by Hope
While we were in Texas, two of my five children were called and told they had been exposed to COVID. Now that was my worst nightmare, especially since we were already taking a calculated risk to visit my parents. While my of the kids took it in stride, the other had a complete meltdown.
The same goes for my siblings that were around during our visit (3 of my 4 siblings came to my parents while we were there.) My sister took it in stride and continued to see us the remainder of our time there while my brothers both disappeared completely. I’m not judging just explaining the differing reactions.
Thankfully we are now well past the 2 week window and neither of my children has shown any symptoms. (Yes, I know they could still be positive and asymptomatic.) But back in Texas, one of my brothers has tested positive. Thankfully, his case seems to be very mild and he hasn’t been bed-ridden, etc. at all. It is a good thing that we have covid testing in dallas, in fact, it’s great that we have them in all states, especially as we are all on the edge of our seats waiting for something to get worse.
Social distancing and enjoying time together. My sister, mom, me and my two daughters hanging at the neighborhood pool in Texas. We tried very hard to maintain social distance, masked in public places and still have a great time together. My mom has Parkinsons so we do have to help her move around, but we took as many precautions as possible.
While I can’t rule out that we brought the exposure with us, I also know that we might not have. He owns several bars in town and they were open and operational until the week we arrived. And he was definitely to exposed to multiple people with COVID.
Thankfully, neither of my parents is exhibiting any symptoms and while I offered to spend our final days in Texas in a hotel or AirBnB, they refused.
Continuing to Prepare
I firmly believe that three of us have already had COVID, back in February. History Buff and I are going to give blood and get tested for anti-bodies this weekend.
As the numbers spike and the worry about schools grows, I continue to prepare for another quarantine period. I am buying a little extra food each week. I am freezing a few gallons of milk. And I plan to make one more Sams Club run in the next couple of weeks to buy a bit more meat. (I’ve gone twice over the last month and meat has been scarce or limited.)
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 5 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.
How do you feel about potentially exposing all those people on the plane? Especially on the way back…
“My sister took it in stride and continued to see us the remainder of our time there while my brothers both disappeared completely. I’m not judging just explaining the differing reactions.”
The fact that you describe your sister as “taking it in stride” and your brothers as “totally disappearing” does imply some judgement on your part. Your brothers did the right thing, even if it was a sacrifice or an unpopular choice.
Don’t be surprised if your antibody test comes back negative. A lot of people have been “really sure” they already had COVID only to find out that they didn’t.
Yep. First documented case in US was Jan 20 in Washington state. Unlikely to have made it to the rural south by Feb. I and one of my siblings are both health care workers, me a doc, he a Phd in microbiology. Between both our workplaces with dozens of employees, only one documented case to date. And we are in a state with rapid escalation
We were actually in Chicago in February which is where we believe we were exposed.
As of the end of February, only three cases were confirmed in all of Illinois. But if you did, by some minuscule chance, get it then, you took it with you across multiple states. So for the sake of those you encounter then, I really hope the latter isn’t the case.
Ha, I guess you mean by flying over “multiple states” on my return trip to GA, we exposed people in all the states we flew over?
And as for confirmed cases at that time. sure, there were only 3. Tests were not readily available for at least a month after that. So “confirmed” cases is, in February, was not really a valid number.
1. There is nothing about this that is funny. That you joke about this is highly disturbing.
2. By ‘multiple states’, I am referring to anyone you encountered either by driving, public transport or by entering an airport, flying on a plane, with people coming to and from many states. If you cannot accept that you encountered many people, who then encountered many people, who then encountered many people, etc etc etc, then you are fooling yourself.
3. As for your argument for ‘confirmed’ cases, you are wrong. The data is valid. But good luck hoping you all were infected and carried it through the airport and on the plane to dozens and, through their contacts with others, potentially hundreds of people. It is shocking that this is your preferred narrative.
I agree that Hope has been lax about exposure. I would like to ask you, Drmaddog, just how far we take this. Do we all need to wear masks, take extreme precautions, and stay home from now on out? Or just until an effective vaccine is developed? Even though the flu vaccine only helps somewhat, if at all. Yes, some people get seriously ill and die from this, but doesn’t that happen with the flu as well?
Wow. Honestly I hope “travel being in your blood” was worth it. This is why you shouldn’t be traveling and sharing germs with your family.
Also, doesn’t sound like you bothered to get the exposed children tested. Shame on you, if your family doesn’t want to be around potentially exposed people, they are being smart. Taking it in stride is what has spread this pandemic.
One of the children exposed did not travel. And all negative results from testing.
I think taking it in stride is more prudent than panicking and causing stress on everyone around you. Taking it in stride is not what has spread the disease, lack of facts, lack of preparedness and lack of precautions are what has spread the disease.
