On Having Covid

My brain is still not great, and I figure if folk are reading this cos they have Covid theirs won't be great either.  So here's an easy Q&A I've put together about my experience with Covid.  Feel free to skip to the parts that are most useful for you.

1) How did you get Covid?

Honestly, we don't know.  We think it's possible that Etta had it before anyone else in our house but she wasn't tested when she was most symptomatic.  It seems unlikely given that everyone else in our household had it, that she managed to avoid it completely, and she did have the 'Covid cough' before anyone else in the house.

We hadn't tested her as she had similar symptoms to what both Murray and I had had the week before and we'd both had PCR tests that came back negative.  The timing also made things tricky.  She got sick at the time that there were huge queues for PCR tests and because we'd read in the news that some tests weren't even being processed due to overloading we didn't want to make her sit in a car for up to five hours for a test when she probably just had the bug we'd just had the week before.  RAT tests were not available at this time.

So it had to come from school.  We've been extremely vigilant with our kids being out in public like, they've only been into my work once and supermarkets not at all.  We haven't even had playdates this year.  Given the number of positive cases at our school, whether it was Etta or Abby that got it first, that's likely where it came from.  Yes the kids have both been wearing masks to school.  Yes the school is trying their best.  It's just what happens in a pandemic.

2) Did you pass it on to anyone else?

Not to our knowledge but quite possibly.  Both of the kids teachers are ok, but there are certainly other kids at school that also got Covid although none of our kids besties have it yet.  Both kids were at school whilst mildly symptomatic - in Etta's case we'd assumed she had the cold we'd had the week prior.  And in Abby's case we had not actually realised anything was off - her teacher mentioned that she'd been a little quieter than usual after I text her when we tested positive.  On the Tuesday I started having a runny nose I was at work, but when I was less well the following day we switched our whanau hui to online just in case something was up.  We definitely didn't behave perfectly but after living with covid in our community this long it's been hard not to.

We could only get two RAT tests initially
so the most symptomatic of us took them

3) How did you feel when you tested positive?

I had an inkling just because Abby was so sick and there were cases at our school, so it wasn't a huge surprise but it was still weird seeing the positive tests.  It was the first RAT tests we've ever had, but my 14th test overall, so after 13 negatives it did seem a bit weird.  Murray was really surprised.  Like, he knew given where we live we were likely to get it but it was still a shock.  I was just really glad that we'd prepped the kids for the likelihood of this happening and that we'd all likely be ok so that they weren't too freaked out by it.  I felt awful we hadn't tested Etta earlier as was quite sure at that point that she'd had Covid. 

 

4) What symptoms did you have?

The first symptom was a runny nose which I honestly just pegged as hayfever only it was more persistent than usual.  Around that time I did also have a little bit of a funny tummy and was just a bit off food.  The day I tested positive was two days after that.  I didn't feel totally awful but had bad congestion and a scratchy throat and everything tasted kinda metallic.  By late afternoon I felt much worse and developed a fever.  The next day I started having a lot of difficulty breathing and was totally wiped out.  The next two nights my breathing was bad enough we considered taking me in to hospital.  I really didn't want to go because I knew how busy it would be and my inhaler helped keep things manageable although I didn't sleep much because of my breathing.  Once my chest settled it was lethargy, fever, body aches and a cough.  I had a few days of bad headaches which I think was due to the swelling through my sinuses.  I've also had bad vertigo which I think was caused by the same thing.
I still have lethargy and a cough and it's 18 days since symptom onset today.

The kids were definitely sick for a shorter time than us.

5) What symptoms did others have?

Everyone was quite different.  Etta had a sore throat and a cough.  Abby was just tired and feverish and had a day of vomiting when her fever was at its worse.  She developed a cough after the fever started to calm down.  Murray had a sore throat, congestion 'the most powerful sneezes of his life' and a cough.



6) Did you have Delta or Omicron?

We have no real way of knowing.  About 5 - 7% of PCR tests came back as Delta around the time we got sick and there were cases of Delta where we live.  There really is very little difference between Omicron and Delta in terms of symptoms other than intensity.  Based solely on numbers, it's more likely we had Omicron but we'll never know for sure.

7) How does having Covid feel different to other illnesses?

