My apartment building is not allowing groups of more than 10 in anyone’s residence. Wasn’t our plan anyway but it’s interesting to see them put tougher restrictions back into place.
Talked to my son. They are staying home for thanksgiving. No time to quarantine and my dil has had 50 Covid cases at her work site.
H talked with his dad. He’s been dizzy at night and in the mornings, falling this morning, crawling to the bathroom to pull himself back up, and then things get better.
A call to med school boy has them thinking it could be due to his changing his tylenol, so he’ll be switching that back. It also could be an ear stone (who knew those were a thing?), or a stroke, but the lad tells me there aren’t the other signs of a stroke, so it’s there, but not highest on his list. Deciding remotely is hardly a thing he’s comfortable doing, but he’s trying his best.
FIL wants to wait to see if things improve by Friday before making any decision about seeing a doctor. He plans on going out hunting on Saturday. He is of sound mind (can still do strategy games and more). H didn’t think to ask him if he was still going to his Ruritan meeting tonight. The other stuff was more pressing on his mind (understandably).
I wish it were easier to know what to do. My heart tells me someone should be there with him. H isn’t sure how to respond. He doesn’t want his dad to get mad at him by overruling. We both think his dad wants to go out quickly at some point with his boots on and mainly doesn’t want to be a burden. Does he secretly want someone there or does he prefer to be by himself? He’s never been much of a people person in his younger life.
@Creekland, Does FIL take BP meds? when my dad had some dizzy spells/fainting in the past, switching his daily BP meds to before bed instead of the morning helped resolve that.
Five negative tests for the fam today!
I have to say it - dizziness and hunting do not go together. I would be concerned.
“Concern” is a mild word for what we’re thinking, esp with driving if he went to the Ruritan meeting tonight, though “at least” he said he feels normal after about an hour or so of being up in the morning.
We’re still within our isolation time from visiting med school boy, but weighing if we shouldn’t worry as much about that. BIL and SIL go to work and have contact with others regularly, so aren’t a good option. There are no other options.
We’ll see how he feels tomorrow morning after switching his OTC med back to what it was before.
We already know he falls a lot hunting. He refuses to give it up even having to use his rifle/shotgun/muzzle loader as a cane. We’re pretty positive he wants to go out someday with his boots on.
At least he has a cell phone pinned to his clothing - not that he calls us for these falls though. We learn about them after the fact, even if it takes him over an hour to get up. I guess there’s a reason he’s lived to be 92. He’s too stubborn to give in to the grim reaper?
Ha, that’s my dad in a nutshell! There’s no way he should be alive at this point, but last week his doctor said his recovery is miraculous. Even his CML seems to be in remission - his white blood cell count was normal even though he hasn’t taken meds in seven months (due to the yeast infection it was causing). Even on what we assumed was his death bed in February, he thought we were ridiculous for thinking he wouldn’t make it. And he was right. Now he’s driving and going to church, sigh.
Well I like Occam’s razor when discussing this disease; we haven’t had large numbers of reinfections and for every disease there is always a small percentage that will get reinfected for various reasons, so common sense tells you that immunity from this has some staying power. I also had a mild case along with the rest of my family so it would be extremely unusual to have a second case that would be worse.
@ucbalumnus Well talking about risk and who knows what is high or low risk, last week I was walking on the beach with a friend. About 2 miles down on a beach that was nearly deserted two ladies approached us. They were wearing masks and had them on the entire way before, during and after passing us. To my mind, that’s crazy. They are outside, the wind is blowing and there is no one around ( for miles). Have we lost our minds?
I’ve seen tiny tots at the beach when no one was around with masks on too. And even a baby (maybe 1) in a carriage.
I think my own Dad has lived long enough to know that some risk comes with being alive. So glad my kids aren’t toddlers. I worry about kids not learning to read other people’s emotions.
@Happytimes2001 Maybe the women on the beach were concerned about giving it to each other.
I am one of the few people who wears a mask while walking every day in my neighborhood. Coronavirus can hang in the air for three hours. The women on the beach don’t seem crazy to me.
Our state rules are that you have to wear a mask anytime you’re outside, off your property, unless you’re out in the woods all by yourself. “Almost deserted” doesn’t count. I realize this is because of the idiots who can’t use common sense, but that’s where we are now. I follow the rules. And yes, it’s as annoying as heck to wear one as I run around Back Cove in Portland when I see only a handful of people the entire time, but I do it.
@petraMC Yes, never even thought of that.
I think I mentioned earlier that I have a virus right now, thankfully not Covid. I’m very careful with my mask wearing, except I didn’t wear it outdoors when I didn’t expect to be around people. And I’ve been careful with my hand washing and WFH and don’t go out much except to the outdoor dog park where I stay away from others. So I’ve been racking my brain as to how I could have possibly caught a virus. The most likely scenario is when a neighbor tried to talk with me outdoors when neither of us had a face mask on and I had to keep backing up to put more distance between us. (Neighbor was telling me her teenager was sick!). So I think being outdoors helps, but I think it’s smarter to wear a mask outside too. You never know who you will come across, and whether they will stay far enough away. 6 feet is just a guestimate, you might need more.
Why does it bother you that people wear masks on the beach, or in their own cars, or in their own homes?
Doesn’t bother me if people do MORE than is required. It does bother me when I see 1 and 2 year olds with masks on. I worry about the choking hazard.
Re Thanksgiving and Christmas:
H and I (both turned 70 is 2020) are planning cozy holidays for just the two of us this year. (Ordinarily, in pre-pandemic days, we would be with family).
I am fine doing this – low key works for me, and I figure we can make a special Thanksgiving meal that features dishes that others might not go for. (Sweet potato cheesecake is planned for dessert.) We will each do a few dishes of our choice.
For Christmas we will skip a big decorated tree, just do outdoor and indoor lights, keeping things simple and serene, with less clutter and work.
We will miss our adult kids and four grandkids, but hope to see lots of them in 2021, (when, hopefully, things are safe) to make up for it.
We retirees have it relatively easy to adjust to a pandemic lifestyle. We don’t have jobs or young children to coordinate. I really feel for the younger generation and the complications and challenges they are dealing with. I also feel for small business owners and try to be good to them as I can.
I hope that if anyone has someone over for these holidays - inside or outside - that no one will be judged for wearing a mask. Comfort levels and circumstances can run the gamut. Over wearing will do no harm. Under wearing could.
(as far as children, the AAP recommendations are no masks for children under age 2.)
As for the kids I think it’s easier to get them used to just wearing them all the time than having them pull them up only when people get close. I’d much rather people wore their masks more than whatever your particular state’s guidelines are. There is no magic safe distance and no masks filter out 100% of the virus.
I see preschoolers with school groups in Central Park all the time wearing masks. They seem to have MUCH better compliance than the adults. I guess they just put them on and forget about it bc they aren’t supposed to take it off.