Covid and Family Situation

ashaw

Cathlete
I'm not sure if anyone here is going through a similar situation. My husband and I are fully vaccinated (but not boosted) for covid. We both had covid in August 2020, we're sitting on the fence on boosters, although I do have concerns for my husband because he got the Johnson & Johnson one shot vax a year ago and he has a lot of underlying conditions - overweight, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stage 3 chronic kidney disease. He spent 9 days in the hospital with covid, was on supplemental oxygen, steroids and it took him about a month to fully recover. Thank God, he's fine. I wasn't nearly as sick, I would say I was more scared than sick because I was by myself while he was hospitalized and really didn't have anyone to call on if I'd needed help. Thankfully, I was never too sick not to get medication, food or walk the dog.

The thing I'm dealing with is my family. I've seen my mom and step-dad basically twice in the past 2 years- the first time was right as the pandemic began in March 2020 - the most recent visit was in June 2021, a few weeks after I was fully vaccinated. They live about an hour from me, so I normally would drive up on a Sunday morning, spend the night and come home Monday. I've been really careful during this entire pandemic, we contracted covid because we went to help our neighbor after neck surgery. We knew he tested negative pre-op, but didn't realize that because he had been taking Embrel for psoriatic arthritis it lowered his immunity as well as not being in good health to begin with, so he contracted the virus while in the hospital, his family believes it was during intubation for surgery. Sadly he passed away at the end of August 2020. He was a good man, husband, father, grandfather, friend and neighbor and will never be forgotten.

Even though the most recent CDC guidance is that most people can take off their masks, I still continue to wear mine anytime I go out and I still don't want to eat at an indoor restaurant. My husband is a little more lax, he pretty much won't wear a mask when he goes out, unless he's made to at the doctor's office, he meets friends of varying vaccination statuses at indoor restaurants and goes to some luncheons with several hundred people. I'm in a situation where I can't put him in a plastic bubble. I would love to be able to see my parents again, but I do understand that my mom too is very high risk. She's 74, has type 2 diabetes that is well controlled with meds, diet and exercise, she has heart disease and high cholesterol, is overweight and has an autoimmune condition called Sjogren's. I'm very thankful that my step-dad is on the same page with her about being careful. They too wear masks anytime they go out, they eat at two of their favorite restaurants twice a week, but they go at very off hours so its not crowded (something my husband would never consider doing) and two of my step-dad's sons won't get vaccinated and therefore they're not allowed in their house. I never have pressed my mom about coming out in fact, last summer when she let me know it was OK for me to come visit I was surprised and elated, it was totally unexpected. I was thankful that I got to visit because the Delta and Omicron waves slammed into the Houston, TX area. Cases here are supposedly on the decline although the Omicron subvariant is out there. Once again, I don't want to press my mom about coming to visit, but its getting to the point that its stressing me out because I feel like that if I keep being careful, I'll get to come out again someday. Meanwhile, my husband is ready to move on with life and I'm caught in the middle. I got really upset last week because all this was simmering and I was at the gas station and had pulled up to a pump, I didn't pull up all the way to the first pump because I thought it was one of those ethanol only pumps. So this guy behind me honks and asks me to please pull up. I lose it. I slammed the car in gear, laid a patch of rubber and went to the complete other side of the gas station. I told my husband the next day about what happened and why I was upset and that this wasn't good for my health. I was thinking about talking to a counselor, still contemplating it, but not sure about it yet.

So, I've floated potential ideas like a 10 day quarantine, literally masking up in the house around my husband, but that would also mean no good night and good morning kiss and no sex, again, its like my mindset is, if my mom sees me being really careful then I'll get to come visit. The problem is eventually, my husband is going to want to go out and do things again and I'm not going to have a choice about whether or not to go. Again, I have to keep in my mind the fact that my mom is very high risk.

Is anybody else in a similar situation where although everyone's vaccinated (and maybe boosted), they're still not getting to see their family?
 