The biggest, consistent difference across the household was the taste thing.  While I didn't 'lose' my taste and smell as such stuff just tasted gross and metallic.  All of us were off food for a bit as a consequence.  For me and Murray the congestion was next level.  Lots of sneezing and so much mucous.  Far more than your average cold.  And for me the struggle to breathe.  It was crazy.  I've never had so much trouble breathing before.

This was an absolute must!

8) What medication did you find most useful?

Lemsip Max Cold and Flu with Decongestant without a doubt.  If I had to recommend one thing for your emergency Covid kit it's this.  Without it I could not have functioned at all during the worst days.  For the kids - Pamol.  Pamol, Pamol, Pamol.  They are both fussy and stubborn kids and we had a lot of difficulty getting them to take anything else.   It helped greatly with pain and fever management.  And I would have been in hospital without my inhaler.  The other stuff that helped generally was Vicks Vaporub, wheat packs and anti-inflammatory meds.

Because I was sick for so long we did get in touch with a GP around day 12 who put me on antibiotics to clear what she thinks is a post-covid infection of some kind.  I definitely recommend contacting a Dr if your symptoms haven't cleared after 10 days as most people are only really sick for about seven days and many people even less than that.

9) How have you managed parenting while sick?

Honestly, I didn't.  Murray got sick after me and not as sick so he has literally done most of the parenting stuff over the last few weeks.  There were about four days where I was in bed most of the day because I literally had no energy for more than that.  I had so much trouble breathing there were a few days I couldn't even read the kids their bedtime stories.  That felt so awful.  I am so glad they had someone here who could help them with more than just the basics, because other than cooking toast I was pretty useless.

10) What is the hardest thing about having Covid?

For me it was definitely worrying that I might have made someone else sick.  I was really scared that we'd passed it on to Mum because she had been at our house on the Monday looking after Etta who had a cough and was home from school and we tested positive on the Thursday.  Because Mum has lots of health issues the idea of making her sick was especially scary after I got so sick.  I text her every morning to check in on her and she isolated just in case so if she did have it she wouldn't pass it on to her Mum (Grandma).  I am still so thankful we didn't pass it on to her.

11) What surprised you most about having Covid?

How ill I've been. 

Honestly.  I'm a numbers person.  I find them useful and comforting.  I read things in my own time from many, many sources and use them to prepare myself for multiple scenarios.  They help me during unpredictable times - like being in a Pandemic.

We knew that it was highly likely we would get Covid purely because of where we live.  Every time there have been lockdowns there have been cases at our school.  The only way we could have avoided it was if we'd kept the kids out of school even longer than we did (they were out for six months) and if I'd quit my job.  We prepped the kids for the likelihood of us getting Covid so it wouldn't scare them too much when it happened.  We were as vaxxed and boosted as we could be.  We were very, very prepared.

And I was ok with the idea of getting Covid because we are not a high risk household.  Between us, Murray and I have lost 25kg in the last seven months to improve our heart health.  I swim 5+ km most weeks.  We aren't that old and we eat a fairly healthy diet.  While I have anxiously anticipated other people I care about getting quite ill, never in a million years did I think it would be me.  While I did not end up in hospital it is the closest I've ever been to going to hospital because I was ill.  While I have been to hospital many times, never has it been due to illness*.  It was very scary.  The only pre-existing condition I have is asthma and it is mild as in I rarely use my inhaler.
It's been a real shock.

We now own three of these. 
Two are currently loaned out.

12) What did you not have in your Covid kit that you wish you did?

We had a really good kit because I anticipated that this would be happening pretty soon.  We had frozen pre-made healthy meals, extra groceries and frozen bread, a kit with medication and extra lemonade.  We had also made plans with family and neighbours in advance to help with getting groceries.  I think given how many cases there have been it might be good to ensure there are a few people who can help in case your main support people are also isolating.

If I were doing over though I would have bought more Lemsip and Pamol than I had as we did run out fairly quickly.  I would have more lemonade and iceblocks and more simple foods.  I hadn't anticipated being really off eating food so while we had a lot of healthy meals, we didn't have enough crackers and bread which is all I really felt like eating early on.  Also just more food generally.  I forgot that Murray gets REALLY hungry when he's sick so he ate far more than I had planned for.  I should have had more cup of soups and noodles in the kit.

