In the last few days my uncle has been treated for a chest infection which has knocked him for six and it has been slow to respond to treatment. It's obviously not a great development when he has heart and lung problems but he was doing ok.
Today when my dad phoned the hospital he was told that my uncle has tested positive for Covid 19 this morning, which has been a blow for us all. It seems he has been getting tested continually for it but only tested positive today. It suggests to me that he has caught the virus in the hospital as he tested negative for it on May 4th when he arrived into hospital. The average incubation between catching it and developing symptoms is 5 days, but 97% of patients are between 5 and 11 days. I personally think the sudden chest infection was the start of showing symptoms about 3/4 days ago but of course we can't be sure.
My dad and I are already self isolating except for twice a week to get milk and stuff but I think we better isolate ourselves fully for a week just to be sure we haven't got it. Incubation can go on as long as 14 days in rarer cases and it is 14 days since my dad last saw my uncle though he was wearing a mask and gloves and two metres away from him. I'm really worried about my uncle though he is not on a ventilator so I assume he is on oxygen, steroids, antibiotics, drips and so on. I know he is getting treatment and is in the right place. My dad is going crazy because he can't talk to him or visit, so it's going to be a tough week ahead as we phone each day and night for news.
I'm not taking a big long blog break or anything as we have no idea how long my uncle will have the virus and everything. I'll be sticking to my normal routine of posting something most days and the odd day offline.
Thanks to everyone who has been asking after my family and I hope that all of you are staying as safe and healthy as you possibly can. For those who are facing health struggles themselves or health struggles with loved ones, my thoughts are with you too.
Chuckles x
Today when my dad phoned the hospital he was told that my uncle has tested positive for Covid 19 this morning, which has been a blow for us all. It seems he has been getting tested continually for it but only tested positive today. It suggests to me that he has caught the virus in the hospital as he tested negative for it on May 4th when he arrived into hospital. The average incubation between catching it and developing symptoms is 5 days, but 97% of patients are between 5 and 11 days. I personally think the sudden chest infection was the start of showing symptoms about 3/4 days ago but of course we can't be sure.
My dad and I are already self isolating except for twice a week to get milk and stuff but I think we better isolate ourselves fully for a week just to be sure we haven't got it. Incubation can go on as long as 14 days in rarer cases and it is 14 days since my dad last saw my uncle though he was wearing a mask and gloves and two metres away from him. I'm really worried about my uncle though he is not on a ventilator so I assume he is on oxygen, steroids, antibiotics, drips and so on. I know he is getting treatment and is in the right place. My dad is going crazy because he can't talk to him or visit, so it's going to be a tough week ahead as we phone each day and night for news.
I'm not taking a big long blog break or anything as we have no idea how long my uncle will have the virus and everything. I'll be sticking to my normal routine of posting something most days and the odd day offline.
Thanks to everyone who has been asking after my family and I hope that all of you are staying as safe and healthy as you possibly can. For those who are facing health struggles themselves or health struggles with loved ones, my thoughts are with you too.
Chuckles x
I'm so sorry. I hope your uncle is ok and that you and your dad remain infection-free. My MIL is being tested today :(
ReplyDeleteOh I'm sorry Bark-I really hope she tests negative. It's just all so scary isn't it. My dad and I feel ok and should've shown signs by now but it's human nature to be nervous.
DeleteOh dear. I'm so sorry to hear that about your uncle! What a scary time for all of you. Hang in there. I'll keep you and your uncle in my prayers.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lark, I really appreciate that. We phoned again last night and my uncle was sitting up in bed bored. That was good but things can change quickly with this virus of course. We hope getting treatment while he is still in the early stages of infection might be a good thing.
DeleteOh no! I'm so sorry to hear this. I'm sending heartfelt prayers to your whole family. Take care my friend and give Dad extra hugs. I can't imagine how hard this is on him having to be away from his brother when he's so ill.
ReplyDeleteThanks Barb. We weren't expecting this development so it's all a bit confusing y'know? How did he get it? Did he have it when he went in and the tests were false negatives? I doubt we'll get many answers when we can't ask a doctor. All we can do is phone the hospital twice a day and isolate totally for a week and see what happens.
DeleteOh no, Chuckles! I hope that your uncle starts feeling better soon. This virus is a scary thing! I just found out that my older sister's mother (we have different mothers) is in a care facility with the virus and nobody can get in to see her right now. I will be thinking of you guys!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your sister's mother Carole. The poor woman must be really scared in there without family. I know my uncle hates fuss (and hospitals) so he'll be happier that we can't visit! I hope she'll be ok. Your sister must be out of her mind with worry.
DeleteI'm so sorry to hear this :( I guess it's entirely possible he might have gotten it at the hospital, it's definitely happened before which is why so many people I know are terrified of going to the hospital even though they're taking every precaution there. I hope your uncle will get better soon, and I'm crossing my fingers that you and your dad remain healthy and symptom free.
ReplyDelete~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum
My dad certainly isn't showing virus symptoms so that is a relief. I'm still puzzled about all of this but it's impossible to get answers when you talk to a ward nurse on the phone each day. I doubt we'll ever find out half of what we want to know!
DeleteI'm sorry to hear about your uncle. I know you've been worried about him all along. It's even harder when you can't go visit or see for yourself.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine just told me this morning that her mom has been ill and just took the test. She works in a Dr's office in NYC and a coworker had tested positive already.
My friend is going crazy because she lives in a different state (at a hospital) and can't leave or go see her. For now though, her mom is still at home.
Karen @ For What It's Worth
I feel as if my brain is going to explode with the stress, frustration and confusion of it all! Your poor friend must be going out of her mind with worry right now and I really feel for her. I hope it turns out to be a normal infection or a mild Covid 19 at worse.
DeleteHope everything will turn out okay! I've had two family members in the hospital with it quite early on (cousin on a ventilator and his wife with COVID-associated renal failure) and they're both out and pretty much back to normal now, which is a relief.
ReplyDeleteI'm so pleased to hear that your cousin and his wife are covering from this horrible virus. The whole fear and anxiety it is causing is way beyond anything we see in the MCs in my apocalypse novels, that's for sure. These books didn't prepare me as much as I thought on that side of things but it did show me where I need to prepare better!
DeleteOh no! I'm so sorry to hear about your uncle and agree that his contracting the virus makes the most sense. I'm glad to hear he isn't on a ventilator and is sitting up and what not. I know you'll feel better once you and your dad are safely out of the window of contagion regardless though. Fingers crossed that you get updated as much as you can and that your uncle's progress continues to be good.
ReplyDeleteMy uncle naturally got a bit panicky the day they told him he tested positive but he seems to be ok now and I imagine he can't have a bad dose if they are making arrangements for him getting home already. These last few months have been so up and down with anxiety...I guess one good thing is that I'm losing weight from it at last!
DeleteI'm so sorry to hear about your uncle but as you said he's in the best place! Hopefully they're well on top of it and he recovers well.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely sounds like he caught it in hospital though. :(
We think he caught it in there but his other health issues were severe enough that I think he was on a downward spiral anyway.
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