for a negative. Then, hop on an airplane to San Diego.
Ok, enough of this technical boring stuff, let's move on to something fun--FOOD!
I've been so lucky to have mom's home cooking this whole time and wanted to share The Food of Quarantine. Mom got a HoneyBaked Ham for Christmas Day that only the 3 of us got to enjoy. Many of these dishes are hamcentric. The rest that are not hamcentric are still scrumdillyumptious.
During my heavy congestion days, I was trying not to do milk products to keep the phlegm down. On those days mom made a non-dairy veggie dip. It was tofu sour cream, fresh dill, garlic powder, lemon juice, salt,
and pepper. It was so delish to dip fresh veggies.
The next day she made the best salad I've ever had in my life. It was so green,
The other non-dairy dish was bowtie pasta with vegan butter, lemon juice, garlic, and a ton of fresh veggies. She served it with a green salad. I mixed the greens and pasta together. Sadly, the pic I took was too blurry, but this was my favorite meal. My body said THANK YOU for the veggies for sure.
And then, there are the snack plates. Nobody makes a snack plate-like Kathy K. Normally I'd have a snack plate when I had my daily veggie broth. Yes, my mom makes her own homemade veggie broth. I feel like I should interview her and ask for the recipe as a public service.
Yesterday, under the guise of needing more Theraflu, with the real goal of satisfying my sweet tooth, I asked my brother to restock my sleep aid AND bring me cookies. He brought me 2 kinds of cookies, 2 boxes of Theraflu AND a lottery ticket! The ticket was not a winner but the fresh baked cookies from the local grocery store bakery won me over big time. In fact, I am eating one of those cookies and sipping my decaf coffee right now as I write this.
Lastly, there is a rumor my mom will make homemade clementine vinaigrette today. I don't know if this is fact or fiction. I overheard her talking to herself working through a recipe using the clementines my husband brought her from our garden in San Diego. If this happens, it will be the best grand finale salad a girl could ask for. I will keep you posted.
Hacks of the day:
Fresh sheets/clean laundry: I did laundry yesterday and put fresh clean sheets on my bed. It made my rest last night so much better and having clean laundry is healing in its own special way.
MarcoPolo Ap: Isolation can be maddening, and lonely. My family/friends and I have been using the MarcoPolo ap for years. It’s an ap where you can exchange live videos with each other in a group. My Sibs and I talk to each other several times a day on it even before Covid. Having access to humans has made me feel connected to the outside world even though I have not left this upstairs Covid Loft in 6 days. In fact, sometimes, I feel like I can’t catch up with all the communication. I’d rather feel like that than alone like no one cares. I’ve loved the MarcoPolos from friends and family. Whether it’s this ap or other ways, find a way to stay connected to people via text, social media, MarcoPolo, whatever. It’s good for the soul.
Sleep:
My big takeaway from this experience so far is the power of sleep. Each night that I had a great night of sleep, I woke up the next day feeling physically, so much better. If you can't fall asleep naturally, don't sweat it, use a sleep aid. There is no shame in a sleep aid. My sleep aid of choice is THERAFLU Nighttime. I also listen to the "Native American Flutes/Nature" channel on AppleMusic or Pandora. It puts me out in 5 minutes like I am hypnotized. When I am at home and I want to keep my sleep on schedule I take 7 mg melatonin at night. I didn't have my brand here so I resorted to Theraflu. But, if it's melatonin, Theraflu, counting sheep, warm milk, meditation, take something and force yourself to sleep. It doesn't have to be nighttime to sleep either. Give yourself 4 hours of productivity then go back to bed. It's the only thing that will speed up recovery.
I have 24 more hours of quarantine. Wish me luck for a negative test tomorrow so I can hop on an airplane home to see my hubby and puppy.
If you are alone and don't have your big brother to bring you cookies, or a mom that is a magical kitchen chef, reach out to someone. You can reach out to me and I will door dash you stuff, send you a Haiku or MarcoPolo you a funny message. You are not alone. If you have Covid or know someone that does, please share my post or info with them if they need help. I am happy to share any tips or hacks that have helped me to make this a little bit easier for people. If you have any tips or hacks you want to share with me, please do. I welcome all feedback that will make this stupid Covid a little bit easier for me.
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