It’s been 18 months since the first cases of Covid-19 started showing up in our area, so Adam and I were actually surprised we hadn’t gotten it before now. We are careful to wash our hands well and often, but we choose to keep our people close. We also work to keep our bodies healthy and our minds and faith strong. We both agreed that we would probably get it one day, and unfortunately we did.

I thought it might be helpful to share our experience and include our symptoms, the remedies we tried, and tips for getting past it. I’ll break our story into 3 parts: physical, emotional, and spiritual. You might be thinking… wait what? It’s a virus… spiritual? Yep! Stay with me!

Physical:

Adam had soooo many more physical symptoms than me! He had a pretty typical onset with a relentless headache and low grade fever. Within 24 hours that progressed to the “devil headache” (as we call it) and loss of all taste and smell. It was the absolute worst head pain he’s ever had. That evening he started a Z pack and Ivermectin along with a list of recommended supplements (see below). The next day he woke feeling better. Excedrin Migraine and Tylenol gave him some relief from his headache when taken consistently every 6 hours.

For the first few days, he had bouts of nausea, fever spikes to 102, muscle pain (especially back), sores in the back of his throat, fatigue, dry cough and brain fog. After his antibody infusion on day 5, he began to have fewer symptoms and slowly regained his strength.

As I mentioned, my physical symptoms were extremely mild compared to Adam’s, and almost non-existent for the first several days. I took the same supplements, as well as a Z pack and Ivermectin. I had a mild headache and mild nausea, and finally lost my taste and smell on day 6. My fever never got over 99.3 and only lasted two days. My biggest complaint was that “my eyeballs hurt” (headache behind my eyes). This was most obvious to me when it was time for a little more Tylenol. After my antibody infusion though, I felt great within 24 hours! I didn’t experience a dip in energy or muscle pain, but I also had a mild, dry cough on and off for 2 days.

All three kids (age 3, 6, 9) had runny noses. Clark (age 9) lost some of his taste and smell. Their symptoms lasted about 72 hours.

Emotional:

I have rarely seen anything reported on the emotional effects of Covid, so I thought I’d share our thoughts on this very vulnerable side of it.

Having a positive Covid test is an emotionally charged experience. We’ve all heard the numbers reported, seen the horrible hospital footage, and most of us have known someone that’s died with it, so it makes for a very uneasy feeling when you find out you have it! Though we quarantined as a family, it was a very isolating feeling to know you can’t have any physical contact with anyone for a full 10 days. The feelings of uncertainty also set in because there are so many different symptoms and levels of severity reported. On top of isolation and uncertainty, we experienced some feelings of panic until we were able to secure medication locally.

Trust me, we felt all of this deeply. Around midnight on the first night we were sick, I was alone in my kitchen filling veggie capsules with liquid Ivermectin from the feed store. I learned to use a veterinary syringe that night. There I was… mom of three… taking matters into my own hands… in the middle of the night, in my kitchen, in America.

That night an overwhelming feeling came over me… a feeling of empowerment, mama bear-ness and bad ass-ness? Yes, but also feelings of betrayal and dread for the future. For the first time it was clear to me just how alone we were. In a country where we should have access to any, and every health benefit, (not free access, but access nonetheless), I was doing what I believed was right, all alone, and based on my own research.

The following day we were able to get the prescriptions we needed thanks to a family friend, but not having a personal doctor to turn to when we needed it, was a very insecure feeling if I’m being totally honest.

The trip to the hospital for our infusions was also an interesting experience. When it’s you infected with the virus, you are like a dirty bomb… the elephant in the room… and everybody knows it! All the warning signs… they’re about you… all the masks, gloves, hazmat suits… because of you. Riding the “Covid +” elevator is odd, the small talk and superficial conversations with nurses all feel like a scene from a movie. Though millions have been infected, being one of them still feels lonely.

Internally, my husband experienced a fair amount of anxiety related to feelings of helplessness and uncertainty. One night he told me he was “completely at the mercy of this wicked thing” and it struck me deep in my core. This leads me to the spiritual component of our experience with Covid.

Spiritual:

From the moment we saw the two lines on our “at home” Covid test, there was a noticeable, palatable shift in the atmosphere of our home. It was like a dark cloud settled over it. I would spend the next 10 days combating it and speaking/praying against it. Even in really dark minutes, the presence of God was with us. He provided our medication for us, dinner every night from family and friends, stuff to keep our kids happy, peaceful family time, positive kid attitudes …all of it was from Him. A virus created and meant for evil, chaos, division, destruction and death… but allowed by God for His glory. I don’t understand it and probably never will, but He was close, incredibly near during every minute of our healing.

The biggest surprise to me wasn’t how dark and spiritually draining this illness was, but how darkness and light, the spirit of the enemy and the Spirit of the Living God were both present, in my home… together, at once. It was as if we were getting a look into spiritual warfare through the agony of miserable symptoms drenched in the mercies of Jesus.

None of this may make sense if you haven’t had it, but I’d love to hear from you if you’re a believer and had a similar spiritual experience. It truly was an unforgettable 10 days.