Hi ashaw. My mom is in a dementia unit in a rest home and the rest home has completely closed down to visitors periodically since the outbreak. It was very stressful last year when we were hit by Delta as they did not allow visitors for nearly 4 months. I was really worried as I wasn't sure if I would even see my mom again. She is in the late stages of dementia and I really didn't think she would make it to Christmas, but here we are nearly April and she's still with us. My mom is double vaxxed and boosted as am I and my 2 brothers. The rest home opened up briefly between December and late February but only for visits during the week between 9.30am and 3.30pm, no weekend or evening visits and only for half an hour, and you have to make an appointment. Also only one person can visit per week. As you can imagine for those of us who work Monday to Friday we just can't get to visit unless we are able to take time off work.
With the Omicron variant and high number of community cases the rest home closed down again in late February but has now opened up with the same strict visiting conditions but now we also have to do a RATS test when we arrive. This is stressful for me as the only RATS tests that are approved for use here in New Zealand are nasal swab tests and I find the nasal swab tests really painful and sometimes I get nose bleeds which means I can't complete the test. At the same time I don't want to miss spending time with my mom as I don't know how much longer I have with her. I haven't seen my mom since late February. One of my brothers hasn't been able to see her since before the Delta closure in August last year. My other brother was able to get time off work and see her last week.

It is a really hard, horrible, situation but I know there are people who have had it tougher, people who were stuck overseas and lost their loved ones during this pandemic and weren't able to see them before they passed or attend their funeral.
 
Hi ashaw. My mom is in a dementia unit in a rest home and the rest home has completely closed down to visitors periodically since the outbreak. It was very stressful last year when we were hit by Delta as they did not allow visitors for nearly 4 months. I was really worried as I wasn't sure if I would even see my mom again. She is in the late stages of dementia and I really didn't think she would make it to Christmas, but here we are nearly April and she's still with us. My mom is double vaxxed and boosted as am I and my 2 brothers. The rest home opened up briefly between December and late February but only for visits during the week between 9.30am and 3.30pm, no weekend or evening visits and only for half an hour, and you have to make an appointment. Also only one person can visit per week. As you can imagine for those of us who work Monday to Friday we just can't get to visit unless we are able to take time off work.
With the Omicron variant and high number of community cases the rest home closed down again in late February but has now opened up with the same strict visiting conditions but now we also have to do a RATS test when we arrive. This is stressful for me as the only RATS tests that are approved for use here in New Zealand are nasal swab tests and I find the nasal swab tests really painful and sometimes I get nose bleeds which means I can't complete the test. At the same time I don't want to miss spending time with my mom as I don't know how much longer I have with her. I haven't seen my mom since late February. One of my brothers hasn't been able to see her since before the Delta closure in August last year. My other brother was able to get time off work and see her last week.

It is a really hard, horrible, situation but I know there are people who have had it tougher, people who were stuck overseas and lost their loved ones during this pandemic and weren't able to see them before they passed or attend their funeral.
Thank you so much for sharing your situation. I'm in Houston, TX and it seems like things aren't nearly as strict here. There's really no mitigation measures in place at all and just about the only place that requires masking is at the doctor's office and hospitals. Everything else is open season now and even if we have another surge, like we did with Delta and Omicron, nobody wants to walk back on anything and reinstate safety measures.

My husband's nephew's mother in law is in an assisted living type place that also has a memory care unit which her husband was in until he passed last month and this particular facility allows the residents to be picked up by family members. I understand people want to see their family, but its scary to think that one person could be exposed at a holiday gathering and bring covid back to the rest of the people at the nursing home. When covid first began, my husband had a friend who's 98 year old otherwise healthy dad died from covid even when the home was locked down and no visitors were allowed. When our neighbor (the one we contracted covid from) died, his family wasn't allowed to be with him. He died on face time.

I hope you are able to see your mom again soon. THank you again for sharing what you're going through.
 