And I'd definitely make sure I could access a pulse oximeter.  While I thought this an extreme measure before I got sick, it actually would have been helpful at the peak of being sick.  Consequently, I've actually bought several so that if anyone I care about gets really sick I can lend them one because the idea of people I care about getting as sick as I did scares me.

Delicious Magic Soup from a friend

13) What was the most helpful thing other people could do for you when sick?

Honestly, the most helpful thing was Murray looking after the kids as much as possible.  I think getting Covid and being as ill as I have been would be extremely tough for single parents or people without support at home.  For those people I imagine recovery would take even longer. 

The other things that have been really great is having a supportive team at work.  People checking in on me often and making sure things are actually ok without putting pressure on to be back.  That's helped immensely.  And meals.  We have been so lucky to have had a few people drop off meals to us which isn't just practically supportive, but truly makes you feel cared for.

14) Has it been hard isolating for so long?

Not for me, no.  I've been so unwell I haven't really had an energy level which would sustain me going anywhere anyway.  While my brain fog has not been as bad as I thought it might be, it's been at a level where I can't really focus on much.  I haven't really felt bored because I've only had energy to sleep, watch TV or do Paint By Numbers.  I don't feel too much like I'm missing out because I wouldn't enjoy doing stuff at the moment anyway.  I've felt grateful to have this time and space to recover.  I've appreciated the small things - my garden, my pets and my partner.  Social media has helped me feel connected to the wider world.

It was definitely harder for the kids.  They really missed seeing their friends.  We put routines in place and more treats than usual to help them stay sane.  We took turns choosing a movie every afternoon (I couldn't do much more than that with them) and Murray made sure he had some outside time with them each day.  We did send them back to school earlier this week because they've both had it and both isolated for more than ten days and Murray has walked them to school because his 10 days were up on Monday.

15) Any other advice?

If you aren't already, get vaccinated and boosted.  It is the simplest way to ensure you have the best chance against Covid.  Whether it's Delta or Omicron or another variant again, it isn't just another flu and has killed over 6 million people worldwide.  So far, evidence suggests our highly vaccinated elderly population is the main reason we are not seeing more deaths here in Aotearoa.  The reason our household got Covid is the same reason many others I know got Covid - from our partially (or unvaccinated) kids.  Vaccination truly helps slow the spread.

For me, if being vaccinated just increased my immunity by 10% it was worth it.  That 10% was the difference between recovering at home or needing to be hospitalised.  When you think about the broader impacts of this on our health system, you can see how vaccination serves your community.  Me not requiring hospitalisation means there's more space for folk who do.  During a pandemic, that can be the difference between timely care and someone living, or untimely care and someone dying.  It's just that simple.

And if you can refrain from being in high risk environments then do.  Long Covid is real and affects 10 - 30% of people who've had Covid.  These rates are higher for people with multiple symptoms during the first week, people with pre-existing conditions, folk who are overweight and women generally.  These rates are much, much higher than normal post viral fatigue which sits well under 1%.  The best way to avoid long Covid is to avoid Covid.  And if, like us, this is just not a reality because of where you work or live - rest.  Pace your recovery.  Do not rush things.

And have a plan.  Having a plan and having medication, meals and food available truly made everything much easier for us.  I know the extent to which we prepared is just not feasible for everyone.  But every bit counts. Even an extra pack of noodles, an extra loaf of bread in the freezer and paracetamol in the cupboard is helpful.  And having a plan of who can help if you need to isolate helps.  Check which extra local support is available to you.  Know where you can pick up RAT tests if you need them.  Put the number for Healthline in your phone.  These small things can make a big difference when someone in your home is ill.

And don't waste your energy on feeling guilty.  Put that energy toward getting better.

A cute cat pic after all that heavy stuff.  These fur balls really helped with my recovery

* Just lady organs not behaving as they should.  Or because I've injured myself.

Why I Choose Not To Support The Freedom Convoy

So I was invited to join the Freedom 2022 Convoy on Facebook.  This invite came from someone who is not an antivaxxer.  They are a kind and caring person.  They are whanau and I love them.

There is a reason they sent it to me.  I have expressed discomfort around vaccine passports and mandates.  Like many liberal folk it feels wrong to discriminate against people based on their beliefs.  Like Te Pati Māori I am in favour of a more equitable response to the pandemic and I have voiced this position.

And I believe in the power of protest. 