Knowing what I know now, I’m reflecting on how I can be helpful for those that haven’t had it, but want to be prepared if they do find themselves in our situation. I’ve compiled some tips.

Helpful Tips:

• Buy an at-home Covid test kit to keep on hand for peace of mind and/or if symptoms start.
• Make a quarantine plan (with or away from family). Although I absolutely do not recommend being totally alone through this, you will need to know how you will quarantine.
• Know the protocol you want to follow. Do the research now, before you’re sick! Decide on the route you want to take to help your body heal the way you’re comfortable with. Write it down, screenshot it, etc. and communicate it to your family.
• Secure a prescription (if that’s what you decide) and/or a doctor that shares your opinion and values, add supplements (if you plan to use them) to your cart through a local vitamin shop/pharmacy’s website, know your BMI and/or risk factors for become sicker (if interested in antibody infusion).
• Make sure you have working thermometers, Tylenol, ice packs, etc.
• Get organized as soon as you test positive, before you don’t feel good. You’ll be more likely to stick to the protocol if it’s organized and easy to follow. (I bagged all of our supplements and meds and labeled them AM and PM.)
• Rest. Rest. Rest. Lean in to the Lord. Listen to what He wants you to learn from this time of sickness and stillness.

Overall our Covid experience isn’t something I ever want to go through again, but we’re on the other side feeling so blessed and grateful. I hope our real, raw account of what it was like will bring you comfort; not because it was fun or glamorous, but because sickness is part of life, and ultimately the overwhelming majority of people get through it with mild suffering and little inconvenience.

As always I’m an open book and will answer any questions you may have. Be sure you’re following along with my life on Instagram everyday @bloomco.interiors

Thanks for stopping by!

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. This post is not meant to give medical advice. This is our experience only. If you have questions or concerns, you should talk to a physician you trust,

Jamie

A few tips:

As a former teacher, I want to offer a few tips if you haven’t ever taught children, especially your own.

1. Dedicate a space. kids need a separate space that is free of clutter and distraction to work. This can be a folding table and chair, a bean bag with a clipboard, a floor pillow and the coffee table, or a desk in their room. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but keep it neat. The more easily distracted your child gets, the more structured their environment needs to be. It’ll minimize frustration for both of you!
2. Make a work sandwich! This simply means to sandwich a short time of work with a short time of play or reward. I recommend no more than 10 minutes of work for Pre-K, then a 5 minute brain break. Add 5 minutes of work time as the grade increases (e.g. 15 for K, 20 for 1st, 25 for 2nd, 30 for 3rd and up) I wouldn’t expect any elementary child to sit and work for more than 30 minutes without a short break. I’ll give some brain break examples on a separate post.
3. Stay on schedule. Don’t be crazy and don’t let it stress you out, but try to stay on a predictable schedule. I’m including our schedule in this post. I’ll include curriculum ideas including PE/recess, brain breaks, activities, lunch/snack ideas on a separate post.

Our Tentative Schedule

8:00 Breakfast I don’t plan to wake the kids at a certain time, but I will wake them for breakfast at 8:00 if they aren’t already up, also we plan to stick to our breakfast menu Monday through Thursday.

8:30 Dressed The kids will get dressed in play clothes each day. I know I am more productive when I change out of pajamas, so I’m assuming the same will be true for them. I feel like it will help them to get into a good mindset.

9:00 Schoolwork This part will be totally specific to your child. I’ll share ideas on a different post, but this time will consist of discussion, probably a simple activity or two, a brain break or two and independent work (worksheet).

10:00 Snack These snacks will be decided on the night before (just like we do now) and will be laid out after breakfast.

10:15 Schoolwork continued

11:00 PE/Recess At this point it would be easy for me to banish the kids to the outside to “play”, but the truth is, with a little effort from me, I predict it will become our favorite part of the day. I plan to choose 4 or 5 activities and just rotate through them each day. I’ll include my ideas on a separate post.

12:00 Lunch Lunch will be packed/prepared the night before (just like we down now) which will make it convenient and help keep the kitchen stay clean during the day. If I’m cleaning the kitchen and doing chores, we’ll get off schedule.

12:30 Quiet Time This will be when Daisy (our toddler) will lay down for nap and my big kids (8 and 4) will go to their rooms for quiet time. Clark usually reads and Penelope typically draws. I set a timer for 30 minutes. We do this in the summer, so they’re accustomed to it.

1:00 Arts & Crafts/Games Quiet activities will continue, but they’ll come downstairs and we’ll play together. I’ll get some ideas together in a separate post.

2:00 Snack These snacks will be decided on the night before (just like we do now) and will be laid out after lunch.

2:15 Done for the day!

As they’re working and having quiet time I’ll check over their work and make plans for the next day depending on how well they’re doing with the current skills being taught that day. Prepping things ahead will make the day run smoothly and help me keep my sanity!

I hope this little schedule helps when you’re planning your weeks ahead. Message me with any questions and be sure to follow along on stories for updates throughout the week.

Thanks for stopping by, Jamie xo