We are now over a week returned and no one in my Texas family; other than my brother has shown any signs. He had “cold like” symptoms for 3 days and is now back at 90%. And he most likely was exposed at the bar he owns where some of his employees had tested positive previously.
Taking precautions to not get a disease that can be very serious is not panicking. If I understood correctly at the time the child did not have a negative COVID test and/or 2 weeks had not passed? I am very happy to hear it sounds like your child was not infected but please respect those who are trying to do the right thing and not infect themselves and others.
But if one didn’t, one did. And by traveling during a pandemic and seeing family with health conditions, you didn’t take precautions. And lack of symptoms doesn’t mean you’re not spreading it to others.
Honestly, I feel like it will take someone you actually care about dying or having serious issues for you to realize that you are in the wrong. You are purely selfish, if your family seems ok, who cares about others.
Choosing not to knowingly expose yourself to someone who has been exposed (even if they are not symptomatic) for the sake of family socializing is not “panicking and causing stress on everyone around you.” It’s making the responsible choice for you and those around you. Even if it means sacrificing time with family. Even if that family judges you harshly for it. Kudos to your brothers.
Hope,
Everyone in your home absolutely needs to be tested by the department of health or an attending doctor that you see on a regular basis. Have your children been working the whole time that they should have been quarentined? I hope someone had enough sense to notify their jobs, friends, and others that have been in contact with them that there was a potential exposure. I would have hoped that you wore masks at the beach but according to the photo posted I don’t see anyone with a mask on. Unbelieveable.
Since two fo your children have potentially been exposed to COVID you are not to be leaving your home and everyone should be monitoring their temps and other signs such as nausea, diarrhea, chills, flushing, ahortness of breath, headache, muscle aches, abdominal pain, and changes in smell.
I am a critical carenurse an my daughter was expose last week to covid. We had to get everyone tested and we are on quarentine for the next seven days. There’s no one in my house that can go anywhere. I am out of work and so is everyone else in my family with jobs until we are all in the clear.
Please do the responsible thing.
For the record, the exposure was over 3 weeks ago. Yes, we were quarantined albeit at my parents when we found out. And no, no one has had any signs or symptoms.
And for the record, no…both exposed kids were out of work for 2+ weeks. And the exposure actually happened before they left work, so had been out of work for over a week before their employers contacted them. One of the exposed kids did not go to Texas either.
And also, we are over 3 weeks out from exposure now and no one has had any symptoms.
In both cases, neither employer required testing nor offered to pay for testing. And neither indicated close contact with whomever at the place of employment tested positive.
I would argue that, outside of locked down environments like prisons or nursing homes, it is primarily spread through individuals prioritizing their wants over the potential spread to others. That, and a percentage of the population being in denial and believing it is some grand hoax.
This entire trip was voluntary. I don’t care if you didn’t show any symptoms. You could have easily spread the virus to your family, people on the plane, and anyone else you came into contact with, as asymptomatic carriers. That’s the scary part of COVID is that so many people can spread it without having any symptoms!!! That’s a fact. It’s sad that so many people, especially in your geographic area cannot quite grasp this.
This is a serious issue as different states have different mandates and guidelines. Some states have tests readily available, some do not. Some require quarantine, some do not. A family member has to travel soon and this is the exact situation I’m worried about. Keep in mind this is very likely to happen when schools re open too. Who was exposed, who tested positive, how long should they have to quarantine etc? This is a complicated issue that shows how quickly the disease can be spread.
You really don’t seem to be taking this virus seriously at all. First Gymnast travels from IL to GA and you allow him to have contact with your grandmother without being quarantined. Then you allow him to travel to go see your elderly parents. Then you travel to TX putting yourself, children, siblings, and parents all at risk. Now this. When people ask you what the heck are you thinking?! You try to justify your actions with excuses; which appears to be your go to. You say “we social distanced.” Seriously? You were in the same damn house!! I just can’t fathom your thought process. You basically said, I would rather go and risk my both of my parents’ lives, then not go and have missed the chance to see my mother who is sick. Seriously? Would you have rather watched your mother gasping for air and had her die alone in a hospital?! We have a saying in Spanish “Hay días tontos y tontos todos los días” -I’ll have you look that up. But it’s what I think every time I see your posts.
I don’t need to look it up as I am fluent in Spanish along with a couple of other languages.
And yes, we are just going to have to agree to disagree on how we are dealing with COVID.
Please do research before taking an antibody test. There are many out there that are not accurate. Ask the clinic what test they use before you go and make sure it’s accurate. Most studies are showing that there is no long term immunity at this point. So, even if you had it, you could still get it again.
The antibody test was actually done when donating blood. I’m not sure what test they were giving and didn’t think to ask.
And you are right, I am seeing the same thing. There are still ALOT of unknowns and ever-changing data in regards this to COVID-19.
I find myself wondering if it continues to mutate as they say, how will they ever have a vaccine for it?