My Covid Story

Hello everyone, happy Winey Palooza Wednesday! Ella Bella! No need to whine, it's Winey Palooza Wednesday! Have some wine and join us on the Winey Palooza Wednesday with the Green Family!

Cha-cha-chicken!

Good job, Ella, in your new ATA sweatshirt that she's never gonna take off.

Why are we singing the words of our conversations?

So I am—

what you got there, honey?

I'm enjoying some eggnog.

With what?

We might, we might have put a little something in it.

Little something something.

And in my new wonderful glass from my friends.

Thank you, friends.

Okay, well, bum bum bum bum bum bum bum. So, so my topic this week is my COVID story, and it's hard to say.

You can do it, baby.

I really wrestled— sometimes I really wrestle with if I want to write about something, I'm sure, if I want to share something, if I want to talk about something. And Seth's advice to me, and I don't know that I totally agree with this, but you're doing it anyway, but you said the more personal the better.

Yes, I did.

Um, I think the ultimate goal, which you all know, is to help people.

Yes.

So if I can help one person, it'd be worth it talking about this, then I'm glad that I did.

Yes.

So I did have COVID. Um, I did catch it. I, um, blame myself, which may or may not be true, but you like to blame yourself, you know, that's very helpful. So I— you probably remember through the blog stories and the vlog stories that, um, being Lily's teacher is not easy for me.

Nope, hardest job in the world.

So I was feeling extremely stressed and was really struggling with her, and, um, really think that I— I think all the stress brought my immune system down. That is my hypothesis.

I would agree.

I tend to be healthy, knock on wood.

Yes.

I tend to not catch things, knock on wood, and was ultimately being run down, run down and stressed out. And thank you, Corey, I'm okay. So I should start with, I'm okay.

Yes, you're okay, you survived.

Well, oh God, let's not put out anything. Let's just say that we're thankful that I'm okay.

Yes.

So anyways, I was feeling very run down and I think I opened myself up to it.

You made your body more susceptible to germs.

Um, blame myself for not having the best coping skills. So anyways, the actual— so I've had a list of questions, so I'm going to try to answer questions and tell you a little bit about my own story. And, um, the first— so the first question that I get is— Tanner, get away from my drink!

That's the first question.

The dog cannot have my drink. The first question that I get is what were my symptoms. That's the first question that I get. So my main symptom— this is, I know, this is, we should, there's nothing to laugh about. This isn't funny.

It's called laugh with humor. It's a coping strategy.

You know that we're laughing to help us cope. It's been very, it's been a stressful time. December has been stressful is all I'm saying.

It's time that you have it.

Yes. Okay, so my symptom was mainly a sniffle, and when I tell you that it was a sniffle, I didn't— it was like right here. I could feel it right here. Um, Seth said I sounded a little congested, and I didn't even have to blow my nose. I just felt it in my nose, and I was like, I have a sniffle, and have heard stories of people's kids having to get tested to go to school because they had a sniffle. So in the back of my mind, I was like, "Oh, I have a sniffle. That's probably not good." Like right now we're all paranoid. Anytime someone sneezes in my house, I'm like, "Oh no!" Oh my God, do not.

If you come over, when someday, when you can come over again, don't sneeze.

So freak out. Okay, again, I should not be laughing.

So it's—

so it was mainly a sniffle, and I had heard that someone that I had seen had a fever. And I went, uh-oh, she has a fever and I have a sniffle. Uh-oh. Like, the red flag started blasting, and Seth was like, you're crazy, like, stop. Um, I could tell that my taste and smell was dull, but like, that happens to me when I have a cold, so I wasn't like freaked out about it. Um, but it did like progressively disappear for a couple days. I would say that I couldn't taste and smell for a couple days Very bizarre. Um, and decided to go get tested for all of the reasons that I told you. And Seth was like, please, for the love of God, get tested so that you'll shut up.

Yes. Because I was assuming she would be negative and that would end the conversation. I would, I'm, I was wrong.

No, no. I wanted you to be right. I did not. I did not want to test positive.

Right. That is, that is correct.

Um, so I tested positive. Um, when you get like when, when they tell you that you're positive for COVID with all this COVID stress, like your brain just like goes insane. Like it was like, my brain went freaked out. I freaked out and I was like, oh my God, I hope it just stays like a sniffle. Like, oh my God, like I have to take care of my family. Like, oh my God, I can't, I can't.

She spiraled, ladies and gentlemen.

So I came home, ran to my bedroom. Um, my 8-year-old Lily was totally freaked out and scared. And stayed in my bedroom just like trying to wrap my brain around this. And Seth came upstairs and he was like, he was like, honey, I need you. Like, you're not staying here for X number of days.

