Isolation Begins

It feels like I have un-retired. I was researching past midnight about when to expect the viral load to be low enough for us to retake the antigen test to yield negative results.  Then I called Expedia to rebook our flight back to Honolulu based on our best guess. Today, I spent more than 12 hours on my iPhone using productivity and utility apps.  First time we Zoomed with immediate family not to socialize but for family business. Throughout the day, I was making and receiving reports regarding care services for dad.  I must applaud my 13 Pro’s battery life and my isolation suite’s wifi capacity.  Bravo!

Day zero (onset of symptoms) was Jan 7 for me and P. My rapid test was negative on Jan 8 and positive on Jan 9. We immediately moved into isolation.  Prior to Jan 7, I tested negative three times in Canada with antigen test and three times in Hawaii with PCR test. In hind sight, the points of failure were indoor gathering with poor ventilation and lack of masking even when the social gathering limit was not exceeded. Our victory was mild and short-lived symptoms due to the effectiveness of the vaccine and booster. What CDC stresses is absolutely right and important, the universal precautions are vaccination, good ventilation and masking. 

Having to isolate in Canada is very unexpected. We are extremely grateful for our hosts’ hospitality, “offering coal in the snow”.  They are very busy couple, God bless their heart!  We are very well-fed and hydrated, so much so that I had to do 40 minute of Zumba today to burn some calories!  Our space is clean and warm and we are even able to keep watching Netflix K-drama on their TV!

Two mini crisis converged last weekend. One was my dad’s abruptly deteriorating condition and the other one was our positive Covid test.  Prior to these two incidents, my brother’s family also has three members needing isolation.  We are all captives of Covid and have undivided attention to the matters on hand. What appears to be undesirable and untimely events have God’s fingerprints all over them!  The biggest breakthrough was mom finally not resisting additional home care that was intrusive to her in the past. She also gave us permission to look for other care options. We have been worried about her overall wellness, including her mental health condition and possible caregiver’s burnout.  Her willingness to let go is huge!

To say the least, God in his perfect time and infinite wisdom orchestrated everything that happened in our family at this time for a reason.  I rejoice that my isolation begins with a purpose!