Ashaw, what about visiting with your mom outdoors? I can't take most medications (prescription or over the counter) without horrible side effects - sometimes with me ending up in the hospital. When I had my tubes tied (decades ago), they temporarily lost me on the table, because I was allergic to the anesthetic. It turns out that after a surgery, I can't take pain killers! The one flu shot that I had ended up with me being in the hospital fighting for my life. My son has the same issues with meds. Thank goodness I'm healthy, so I don't have to deal with medications very often, and there is one antibiotic that I don't react to, so if I ever need it, that's good to know. Anyways, when I asked my doctor about getting the vaccination, she laughed (while looking at my file), said, "You're joking, right?" She then looked up at me, and said, You're serious? Why would you kill yourself? So, evidently I'm not a good candidate for the vaccine. Want to know why this matters? Well, my mom has cancer, and is undergoing chemo. As a result, she has no immune system. They won't let her get another vaccine or booster, because the last one did something to her legs - making it so she couldn't walk. She is now able to get to the bathroom with my dad's assistance, but she was in a wheelchair. She went from using a push mower on the lawn to a wheelchair! To top it off, the doctors are now saying that the vaccine probably doesn't do much for a chemo patient. In other words, they don't think her vaccine gave her any immunity. So, my husband, son, and I visit my mom and dad outdoors at their house on nice days. We sit far enough apart that wearing masks isn't needed, which is nice, since my dad and husband can't hear squat (even with their hearing aids), so muffling the voice makes conversation frustrating and impossible for them. My son (who is blind and has severe developmental delays) doesn't understand why he can't hug Grandma or Grandpa (since Grandpa is in close contact with Grandma on a regular basis), but we remind him that it's nice just to hear their voices and be there with them in person. If it's an option, ask your mom if she'd mind an outdoor visit on a pleasant day. :)
 
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Ashaw, what about visiting with your mom outdoors? I can't take most medications (prescription or over the counter) without horrible side effects - sometimes with me ending up in the hospital. When I had my tubes tied (decades ago), they temporarily lost me on the table, because I was allergic to the anesthetic. It turns out that after a surgery, I can't take pain killers! The one flu shot that I had ended up with me being in the hospital fighting for my life. My son has the same issues with meds. Thank goodness I'm healthy, so I don't have to deal with medications very often, and there is one antibiotic that I don't react to, so if I ever need it, that's good to know. Anyways, when I asked my doctor about getting the vaccination, she laughed (while looking at my file), said, "You're joking, right?" She then looked up at me, and said, You're serious? Why would you kill yourself? So, evidently I'm not a good candidate for the vaccine. Want to know why this matters? Well, my mom has cancer, and is undergoing chemo. As a result, she has no immune system. They won't let her get another vaccine or booster, because the last one did something to her legs - making it so she couldn't walk. She is now able to get to the bathroom with my dad's assistance, but she was in a wheelchair. She went from using a push mower on the lawn to a wheelchair! To top it off, the doctors are now saying that the vaccine probably doesn't do much for a chemo patient. In other words, they don't think her vaccine gave her any immunity. So, my husband, son, and I visit my mom and dad outdoors at their house on nice days. We sit far enough apart that wearing masks isn't needed, which is nice, since my dad and husband can't hear squat (even with their hearing aids), so muffling the voice makes conversation frustrating and impossible for them. My son (who is blind and has severe developmental delays) doesn't understand why he can't hug Grandma or Grandpa (since Grandpa is in close contact with Grandma on a regular basis), but we remind him that it's nice just to hear their voices and be there with them in person. If it's an option, ask your mom if she'd mind an outdoor visit on a pleasant day. :)
Thank you for sharing your story with me. Gosh and I thought I was the one only who still couldn't see their family despite vaccines and boosters. My heart goes out to your son, I can't imagine how hard that be trying to explain to a kid why they can't hug their grandparents. It just seems like where I live and everyone I know, they've just put the pandemic behind them even though its not over yet. Some of my husband's family never quit getting together even during the worst days. I've never quit wearing a mask, i don't care what the CDC says, I care about myself and my husband and others out there who are high risk. I've had covid, albeit a mild case, but I sure as hell don't want to get it again. And yes my parents and I used to meet at a small park, but the weather in Houston, TX makes it difficult for outdoor stuff because we have almost year round summer. And my parents and I live almost an hour apart. Thank you again for sharing. I feel better about things just reading the two awesome Cathletes who have replied to me.
 

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