Tell them the funny part.

Wait, what is the funny part?

Okay, so wait, we did the drive-through test and they, we sat there for 10 minutes and it's not funny. It's not funny.

No, it's not funny.

I know it's the part It's not funny. Fine, don't laugh then. Don't laugh. And the lady says, you tested positive. And she said, can you self-quarantine? We said, what does that mean? Do you have another house you could go to to live in and stay away from your family until the 10 days or whatever is over?

Okay, okay, okay, okay, moving on. It wasn't funny.

We, we, they want to see if you had an extra house we could borrow.

So Seth was trying— he's trying to be funny. Um, so he came upstairs and he was like, listen, you can't stay up here. Like, I need you. Like, come downstairs and help me.

I'm not good enough to take care of every need of the children for 10 days without you.

So I put— it's not funny. It's— I'm—

would you stop resisting and just laugh already?

I'm trying, I'm trying to. You can tell that this is stressful to talk about. So I put on gloves, um, I had gloves, and I put on a mask, and I went downstairs and I cooked them dinner, and I cried to myself because Lily was already scared, so I did not want to upset her. And, um, went on with my day and just felt so bad that I had exposed my family because honestly, people are walking around with this thing because You know, you don't know you have it. You don't know that, like, you don't even real— I barely realized that I had a sniffle, and we just have to be so cautious of symptoms that we might have right now. And, um, okay, so the first question is, what were your symptoms? Second question is, where did you get it? I have theories. No, we're not going to discuss it. I'm just telling them that I have theories, and I I did talk to 3 county workers, and the second county worker is like the tracker who called me after my quarantine to track where I could have gotten it and who I could have exposed. So the county is overwhelmed and short-staffed and called me many, many, many days later and said I could have gotten it anywhere. So we went over some of my theories. She said, yes, any of those theories are true. It's everywhere. And she was so sweet. She was like, I'm so thankful that you have such a mild case. I hope it stays like that for you. And she's like, some people are in the hospital battling this. So I'm so happy for you. And I hung up the phone crying because it was a super emotional conversation and she was a mother and she was very sweet. Okay, so The first county worker told me that my quarantine was 10 days, the kids' quarantine was 14 days from when my symptoms started. Okay, so part of what I want to share with you that a lot of you probably know that Seth and I were clueless about is that the third county worker was the most helpful. And I called her and I said, I need you to help me figure some stuff out. So basically, because I didn't isolate— now you hear about parents isolating in the basement a lot. I have heard so many stories that people are going into the basement, they have a bathroom in their basement, and they're just staying down there. Or like for me, my bathroom— my bedroom has a bathroom, my basement does not. So they want you to quarantine from your family in a room with a bathroom, and they want you to stay away from everyone so that they don't catch it. Um, so A, the damage was done. I'm sure further exposure wasn't good. And B, um, you heard that Seth made a plea for me to please help him. So I kept, um, my distance and I took care of everyone and I washed my hands so much that my hands were raw and bleeding. But anyways, the third county worker said, because your family saw you on day number 10 of your quarantine, they now have to quarantine for 14 more days. And she said they could develop symptoms for up to 14 more days.

So we were stuck in the house for 24 days, for those of you doing the math.

So I just want—

and 3 county workers had 3 pieces of different information.

And, and they don't, um, like the first county worker I talked to couldn't answer my question. She kept going to ask some someone else for answers. And the second county worker told me that they don't know enough, they're learning, and they're just doing their best with what they know. So, um, okay, so where were we?

Next question, people.

Well, no, I want to emphasize the two things that I did not fully realize until I went through this. Number one, that people are walking around with this. I did not realize it until until I walked the shoes of someone who was thankfully home. I was not out and about. Someone who was home with a sniffle, not thinking twice about it, felt fine. The county worker was like, "Are you tired?" And I'm like, "Well, isn't every mother tired?" Yeah, that's kind of the thing. I mean, I didn't know how to answer that question. Right. She laughed. She was a mom. She laughed. And she was like, did you have a headache? And I said, maybe for one day I had a little bit of a headache.

But then again, you have children who give you those all the time.

I mean, I tend to sometimes get headaches from my children. So again, not funny, not funny.

Yes it is, stop with the not funny.

Okay. Okay, so the questions coming at me, where did you get it? What were your symptoms? Oh, are you protected? That is a big question that I get from so many friends. So what, what's the, um, what does protected mean? So protected means, can I catch COVID And the answer is yes, um, with the preface that they told me from the health department county workers that kept calling me.

Hopefully they know what they're doing.

Hopefully they know what they're talking about. They told me that it depends on this particular person, and the average amount of time that I'm protected with antibodies. Is that the correct terminology? Yes. The average time is 3 months, um, for the average person. And she said some people are longer, but you're an overachiever, honey.

