COVID 19--January Quarantine

 And when I say January quarantine, I really mean quarantine!!  I didn't leave the house for 14 days!!  So, how did we spend the time? 

Puzzles...lot's of puzzles!

this last puzzle had 1000 of the smallest pieces I've ever seen, but with the letters on the back, it was like six small puzzles.  Easy peesy!

Hot chocolate bombs from Christmas

Luxurious bubble baths made even better with a candle, a gift from Christmas.

When my quarantine was over, one of the first places I headed to was the beach.  The wind had been so strong it made sand drifts along the walls!

One our way home from mom's podiatrist, we stopped at Chick-fil-a.  It was a rainy afternoon and the workers found a creative way to stay dry!

Miracles

This entire past year I have tried so hard to be careful to not bring COVID home to mom.  I  just knew that if she got it, she wouldn't have a chance of surviving.  Needless to say, I was really scared.  But, it ended up being a wonderful, faith promoting experience.  When mom saw the ER doctor, he said it must be her lucky day.  For some reason, it wasn't too busy.  He said they usually can't offer the antibody infusion because they don't have the time, beds, or man power.  

Well, it wasn't her "lucky" day.  It was the Lord.  I saw His hand at every turn.  He orchestrated the entire process and performed many miracles along the way.

**He put a doctor on call at my urgent care that would offer the infusion to me.  Otherwise, I never           would have known about it.  I would have just gone home and crossed my fingers.

**While I was at my ER arranging for my infusion, they told me it would be 5-6 hours to complete the       necessary paperwork.  It turned out to be less than an hour!  Mom was waiting in the car!

**I tried calling mom's doctor on Friday to ask about an infusion.  She never returned my call. It's a            good thing.  If she had told be to go to the ER on Friday afternoon, it would have been too busy and        they would have turned her away. 

**Mom's ER on Saturday morning was empty!  Instead of waiting hours to see the doctor, it was less        than 15 minutes.

**Instead of turning her away, they admitted her and was being prepped within 15 minutes.

**A usually overrun ER COVID tent was empty.  Of the eight beds, mom was the only one in it.

**The nurse helping mom was wonderful and kind...found out she was a member of the church.

**Both doctors (my urgent care and mom's primary care) called early the next week to check up on us.      They were so happy that we both got the infusions and were doing so well.  We made their week!

Some may say it was luck--or coincidence--but I know better.  I know prayers are answered.  I know the Lord loves us and will take an active part in our lives.  I know that both mom and I came away from this experience healthy and with a stronger testimony of the power of prayer and the knowledge of the Lord's love for us.

Caught!!

 I gave it a really good effort, but we couldn't outrun COVID!!  As it turned out, the gift of central air wasn't the only gift Nephi gave us!  In defense of him, he felt fine all three days he was here.  But when he went home the last day, he felt exhausted.  He thought he had just worked really hard, and went to bed.  The next morning, however, he started showing symptoms and let me know.  Two days latter, I started in with a "barky" cough, and the next evening I had a slight fever and chills, both of which were gone the next morning.  That's when I had some body aches.  Mom felt like she had a mild head cold. On Wednesday, Nephi called...he was positive!  I went down to be tested and it came back positive as well!  And them mom got tested and she made it unanimous!! 

Both mom and I were able to have an antibody infusion (more about this on my next post) and did really well.  The antibody was supposed to shorten the length and severity of the illness.  

And I have to say, it worked!  After a couple of days feeling blah, I was back to normal, except for a little cough.  Mom never felt bad, but she slept for three weeks...all night...a long nap that I had to wake her from after three hours...and she couldn't stay awake to watch TV.  We quarantined for 14 days and we were good to go!!

  

New Year...New Goals

 I like the idea of fresh starts.  What ever happened in the past is gone.  Today is a new day, full of potential and promise.  And as I turn the calendar to a new year, it too is full of potential and promise. 

Before I look ahead, though, I need to report on last year.  And I am choosing to concentrate on the positives.  I was completely successful in sending birthday cards to my friends.  Some 30 friends received birthday wishes throughout the year with several taking the time to thank me.  I was also successful in creating many scrapbook pages for my grandkids.  I am much closer to being caught up  and I do enjoy the project.  I was pretty active with walking and doing some weights on TV.  But COVID closed the gyms, so no trainer.  I was also successful in rereading the Book of Mormon, following along with a couple of youtube videos, and completing a journal. All in all, a pretty good year.

My goal this year is an attitude change!  Count your blessing, don't recount your problems!  I am going to look for the good...in people, in situations, in life.  

My specific goals--

**continue with birthday cards

**continue with scrapbook pages

**read the Doctrine and Covenants cover to cover--complete my journal

**move my body 5 days/week--walk, bike ride, weights, whatever!

**deep clean one room/month--closets, curtains, drawers, under beds, the list could go on and on!

2020 was a hard year!  Here's to a fresh start full of potential.

Happy New Year

 A very quiet New Year.  No party, no parade!  But, hopefully we are finished with all of the 2020 craziness and this next year will bring some normalcy to our lives.