I shouted 'We are the 99%' among thousands of other voices in the march back in 2012.  On request, I held a workshop at the Occupy site on meeting nutritional needs for specialised diets at low cost*.  Consequently, I met many of the people occupying those tents beside the square.  And what I saw there is not so different than what I am seeing with the current occupation on parliamentary grounds:

Me at the Occupy march 2012                     

Division.

I saw a large group of diverse people with different reasons for being there.  I saw leaders struggling to get people to listen to them.  As the water pipes under the grounds at Aotea crumbled, so did my faith in the occupation.  While people 'just like me' were there, there were also people piggybacking on the cause for ulterior aims - political, anti-authoritarian - and some were honestly just there to party.  They had no reason to listen to the genuine people asking them to be respectful or even reasonable.

While this Convoy is not so different in that respect, the groups piggybacking this protest are.  The religious right are there.  White supremacist groups are there.  Steve Bannon's ideologies and those who follow them are there.  Of course there are well meaning, kind hearted people there as well.  Tangata whenua groups are also understandably there.  Just like at Occupy there are people there who are 'just like me'**.  But these people stand alongside dangerous and hurtful groups.  Groups who have had no problem attempting to take rights away from others - gay people, indigenous peoples and women*** just to name a few.

And the convoy this attempts to emulate isn't so rosy either.  On February 14th at the Freedom Convoy in Canada, guns have been seized as a group sets to defend the trucker blockade.  

One of several Trump flags being flown in The Freedom Convoy

Also protesting alongside good hearted folk and gun toting right wing extremists are the kind of folk I encounter at work on the daily.  People who are just upset that their lives have had to change.  Whilst on the door ensuring folk sign in I have been called a 'bitch' and a 'cunt' among other choice things.  Just my existence at the door has resulted in unsolicited racist tirades regarding coronavirus and its spread.  Complaints about mask wearing from folk who seldom need to wear them are my constant companion.

And my workplace is not vaccine passported.

I've heard much worse from people working in places that are.  I've heard of physical threats, of violent acts, of racial attacks.  Of police having to be called for the safety of staff and customers.  Of being rammed by shopping trolleys.  This is first hand information - staff at my gym and family members have experienced this.

And we are not government officials.  We are just regular folks doing our jobs.

Another stellar sign from the Freedom Convoy            

I'd hate to be an MP right now.

In November 2021, all MP's were granted more home security to manage increasing threats over vaccinations.  Just a month ago, leaflets threatening to 'eradicate' Jacinda Ardern were delivered to households in Kerikeri.  And at the Freedom Convoy someone given a megaphone threatened violence against not only politicians, but journalists, academics and health care workers. 

I can understand entirely why no politicians - even those who disagree with the mandates - have any interest in engaging with the protesters.

I cannot support a group which tolerates threats of violence.

And I cannot support a movement which presents themselves as choiceless.  There are consequences for every choice we make.  Like 1 in 5 New Zealanders I have tattoos.  As a consequence I need to wear long sleeves so they are covered in my workplace.  My Mum is a vegetarian.  As a consequence she needs to actively manage her iron and B12 levels.  Schools keep childrens immunisation records on file.  This is so that those who aren't immunised are kept home from school to be safe in the case of a measles epidemic.  This has been the case since 1995.  There are consequences for every choice we make.

Aligning yourself with groups who have actually been choiceless is misleading and wrong.

Chantelle Baker has been providing livestreams from the protest side of the fence since she arrived on parliament grounds.  Just a small FYI - her father is the former leader of the New Conservatives, so her feeds are certainly not the unbiased 'truth' so many purport them to be.  In light of media commentary on dissent between groups she posted this founder message on her Facebook feed.

So the true focus of the Freedom Convoy is to protest the mandates.  They are not an anti-vax or anti-government group.  The 'freedoms' being fought for here are simple:  Freedom from wearing masks, freedom from contact tracing, freedom from isolating when exposed to covid or when symptomatic, freedom from number restrictions on events.  And freedom for vaccination status not to impact vocation.

Many of these 'freedoms' are only lost for a very short period of time.  Many are granted at certain points during the current traffic light system.  And once we're out of the traffic light system - which is foreseeable as the pandemic runs its course - well, freedom returns.

Losing your job because of your beliefs is wrong.  But it is not the Holocaust.