You're above average.

Some people are longer and some people are shorter. So, um, the answer is yes. They said you absolutely can catch it again. So, um, I'm trying to remember, by the way. Okay, so through all of this Um, the physical symptoms thankfully were this. Thankfully the physical symptoms were this. The mental and emotional— oh my gosh, was like up here. Um, like off the charts because I was just doing so many prayers for my family to stay healthy. I was throwing supplements at them. Um, my parents own For those of you who don't know, my parents own Marlene and Phil's Vitamin and Herb Center in Depew, New York. Um, call them, um, they will hook you up with amazing supplements and they can ship out of state. And they really— I'm not making any declarations, no health claims made on this show. We don't make health claims, but we hope that all the supplements that they have been giving me through all of this, before this, during this, helped me have a short, mild case because I was taking a ton of stuff and they gave me even more stuff when I tested positive, and they take good care of me. And, um, I have been taking good care— well, they have been giving me stuff for my family, so I have been giving the kids and Seth stuff too to help protect them. Um, so the physical distress was very minor. The emotional and mental stress was very major, and I was just, you know, I may have a sniffle, but what would someone else have? And I just didn't want to be responsible for giving it to one of my kids, my husband, a friend, a family member. I'm so thankful that I got tested and was so paranoid because then I could stay home and not be a spreader. Don't be a spreader. So I was worried about my kids and my husband for the 24 days. That was rough. Um, yes, all during Hanukkah. So Hanukkah, okay, I know. So, um, not only did I have the stress of this 24-day quarantine, I also had, um, prepping Hanukkah and doing Hanukkah with my kids. But you all saw me you saw that I was okay. I felt okay and was just very emotionally stressed out and just said, you know, like I said, so many prayers for my family. I blamed myself and stressed myself out so much that part of why I wanted to write about this and talk about this is because one of the paths I took through this was to really realize how extremely hard I am on myself. And thank you, Rebecca. Oh, super mom. You know, it's so funny because I, again, I know I shouldn't joke, but I've talked to other mothers whose even husbands have had it, and the husbands will like quarantine and go away and just rest and try to, you know, get better. And the moms go— and the moms go on with the lives of taking care of themselves and their kids and their husband. And when a mom is sick, no, you know, when a mom is sick in, in life and over these last, um, 13 years of parenting, we just kind of keep going when we're sick. And really, I felt okay. That, that's the good news. I felt okay. I just, um, was, was mentally stressed out. And I was most mentally stressed out because of Ella. No, I was most mentally stressed out because I wanted my family to stay healthy. The second reason I was so stressed out was because Seth was annoyed with the situation. He was stuck home working and couldn't go to his martial arts class that helps him get out a lot of his stress. So Seth was annoyed.

I was also sensitive and supportive and wonderful and annoyed.

You were— Seth was— I want to state publicly that Seth was the calm, rational rock through all of this as I spiraled emotionally.

Yes.

Yes. And I love you.

I love you too.

And I need you.

Yes.

And thank you. Yes.

Yeah, that thank you.

I— you cannot—

I tried to restrict this woman. I tried to tell her to do less and take it easy. She would not listen.

Okay, so, um, Okay, so Seth was annoyed. Max was like, "Whatever, Mom, relax, it's fine. I'm happy. It's good." Like, he didn't want to go anywhere. He didn't want to go to school. He didn't want to go anywhere. So he was like, "I'm good." And Lily was like, "Mom, it's okay. I'm fine." She's on the phone with her friends all the time. She's happy. She's happy being home with me. And then there was Ella, and Ella was— I'll try not to cry. Ella was so pissed at me. It's okay. I said I wasn't gonna cry.

You did?

Oh, I did to myself. I had a conversation with myself to tell me that part. Ella makes me cry because Ella was so pissed and angry and, um, blamed me. And, um, you know, which—

blamed you why?

What, what didn't she not She blamed me that I got it and I caught it, and that, that not only did she have to quarantine for the first 14 days that she thought, she then had to add, if we do the math, 10 more. No, no, no, I knew she had to quarantine for 14 days. I didn't know that it was 10 more because they tacked 14 from my 10. So, um, telling— when I got off the phone with the county worker I didn't realize how in tune Ella was with what was going on in the house, and I didn't realize that she was paying attention. And I hung up and she was like, "What did they say? Do I have another 14 days?" And I just meant she couldn't go to theater. Okay, I was getting there. I'm too slow. I'm too slow. He doesn't like it. So, um, I told Ella. It was very, very hard to tell Ella. And she stormed up to her room and was very pissed that she couldn't go to school and couldn't— which she got over the school part. The school part she didn't really care about. She got over that quickly. It was the theater part. Theater is, you know, just her home away from home, her biggest coping strategy. She just loves it so much and She does not, you know, she's 11 and she's hormonal, and being with her family all the time is just like too much for her. So it's like her escape, and I took that away from her. So she was pissed and she cried or was angry every single day, every single night. I put her to bed apologizing and just begging her to stay healthy. I'm like, please just stay healthy so we can be done with this. So, um, I think there were several times I said we're never leaving this house again, very loudly. Oh my God, I'm just happy that you are healthy and still here with us. There is someone I know fighting for their life right now. Well, and, um, oh, thank you. Thanks. You can read that.

