Surviving A Pandemic

This is going to be an emotional post. You have been warned.



      It began in the spring of 2020. March to be exact. I had finally found a job that I could possibly work, even if only 4 hours; twice a week. I know, I was being stubborn. The virus didn't seem to be a problem in the U.S... yet. Then it happened. We had the first case of the whole country diagnosed in the Seattle area. My doctor said that if it worsened, I may have to stop working until the coast was clear.

       It was like watching a movie come to life. Our worst nightmares from film recreated in front of our eyes. The pandemic had begun to spread everywhere. As soon as the first case hit our county, I was instructed not to go back to work, and my daughter and I were sheltering-in-place until my doctor would let me off medical leave. 

      Little did I know, that meant a year later, my daughter and I would still be sheltering-in-place. That's right. We've been stuck inside our house - except for taking trash out, checking mail, grabbing deliveries. Thank the Gods we have a back patio. For the most part, it's been a smooth ride. A boring mind numbing ride, but a smooth one.

      We became better at pandemic protocol than the CDC! We used rubber gloves, alcohol wipes, masks, eye protection wear, sanitizer sprays and even made our own hand sanitizer. Cardboard boxes from Amazon were sprayed before they entered the house, and items wiped down with alcohol pads. If you think this was too much, imagine the alternative.


Imagine being told you will with certainty that you could die if you leave your house.


      If we catch covid, we will absolutely end up in the ICU, on a ventilator, and it is unsure if we would survive. With most of the porphyrias, low iron and low vitamin D are prevalent. Porphyria in general is an inherited blood disorder. My doctor informed us that because of this, we are prime targets for severe cases of covid that will likely end in death. Nothing like staring a pandemic in the face that could kill you!

      We had a couple of scares thanks to a repairman that didn't know how to keep his mask on his nose while installing some flooring. I ended up wearing a mask for 6 hours waiting for him to finish so I opened windows when he left and sprayed so much sanitizer into the room that it probably created a fog! Let me tell you, I do not envy someone who has to wear a tightly sealed N95 mask (like I had) for several hours. The stories are true about how it leaves marks on your face and can give you a bad breakout. The second scare was a friend who lived in another city had caught covid from her friend - and that friend's aunt had been at my house to pick up something from me. Thankfully she hadn't come inside, but it scared us nonetheless.

      Thankfully, there is a bright side to this. I learned how to use Zoom. Telemedicine became the norm (which I wish I had this before, it would have kept us out of the sun more!). We set up a yoga area in my bedroom, and bought some extra workout items, since we can't go walking at night. I acquired a life coach thanks to a friend who needed a guinea pig for her college project. I've never had a therapist before, and it was nice to talk about how I felt. Such as the anger of being stuck inside, while watching maskless idiots go about raising the death toll in the U.S.

      Enter the vaccine saga. I say saga, because now there are apparently 3 vaccines. Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. We were told we won't be allowed to take the Pfizer (not really surprised) because it might cause a severe reaction within us. Our best bet is the Moderna out of the three. Now comes the wait.

      Our state is still in Phase 1 B1-2. The way it looks, only 50 & older are being vaccinated at the moment. Never mind you we are super high risk, because I'm only 42 and my daughter is 20, we just have to sit tight and wait in line. I get it, but it doesn't make me any less resentful after being stuck inside for an entire year. We are hoping to get our Moderna vaccines in March.



My tips for surviving a pandemic (especially if you are as high risk as we are):

- Go into flu protocol. The whole 9 yards. Gloves, mask, eye wear, alcohol wipes, and alcohol based sanitizer spray.
- Homemade hand sanitizer: alcohol, tea tree oil and aloe.
- Get delivery for grocery items or Amazon, or whatever food delivery service you prefer. It will reduce your chances of catching covid-19.
- Let no one go in your house without spraying them down with sanitizer, including the bottoms of their shoes. Make them keep a mask on and use your hand sanitizer. If they don't like it, tell them not to come over (not that they should be over in a pandemic, but sometimes may need to).
- If you have pets, especially cats or dogs, do not - I repeat - do not let anyone outside the household touch them. Cats and dogs both can catch covid. They cannot spread it to you, but it will certainly give them a bad time.
- Spray your mail with sanitizer spray. I don't trust our mailman, because he has more than once dropped mail off at our house without a mask on.
- After you are done sanitizing your packages or mail, Wash your hands. Yes, you just handled sanitizer spray. Wash them anyway.
- Get a hobby, because otherwise you're going to go insane stuck at home.
- learn to exercise at home.
- Try to get on Pandemic Unemployment ASAP. Depending on your state, it will either take time, or you will receive it right away.


Sit tight. Because it's going to be a LONG ride.


How to make hand sanitizer
*If you add essential oils, 20 drops to a 16oz container is sufficient.
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Hand-Sanitizer

Here's a handy list of how long covid can stay on items:
https://blog.uvahealth.com/2020/04/21/infographic-coronavirus-on-surfaces/

- Air (was thought to be 3 hrs, but higher concentrations up to 6 hours - like measles does).
- Copper 4 hours
- Cardboard 24 hours
- Plastic 3-4 days
- Stainless steel 2-3 days.