I think the massive reaction is because many people perceive themselves to be experiencing discrimination for the first time.  Honestly, I struggle to view this as anything other than a protest for the privileged.  Yes, there are minority and underprivileged folk there as well, but some of the most vocal people in this protest are white and middle class.

I think many of these people are protesting because the threat of covid feels less real than unvaccinated Aunty Sally losing her midwifery practice.  Derek Broomhall, one of the co-organisers of the NZ Convoy, owns a roofing business in Invercargill.  The Southern DHB has seen just 296 cases since the start of the pandemic.  It's quite likely that Derek doesn't know anyone who has had Covid, even less so someone who has died from it.  It is far more likely that he does know people impacted by the imposed mandates if he isn't impacted by them himself****.  Like the majority of us, Derek has no experience with pandemics - nothing quite like this has occurred in his lifetime.  It is logical that for Derek the consequences of the mandates weigh more heavily than the consequences of the pandemic at this point.

              Yep.  That was our school.

But I am not Derek.  The DHB I live in has had the second highest number of cases we've seen during this pandemic - more than 10 times the cases in Southern.  I know people who've had Covid.  Not just friends overseas (although many of them also have) but family here in West Auckland.  We've had cases at our school, teachers family members have been hospitalised with it.  And a friend's eczema specialist died from it.  The mortality rates from overseas are very, very real to me.

Last year the death rate from Covid in the US was slightly more than 386,000.  As a percentage of the total population from that time that's 0.11%.  That might seem small.  But if we apply that to our own population from 2021 that would be the equivalent of us losing 5,634 peoples lives to Covid.

Instead we lost 26.

I am not totally comfortable with mandates and vaccine passports.  I believe that there must be fairer ways of managing things.  But I know politics are nothing if not complex.  There are consequences for every choice we make.

Yes, there are Trump banners there, but most signs at the protest look more like this.
Whether you support it or not, it's important to remember this.

Yes, Aunt Sally cannot practice midwifery any more.  But Nana Mary is still alive.  And Uncle Nick's chemo can continue because our health system isn't overwhelmed (yet).  It is hard to convince people of these invisible prevented deaths.  Especially when what they can see first hand is Aunt Sally's trauma.  This is the truly bittersweet pill of successful pandemic management.

But I see it.  I can do the math.  I can see the thousands of lives saved due to tight travel restrictions and lockdowns.  And even while I'm loath to say it I know it's unlikely we would have achieved our vaccination rates without the use of mandates and vaccine passports.

Numbers are something that have always brought me comfort.  The following are the numbers that have really cinched the choice for me.

In the UK, six out of ten people who died from Covid were disabled.
Worldwide, almost 50% of all those who died from covid were over 75.
The rates of mortality for immunocompromised people is over four times that of regular folk.
Here in Aotearoa, Māori are 2.5 times more likely than pakeha to be hospitalised due to Covid.

Unlike those who choose not to vaccinate, these people actually have no choice*****.  They have no choice over their health, their age or their whakapapa.  And they are far more likely than most of us to lose more than their freedom if we feel the full force of the pandemic.

I will continue to love and care for all of those important in my life regardless of their choices.  Whether they choose to vaccinate or not.  Whether they take covid seriously or not.  Whether they support this convoy or not.   Life, like politics, is not simple, but love and respect are.

But I choose not to support The Freedom Convoy.





* I was working at The Gluten Free Grocer at the time and often giving out advice to many on how to do this without having to buy all the expensive specialty foods.

** Except most of them aren't wearing masks.  Being in a large group of people without masks during a pandemic is definitely not my jam.  Makes it tricky to believe it's just about mandates when they do not seem to see themselves at any great risk from doing so.  Feels a little more like Covid denial to me...

*** I think 'Grab 'em by the pussy' says more than enough.  But to expand, there's also a lot of representatives there from The New Conservative Party who wanted to put single pregnant Mums into strangers households to 'help' them be good parents.  And repeal the abortion reform of course.

**** I think it's also much easier for people not faced with this who are already opposed to the current government to buy into conspiracy theories around covid.

***** I know there are some folk who fit this category who cannot get vaccinated due to health reasons.  This group is extremely small.  I do wish more were done to accommodate them but honestly, the majority of us getting vaccinated truly does keep them safer from the virus overall.  This blog is not written with these folk in mind but I am absolutely aware that they exist and that the current system is especially unfair on them.