Family and Life Updates

[boltnrun]

I agree, if my test comes back negative then my family is likely fine. But I won't get the lab test results for 2-3 days. I took a home test yesterday and it was negative but I know 40 hours after exposure is too soon for it to show up on a test. Tomorrow will be nearly four days.

[boltnrun]

Definitely having symptoms today. Runny nose, congestion, headache and dizziness and I feel like I could sleep for days. Thankfully no cough. Also thankfully so far my niece said they are all feeling fine.

My friend insists because she was showing symptoms that means she was not contagious. No, if you test positive you are contagious. And she tested positive one day AND two days after she spent five hours with me indoors. So yes, she was contagious. I can only hope I wasn't contagious when I shared a bed with my niece and was in my car with my brother for nearly six hours. The home test I took on Tuesday was negative, so hopefully that's a good sign for not infecting my family.

I'm getting lab tested after work today.

[boltnrun]

Some good news, I was extended a verbal offer for my position as a direct hire. For considerably more money. The only snag is whether or not they need to buy out my contract through the staffing agency. If so, I can't officially start until late August. Of course I'd like to start sooner but at least I know I'll have the job and salary waiting for me when the contract ends.

[Seraphim]

That is great you got the job! 
 

I believe people are most contagious before symptoms but it DOESNT mean you’re not contagious when coughing and sneezing all over people. She just wants to remove her responsibility. 

[reinventmyself]

1 hour ago, boltnrun said:

Some good news, I was extended a verbal offer for my position as a direct hire. For considerably more money. 

Congratulations!  

[boltnrun]

Thank you both!

Yes, she is trying to find a way to make this not her fault. She even said she would not have bothered getting tested if I hadn't said she seemed to have symptoms of Covid. She would have continued parading around infecting dozens of people. Look, it's a pandemic. You feel sick, you don't go out and you certainly don't meet up with friends and go to parties! Ugh.

I am definitely sick, but the test will show if it's Covid or not. I should know in two or three days. Really hoping my family is OK.

[boltnrun]

My test was negative.

While that's a tremendous relief, it was only four days after exposure. So I'm going to take one more home test tomorrow to be sure because I still feel lousy. But negative is definitely preferable to positive.

Sincerely hoping it's a true negative so my family is safe.

[Seraphim]

1 hour ago, boltnrun said:

My test was negative.

While that's a tremendous relief, it was only four days after exposure. So I'm going to take one more home test tomorrow to be sure because I still feel lousy. But negative is definitely preferable to positive.

Sincerely hoping it's a true negative so my family is safe.

That is great! I am pretty sure you will be negative and maybe caught a flu? I know influenza is making a reoccurrence here right now. A friend of mine her family is down with it . Every single family member has tested negative for Covid professional test home test every test so now the doctor thinks it’s influenza. 

[boltnrun]

19 minutes ago, Seraphim said:

That is great! I am pretty sure you will be negative and maybe caught a flu? I know influenza is making a reoccurrence here right now. A friend of mine her family is down with it . Every single family member has tested negative for Covid professional test home test every test so now the doctor thinks it’s influenza. 

They also tested me for the flu and that was also negative. It has been overcast and it even rained overnight. I tend to feel poorly when it's overcast since I have some indicators of RA although my doctor wants to hold off on actually testing me for it. He wants to see if over the counter painkillers work first. 

One more test Saturday and if it's negative I will presume I'm fine. I will be extremely grateful if I didn't infect my family.

[Seraphim]

11 minutes ago, boltnrun said:

They also tested me for the flu and that was also negative. It has been overcast and it even rained overnight. I tend to feel poorly when it's overcast since I have some indicators of RA although my doctor wants to hold off on actually testing me for it. He wants to see if over the counter painkillers work first. 

One more test Saturday and if it's negative I will presume I'm fine. I will be extremely grateful if I didn't infect my family.

I hear you . I was aching so bad yesterday and the day before and it was cloudy and rainy . They think hubby might have RA but it was RIGHT at the start of Covid so no testing has been done . Then there was the possible thyroid cancer so the RA testing got shelved. 
 

Is your family feeing ok so far? 

[boltnrun]

Yes, thank you. They all feel fine. My brother is still very "testy" whenever I communicate with him about it, so it may take him a while to calm down. I guess it was different when we got infected by his son in 2020, but that's his child so it's easier to forgive.

[Seraphim]

Glad they are all doing ok. When they all ok he can stop his testy… but people do forgive their children things more than anyone else for sure. 

[boltnrun]

I don't know if I'm going to be able to get past this. My family and I had such a nice weekend trip together and it was ruined because all we've been thinking about is whether or not we got infected. And her complete refusal to take any responsibility for the consequences of her actions. She just kept minimizing and deflecting. Sure, she said "sorry" but followed with a "but...it wasn't my fault and I didn't REALLY do anything wrong and you weren't REALLY at risk". She and her husband are visiting my state in two months and right now I don't even want to see them. What can I say? I already told her how I felt and she responded with a "yeah, but..." and a bunch of excuses and denial of responsibility.

If she had said "I realize I behaved selfishly and I put you and your family at risk. I am truly sorry and I hope you can forgive me", I could probably at least see she was making an effort. But she didn't.

