In the interest of trying to remain upbeat in 2020, I have to tell you that my husband tested positive for Coronavirus in October. Yes, really, this is a good news story!
Ours is good news in the sense that Alan caught a mild dose and has no obvious lingering side effects since. He is back to work, back running, and back feeding us all since his isolation period ended (phew!)
I joked to my friends that I may have enjoyed the peace of his two-week stint in the attic a little too much. I even joked that him having to endure my cooking three times a day was more of a threat to his general health than the Coronavirus ever could be (actually, that one is completely true).
But the truth is that those two weeks have changed us in some ways that I hadn’t anticipated. Brace yourselves because... We may actually appreciate each other even more now than ever before. Thank you, Pandemic!
5 Positive things you can do to support a loved one through a coronavirus diagnosis
- Keep It Upbeat. Isolation is really difficult for the person who is separated from their family, so lots of fun communication truly helps. Our kids sent cards and letters up on meal trays and recorded a few ‘We love you, get better soon!’ videos (complete with dance routines) to cheer Alan up.
- Make ALL the Soup. As a family we all quarantined at home with Alan for two weeks and we must have gone through gallons of soup! Hearty home-made soups with warm toast and butter is so comforting when someone isn’t feeling well, and it also helps to get lots of good veg into the patient!
- Have the Chats. We set up a chair at one end of the attic and I masked up to get up there for as many chats as possible. I had NO NEWS for him but we somehow managed to talk the hind legs off each other anyway. When else do we ever have an opportunity for long chats? Absolutely never!
- Sanitise, Sanitise, Sanitise. We were, again, super lucky that neither myself nor the kids got Coronavirus. But you better believe I scrubbed that house like I was on a Mrs. Hinch Instagram takeover! Alan had his own towels and washbag for the bathroom and we kept everything clean in between uses. Any excuse for a shiny sink!
- Think It Forward. Plan something lovely for when the isolation period is over and things go back to normal. For us, we were still in lockdown so getting out together for a family walk was the simplest and loveliest thing we could do. And we loved every single minute of it.
