Quarantine Diaries: Five, The Test
It was early Sunday morning before the sun was up when my one year old woke up inconsolable, so I brought him into bed with me, and we fell back asleep faces pressed together into the morning light. His little body felt warm, but I didn't think much of it. Later that afternoon, I went to scoop him up off the floor, and realized he was hot. He had been fussy and clingy with my husband all morning, so we went searching for the thermometer and took his temperature. 101… still climbing, 101.7 the number read.
Because it was a Sunday, we decided to put in a call to his pediatrician the following morning. My husband urged me to keep my distance as I'm at high risk, so I headed down to the in-law for much of the day to work. This felt overly cautious, but after weeks of "what if" conversation, we were well versed in how things might play out. I donned a mask anytime I interacted with the baby and slept in the other room while my husband brought him into bed. No one slept. He was miserable, with the fever refusing to break even with regular doses of infant Tylenol. He also started to become congested with a raspy-ness to his breathing.
The next morning we put in a call and were scheduled for an e-visit. The doctor listened closely, then paused. "Considering the season, considering what's going on now- there's a possibility that it might be Covid." She scheduled us for an appointment to be seen in person that afternoon and hung up. There was an exam then four swabs. One to rule out strep, an unlikely scenario but worth exploring as my daughter has just finished battling a chronic infection. One for the flu. Two for Covid- a swab for both nose and throat to be sure they got a reliable sample. The first two swabs were negative. Then we waited.
It was late Thursday before we heard back that the test had come back negative. Four days of wearing a mask at home. Four days of isolating, not leaving the house to walk the dog, or pick up groceries. Four days of holding my breath and wondering, what happens next? Then things went back to normal. At least as normal as things get right now.
We were lucky. We still have no idea how he got sick at all when we've been so isolated, but after three and a half days of a consistently high temperature, the fever broke. He started sleeping soundly again, his breathing went back to normal. It was like a momentary glimpse of what life would be like with Covid. It brought to light a lot of questions that we had been avoiding answering. What happens when the kids get sick? What then when we get sick- even more, what if one of us has to go to the hospital? What if. When. What if. Then. The questions gnawing at the back of parents' minds in times like this. I don't know if we're any closer to having answers only now I know that one way or another we would get through, together even if we're apart.