Rebecca Al Hakam says, you didn't do this, precious mama.

So, um, I did read a story today about a mother who died from COVID so I'm not— I'm not minimizing this at all. I'm just so thankful that mine was so, um, minor. Oh, oh my goodness, I'm so sorry that I'm crying.

Don't be sad.

Um, Ella is what really gets me. Um, I'm so glad that I can't even tell you how thankful I am to have had a mild case. They don't know a lot about it. They told me to, you know, just watch myself because, you know, when I talked to one of the county workers, I'm like, I'm done. Like, I feel great. She's like, how do you feel? I'm like, I'm fine. My sniffle's gone. Like, I'm fine. And she was like, well, watch yourself. Just watch yourself over these next, you know, however many days and just make sure that you're really done with it because we don't know enough about this. I did want to tell you that Seth gave me aromatherapy.

I did.

So I was like, it was like bizarre. You know, I've had a cold, you know, where you're stuffy and you can't really smell or taste. So it's not like I've never gone through that before, but I was cooking and it was just like, freaking me out that I couldn't smell what I was cooking because I was worried about, you know, just safety-wise. Like, you can't smell smoke, you can't smell what you're cooking. I was like, this isn't good. Like, I need my scent back for safety reasons. So Seth was like, I have an idea. And I don't know if it worked, but I think that the next day I was fine.

It was either coincidental.

Yeah.

Or it helped.

So he did get— he did put aromatherapy right next to my nostrils.

And I could have a very strong scent, and I could smell it.

I could smell it. So it was—

I figured if smelling salts gets people to wake up from being knocked unconscious, this might help a little bit.

Yes. I'm so proud of you for sharing your story. I didn't know Ella was upset. T has, um, T has been blaming me this week for ruining Christmas because I'm sick. Must be the 11-year-old thing. Yeah. Karen, I meant to text you and ask you how you were feeling. Um, I'm so, so sorry that you don't feel well. You, um, have 2 days to feel better. Um, please let me know. I'm, I'm healthy and allowed out of my house.

She's free.

So please let me know if I can bring you guys anything. And, um, yes, I think that 11— I remember 11 with Max, it was really hard because I think it's like the puberty pre-puberty hormonal, weep.

And that's a technical term, folks, from the social work encyclopedia. Can you do that again?

I can't do it again. But, um, Ella is super, um, emotional, super hormonal, will cry for no reason, will cry for a reason. Um, and yes, Karen, Ella was royally pissed at me the whole time, and I think that made it the hardest for me because I knew how upset she was. So I'm just extremely thankful. I'm thankful for my family's health. I'm thankful for my health, and I just want all of you to stay safe and healthy. We can just do our best to keep ourselves safe. And what else am I forgetting, Seth?

I don't think you're forgetting anything. I think you covered it.

I think I covered everything. So, um, thank you for being with us and, um, for sharing this very personal story with me. And again, if I helped anyone, it was worth sharing. Um, this— you call Lily and I'll tell them about the podcast.

Lily!

So this Friday— no, I'm wrong, we're not doing Friday because it's Christmas. Tomorrow we're doing my podcast early this week. Tomorrow is my new, um, Winey Palooza podcast with Lauren Pace, and she is the host of XO Parenting podcast and XO Parenting on, I don't know, Facebook, Instagram, online. She was a joy to talk to. It's Pirate Lily, and I, and I learned a lot from her, and I loved talking to her, and I hope you will listen. And I want to, um, everyone who celebrated Hanukkah, I hope it was wonderful. Everyone who is about to celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a healthy, happy Christmas with your families. And, um, when is Kwanzaa?

I don't know.

We don't know when Kwanzaa is. I need to look that one up. I should know that. Happy Kwanzaa, um, or happy holidays for whatever you're celebrating. Yes. Okay, Karen says you're adorable, Lily. Are you gonna take us out? Yes. Okay. Thank you for watching my review of what's in with the Jam Family. Ciao ciao, chicken! Ciao ciao! Thanks for watching!