Hi, everyone!
Apologies for not showing up for a while. Our house was struck with the dreaded C. Every single one of us in the house got it and it really did spread like wildfire. Like they say in the media, this new variant spreads more quickly than the previous ones.
It started two weeks ago when my husband had a debilitating cold...
We initially shrugged it off as something he might have caught because of the weather. It was chilly this January. There were nights we didn’t even use the AC as it was very windy outside. Aside from that, we had a rapid test kit in the house, and his results tested negative.
I kept hearing stories though about people we know that are positive. I barely knew anyone who suffered from the Wuhan and the Delta variants, but during the spread of this new variant, a lot of people I know were posting that they caught COVID and are already in self-isolation. What’s more, our aunt mentioned that some neighbors were already positive. It’s only a matter of time before the dreaded C comes knocking at our door.
Two days after my husband had a cold, my daughter and I caught a fever. I also had a dry cough and some muscle pains. My toddler, on the other hand, had diarrhea for the first time in her life. Our little one is just two years old. A day later, our aunt who helps me take care of the little one, suffered also from cough and muscle pains. The day after that, her kid got a fever, a cough, a headache, and the poor kid was also vomiting. Our neighbor who carried my daughter a day before got also sick with a cold and fever too.
But before our aunt’s son became sick, we took the little one to the pediatrician. We were not allowed to enter the hospital as we have symptoms so her doctor checked her up in the car. She couldn’t say if it’s COVID but she advised us to take an RT-PCR test ONLY at 5 days after symptoms show. This would avoid false results.
As the RT-PCR test was expensive, we all just took rapid antigen tests as we have tons of them at home. A good-natured relative sent us a lot of kits last December.
Lo and behold, the house was riddled with the what-that-must-not-be-named. (For days, it felt like we’re whispering about what it is. We were all afraid to call it what it was).
Thankfully, symptoms were mostly minor but it was the kids’ symptoms that got a bit worrisome as they both had fever. Both also lost appetite. It was scary since they don’t have vaccines yet.
As for my little one, for a week, she wouldn’t play and she’d barely eat. There were also days that she’d poop almost every hour. Aside from that, she wanted to be carried all the time. And not just by anyone, she wanted to be carried only by me, not our aunt nor her father.
I told her that she was my little kangaroo since she was always attached to my body. She was always like that every time she was sick. I guess, she feels safer when I am around.
As much as it was tiring, secretly, I cherish these moments. It feels good to know I am her number 1. This, of course, earned the envy of her papa.
In a fit of jealousy he asked her a few days ago, “who do you love more, Mama or Papa?”
But she didn’t answer. Our aunt and I told him not to ask anymore. For little ones, the mother is always numbah wan in their hearts. I wonder how long that would last.
Anyway, the good news is the kids are both fully-recovered. Only our aunt and I still have mild coughs. Aside from that, everything is pretty much back to normal.
As much as possible please stay at home, since this new variant is very contagious. There are rumors that it’s now airborne but no official word yet on this. Nothing serious happened to us but it pays to be cautious, especially if you have non-vaccinated housemates or worse, you live with high-risk individuals.
