Health and Sanity Check-Ins

[sprocketta]

Things are crazy now. I think we are all trying to stay healthy and maintain sanity as well. I thought I would start this thread so folks can check in and discuss how they're doing. I want all my BIC friends to be okay. I will kick this off with a first post. Take care of yourself lovelies.

[ather]

@GG84  I’m so sorry you got laid off permanently. I hope you find a new job fast and I hope it’s better then your last!! I know the feeling of starting over. My husband is military and I usually end up starting over every 5 years. 

[pocketvenus]

@Anastasiya13  I hope your bf's sister makes a full recovery. Sometimes people don't even get very sick! I also hope you are able to get more clarity on the job front soon and that things work out in your favour.

@GG84 This is rough news, I'm sorry to hear this. Are you able to apply to CERB now? Either way, sending you strength!!

[Anastasiya13]

@pocketvenus  Thank you I appreciate it, hopefully she wont have any symptoms. Sadly, I probably wont have any clarity about my job until closer to August, since for my job there is no way to work at it unless we are actually on the school campuses, but we will see. Thank you.

[pocketvenus]

@Anastasiya13 oof, that is awhile to wait. I hope your bf's sister has an easy time with the virus and that you and your partner remain safe in the meantime ❤️

[Anastasiya13]

@pocketvenus  Thank you hon, I appreciate it. Hope you and your family stay safe ❤️

[sprocketta]

When I started this thread, I was not expecting to make a post like this. I've been sick the last 2 weeks. Chills, headache, body aches, nausea, severe fatigue and shortness of breath. I've been wanting to post but waiting until I had sufficiently recovered. I've had a number of visits with my doctor and a bunch of medical tests. I was tested for covid last week. It came back negative. I understand there are false negatives and my doctor ruled out everything else he could. In my heart, I believe it is covid. My doctor acknowledged the unknown in testing. For the record, the covid test sucks. They ram a swab up your nose through to your throat and then keep it there for a seemingly endless 10 seconds. The fatigue is seemingly non-ending. I just run out of steam suddenly. The day I got tested, i was laying in bed afterward. I had too much on my mind to sleep but I was too tired to even hold up my phone to look at it while I laid in bed. It was one of the lowest points for me.

I have been stressed out and feeling crummy through all of this. I am mostly recovered and I was never at death's door, but this really knocked me on my a**.

I've missed a lot of work and HR got involved yesterday. I've been at my job less than a year and don't qualify for FMLA protection.  They want me to start working half days or go on a leave and they didn't know how long they could hold my job. Thankfully I'm mostly better and my doctor cleared me for the half days. The last 24 hours have been pretty scary. I'm looking forward to moving life towards a semblance of normal. I'm not fully recovered yet and still need to take it slow.

You don't really realize how many people care until something like this happens. A lot of people back in Chicago and here in NC have rallied around me. Of course some lovelies on BIC have been keeping tabs on me as well.

My post is not here to be dramatic. Up until this point, I have been very fortunate through the pandemic. I have a job and can work from home. Whatever I have, it didn't kill me. But being ill, stressing about what it is, the uncertainty about my job and having so many people worrying about me really brought the reality of the pandemic home.

This has really made me appreciate everything and everyone in my life. Thanks for being there everyone. Take care of yourself and embrace and appreciate what you have. I certainly do.

[Anastasiya13]

@sprocketta  Sending you well wishes hon, and I hope everything works out for the best. I am happy to hear you are doing better, and hope you quickly go back to feeling good again.

[sprocketta]

Thanks @Anastasiya13 

[newcarlee]

Just want to send wishes to you @sprocketta for a speedy recovery and hope things will work out job-wise. I can somewhat understand the level of suffering in general from previous bad bouts of influenza: the complete wonder at how it can be that you feel so horrible and the mental and physical stress of your body’s failing. Hang in there and all the best to you!

[sprocketta]

Thanks @newcarlee you are very kind.

[WinglessOne]

@sprocketta  I’m glad you’re improving, and that you’re able to work half days. ❤️ 

Also, it does sound like you got a false negative. One of my friends had a false negative from her first test but a positive from her second. She said it left her completely incapacitated for 1.5 weeks: she could barely move her limbs at all, let alone sit up in bed. 😞 She’s also recovering now, thank goodness. Anyway, definitely sounds like you have what she has. Please do continue to take it easy. Normalcy will return, eventually. 