I hope she recovers soon. I really do, because I don't want her and her husband to be sick. But I don't know if I want to be her friend anymore.

However, if we all are lucky enough to avoid being infected I can say for sure the vaccine and boosters do "work". Other than making out with her (which I didn't and don't want to lol), I was about as exposed as you can get. If I didn't get sick I credit the vaccine for helping protect me.

[Seraphim]

Well, you don’t have to stay friends with someone who can’t be responsible. 

[boltnrun]

1 minute ago, Seraphim said:

Well, you don’t have to stay friends with someone who can’t be responsible. 

A couple of my other friends have said basically "well, everything turned out fine so what's there to be upset about?" We just spent an entire week being frightened. And I still don't have the all clear. And knowing that when it comes down to it, this friend prioritizes having fun over keeping her friends and their families safe. That's hard to dismiss.

Maybe after some time goes by I will be able to explain to her why I'm so upset in a way she'll understand. And suggest for next time she just take the 20 minutes out to do a home test. Fortunately she lives far enough away that I will never just run into her.

She did tell me she has very few people she trusts and considers true friends and I'm one of them. So maybe she'll rethink her response and get off the defensiveness.

I am so, so thankful my son and his spouse chose not to go on the trip with us. That would have been next level upset.

[boltnrun]

Took a home test today.  Also negative.  Hopefully bullet has been dodged.

I still feel icky though, but again that's not unusual for me when the weather is gloomy and overcast.  Out of caution I will remain at home except to buy groceries, and will wear a KN95 mask when I grocery shop to protect others. If I happen to start feeling worse I will go get tested again, but if not I will consider myself extremely fortunate that I am vaccinated and double boosted and it seemed to protect me well.

[Seraphim]

I would think after 5 or 6 days something would show on a home test . I would think. 

[boltnrun]

17 minutes ago, Seraphim said:

I would think after 5 or 6 days something would show on a home test . I would think. 

I agree, plus one of the tests was a lab PCR test rather than a home test.  But I will still be cautious and only go out to do necessary shopping and maybe go on a walk outdoors if/when I feel up to it.  No restaurants or take out food or fun shopping until 10 days have gone by.  And no family visits until at least two weeks have gone by.

My niece said when everything blows over she wants to visit me again.  She's such a sweet young lady.  My nephew is more quiet but he's a good kid too.  As is my other nephew 🙂

[Seraphim]

How are you doing today? 
 

It is wonderful you get to see your niece and nephews. 

[boltnrun]

I'm still feeling sick! I'm going to do ONE MORE home test tonight. I have to go have a pre-employment drug screen done by Wednesday and I want to be sure I'm OK so I don't accidentally infect the lab workers.

My nostrils hurt from all the testing 😕

Thanks for checking on me 🙂

[Seraphim]

Your family is still doing ok? If they are ok you are probably negative . 

[boltnrun]

6 minutes ago, Seraphim said:

Your family is still doing ok? If they are ok you are probably negative . 

I just don't want to assume. That's what got us into this big mess. My friend assuming she had "allergies" when she had all the classic symptoms of Covid and didn't bother testing until after she'd exposed a bunch of people. 

It's not a big deal to do another home test. I ordered more home tests and four are arriving today. I won't test again after tonight if it's negative.

[Seraphim]

Oh no, I am not saying don’t test. Just that it looks like things are ok if they are all heathy but definitely test. 

[boltnrun]

Reading some responses in other threads made me think about something that happened years ago. People are advising others to not get involved if an issue is happening to someone under the age of 18. Many years ago I befriended and kind of took under my wing a 17 year old girl. Her mother wasn't all that involved with her because she was on drugs, and she didn't feel comfortable going to her dad. She had a boyfriend and was planning to have sex with him. So I took her to a reproductive clinic that accepts donations in lieu of fees for services. They did an exam and an STD screening and provided her with birth control pills and condoms. They also had her watch educational films about sexual activity, birth control and the responsibilities involved with becoming a parent. I wanted her to be educated and protected since she had already decided to have sex. She did not end up becoming pregnant or getting an STD during her relationship, fortunately.

Some might say I stepped out of line. But I was her years before (except I was 18, not 17) and I went to a clinic and got the same type of help. I was motivated to do so because I had become pregnant at 18 and miscarried (prior to getting on birth control) and I didn't want the same thing to happen to her because I cared about her.

She ended up having two children in her mid 20s, which turned out much better than if it had happened when she was a teen.

Anyway, it just made me think. I don't agree with staying out of it just because someone is underage. If they have involved and caring parents that's one thing, but sadly not all kids do.

[boltnrun]

My friend just messaged to say her husband is sick. Not surprising, of course, since they share a home and a bed and he's been constantly exposed to her. He has never really believed the pandemic was a thing according to her. He has taken no precautions. The only reason he got vaccinated was because she told him if he didn't she would lock him out or something. He's a nice guy so of course I'm sorry he's sick. But again, not surprised. I think he's been going to work all this time so he's been exposing his coworkers. I hope I'm wrong and he's been isolating but I doubt it based on his past behavior. This has probably been a big wake up call to the both of them.