Covid-19
Emilka had not been well since Thursday 24th November. She was tired and had a headache, but we all thought this was from being back at school with early mornings, revising for exams and sitting the exams.
She slept and felt fine so little did we know that school was likely where she had infact contracted Covid-19.
On Sunday 28th November she displayed more signs and when she did a home antigen test, it was positive.
I booked her online for a PCR the same day and Steve took her to Lanka hospital for 12.00 and what turned out to be a very efficient, well organised and kindly-run testing centre.
This was an uplifting experience after the total shambles we found at Nawaloka hospital after arriving back into Sri Lanka from the UK in late August; inefficient, an overly complex process and the dubious need for each patient to walk directly behind the line of bored and disinterested reception staff to reach the testing station.
We learned at 17.30 the same day that her PCR result was positive, so our home quarantine countdown clock of 14 days started.
A box of gloves and a tray in front of Emilka’s room were the tools used to leave food and bring dirty dishes out to wash.
Bless her, she was in solitary confinement for 4 days until the next of us fell ill with Covid-19 and had no human touch in the interim.
She got bored and felt lonely.
It could only be Misa, our family clown who makes us laugh so frequently, who could lift Emi’s sprits.
After dinner one evening that Emi had joined remotely by sitting in her bedroom doorway, he went to his bedroom and appeared some minutes later in PPE; his inflatable T-Rex with plastic face shield and positive air pressure to go and cheer up Emi and wish her good night.
She was very happy and we all laughed our socks off. A lovely moment.
I have been showing some signs of Covid-19 since the evening of Monday 29th November, but two antigen tests were negative. On Tuesday night, Steve took himself away from my bedroom and slept on the couch as I was unwell and preferred to be alone.
Once a third antigen test showed that I was positive on Wednesday morning, Misa cordoned our bedroom corridor off with a chaise longue to create a isolation ward for Emilka and me together. She was over the moon to be able to hug me and come in contact with me.
Now it was my lovely mummy, who was temporarily looking after us all.
King coconut was a drink I was consuming daily as it is proved to be full of the minerals and electrolytes that I needed to replenish. The bright sunlight and great view of the ocean from my bedroom window was uplifting and even though I felt rotten, it was about as pleasant place as possible to be isolated in.
When a mobile laboratory came to test me, I got my mummy tested as well just in case her mild symptoms were proof of Covid-19. They were.
By Thursday 2nd December, all three girls were positive and it was impossible to isolate us. Leaving the boys to look after us with Steve still working flat out would not work, so with Emilka and I feeling better by then I got organising.
We were worried about my mummy and her complex health history, so I needed to manage her care and get a doctor’s consultation. Friends brought round all the medicine and vitamins that the doctor prescribed as well as a pulse oximeter for me to better manager her care at home.
We established our Covid-19 kitchen and boys were not allowed to come in. Steve kept distance working from his corner and Misa was managing to distance too as he is always on his laptop behind the closed door of his room. Despite using gloves and masks and frequent washing hands as well as preparing fresh, piping hot food, having us girls roaming in the apartment meant it was only a matter of time before the boys would display some symptoms, too.
Misa just lost his appetite and had a runny tummy, but Steve became very unwell and was in bed with a fever for 3 whole days and with fever on and off and a total lack of energy all week. They each had a PCR on Sunday 5th December when I was able to organise a mobile tester to come to visit us (self testing is not allowed in Sri Lanka). The results were positive as we feared. All five of us by now had completely lost our sense of smell; a strange experience.
With the quarantine clock reset back to zero we knew that we would be unable to leave our apartment until Sunday, 19th December.
The CCTV camera in front of our front door was watched like a hawk by the very capable receptionist who was also our person to fetch and bring things when they were delivered. Online shopping worked well having been all but non-existent in Sri Lanka prior to the pandemic. Our neighbour Gabriella over the lobby was also kind bringing us shopping and fresh produce, and other friends would come and bring things to us, leaving them on the table outside to help us feel loved. Each time someone came and left something they would ring the doorbell and then leave right away. Ever the comedian, Misa carefully took a ‘Sealed for your safety’ label from a bottle and stuck it over the jamb for our front door!
We were able to enjoy the time on our balcony now without feeling guilty, doing nothing but regaining strength. Once the boys were positive too, we were able to have Pizza picnic by the TV and be all together.
The doctor wanted to admit my Mummy to hospital at one point when she deteriorated on Day 8 as her blood oxygen level was very low, but hospitalisation brings other risks and challenges so thankfully we managed to keep her at home.
During the isolation, we celebrated one year of being in this apartment and one month of my mummy being in Sri Lanka. We tried to make some creative celebratory dishes, but as we were running out of food in the cupboards it was challenging, but we managed.
We were so looking forward to getting our freedom back and wondering how it was going to feel – normal, or strange? The first thing planned for me was go to the gym and have a swim with a coffee on the roof top, and for the boys going for haircut before we all met at Barefoot Garden Café for lunch.
Back to a new normal, but full energy is still to return.
Rennie