[sprocketta]

Very interesting @WinglessOne I'm sorry for your friend. Whatever this is, it has really kicked my butt, though I was still able to get up and give the dog very short walks. Getting up today I do feel like I may have pushed myself too hard. I'll have to be careful. I'm glad to know I'm not dreaming about the false negative and that it has happened to others.

How are you doing? I've heard interesting things about your area and was wondering how you are.

[Nickelliebear1]

@sprocketta I'm so sorry to hear that you're going through all of that.  😞  😞  It's always scary when you don't understand why your body's failing you but you're keeping positive which is one of the biggest factors of recovering from anything!  Just seeing your posts from the past year or so, you're so kind and strong- you'll be back to your boss babe self in no time but be kind to yourself.  Sending you hugs and good vibes, feel free to send me a DM if I can help. ❤️ ❤️ 

[sprocketta]

@Nickelliebear1 thank you for your kind words. I owe you a package, right? Or am I confusing you with someone else? If that is the case, I feel terrible it never got sent to you but I got you something I definitely will send once I feel safe going out again. 

[MissPuff]

@sprocketta  Oh my goodness, sending you hugs! That sounds terrible and absolutely like COVID. I had a few employees that tested positive and while their symptoms have been all over the place, the more severe cases said regular intervals of acetaminophen plus lots of hot tea with TONS of lemon and honey, really helped the body-wracking coughs, as well as eating even when they had no appetite. I hope you're out of the woods, the whole thing sounds so scary. MORE HUGS!

Not that you want to experience COVID testing again (I've heard similar things about the swab basically touching your brain), you're entitled to 80 hrs of federally covered sick pay for COVID related leave so you might want to consider getting tested again if work is giving you a hard time about missed work. In China, the standard for negative testing is actually two negative tests, 24 hrs apart (3 tests must be negative if the patient was ever positive to begin with, before they'd even consider letting the patient back to work). Till then, take it easy and pamper yourself as much as you can 🙂 

[sprocketta]

@MissPuff thank you for this info. Do you know if antibody testing qualifies you for this as well? I think if I keep up with pacing myself with half days I can manage. I don't want to push too hard and get worse, but I'm antsy to get back to full-time as well. Thanks for the hugs.

[MissPuff]

@sprocketta I can't be certain as the state I live in doesn't yet do antibody testing. The guidelines we received from our payroll company was that even time spent quarantining while waiting for a covid test (even if ultimately negative), was eligible for the FFCRA covered sick time. 

Qualifying Reasons for Leave:

Under the FFCRA, an employee qualifies for paid sick time if the employee is unable to work (or unable to telework) due to a need for leave because the employee:

1. is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
2. has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19;
3. is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis;
4. is caring for an individual subject to an order described in (1) or self-quarantine as described in (2);
5. is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or child care provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19; or
6. is experiencing any other substantially-similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of Labor and Treasury.

Under the FFCRA, an employee qualifies for expanded family leave if the employee is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or child care provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19.

[sprocketta]

@MissPuff when I got tested i was told to self-isolate. I looked up the language yesterday. I was trying to figure out if I should get tested again and if I have to pay out of pocket. I am hoping I can just keep getting stronger and get past this, but I think I pushed myself too hard yesterday. I was pretty dizzy last night and since I got up today. I also had pretty severe vertigo a couple years ago so I'm not sure if it's that coming back. I hope not.

Thanks again. Very interesting to hear HR guidance.

[Loretta55]

Thank you for the information @MissPuff. It will be helpful to most. Glad to see that you are feeling better @sprocketta .

[MissPuff]

@Loretta55  Anytime! As with most of the regulatory guidance, it's slightly vague and broad enough that there's a bit of room for interpretation depending on employer, but it's good to know what's out there! Can't always count on employers to do the right thing, even in a crisis 😕 

[ather]

@sprocketta  I am so sorry to hear you had to go through this. I am so happy that your on the mend. If anything I think that a lot of good has come out of COVID19 I feel it’s really brought people closer. And it’s really made us slow down and appreciate what we have. It’s also helping us get creative and figuring out a new normal. And a way to connect from being apart. I am so happy your doing better. Good vibes!! Feel better. If you need anything I’m always here for you!