When this pandemic began back in March and we went on “lockdown”, I use the term loosely because in Florida we really didn’t do much to slow the spread, I wondered if this was going to be similar to all of the times I’ve been on medical leave and stuck at home.
Short answer: No. Long answer: Staying home during COVID while I’m currently healthy is nothing like staying home because I’m sick. Last year I spent a lot of time at home while recovering from surgery and multiple abscesses. Staying at home while in serious physical pain is no picnic. Not being able to eat solid food and having nothing to do is very challenging, not only physically, but mentally.
I went into detail about how awful things were last year for me. My recovery timeline was constantly changing and with going in and out of the hospital it seemed like there was no end in sight. I suffered from my very first (and hopefully last) panic attack. I was on anti-depressants, which was difficult because you weren’t supposed to take those pills on an empty stomach, but I wasn’t allowed to eat!
I was out of work for six months which made me feel like a burden. My job was to just get better, but easier said than done! Towards the end of that stretch when I was physically stronger, I started working on activities to keep me busy, like cross-stitch and making jewelry.
Now, I am still employed but with COVID I am working from home. I have adjusted to the WFH life and it wasn’t easy at first, but I’ve grown to really enjoy it. I learned to make the most of it and have become very productive while working from home. We invested some money in a monitor to connect to my laptop (highly recommend) and got a little desk from Walmart and now I have a proper office in the corner of my dining room. Hey, it beats the dining room table.
I am also healthy so I feel strong and pretty good most days. I’ve had some symptoms here and there (some acid reflux) and a few new IBD related symptoms that have surfaced, I am currently dealing with that with upcoming doctor appointments, but nothing major, just want to get things checked out. Don’t let things linger because of COVID, something minor could snowball into something major down the road and everyone should try and avoid being in the hospital right now (or anytime really).
I can eat, which is a HUGE improvement on last year. I’ve been using my Insta Pot every week and enjoy figuring out what we are going to cook. Thankfully I’m busy with work most of the day so I’m not sitting around just eating everything, which would be a complete 180 from last year. I have found things to keep me busy when we aren’t working like reading, beading, tie-dye, Netflix, and redesigning my blog. I wouldn’t have had the energy for all of that last year.
It’s hard to tell you which I prefer because they are apples and oranges. I prefer to be healthy, but I also prefer to live in a world where there isn’t a global pandemic that has already killed 200,000 Americans and put millions out of work (like my mom). They are two very different situations and the only thing they have in common is that I’m home most of the time. Being on lockdown to help prevent the spread of a contagious virus is not like being home recovering from surgery or an illness. Sorry to burst your bubble, but if you have never been on medical leave and now you think you know what it’s like, you don’t. Don’t compare the two, even though I just wrote an entire post doing just that.
Friendly reminder: there is still a pandemic, please wear your mask and avoid crowds and large gatherings. I know you may be bored with COVID but we will never get through this if people continue to be careless and selfish and refuse to get with the program.
There is such a big difference. I have been on medical leave numerous times for my various illnesses and this time I actually got layed off just before covid and was not sick at the time and it really did feel so different. I didn’t think it would really but it does. I am surprised at the number of people not taking the pandemic more serious and refusing to wear masks, social distance and stay home. I think we have had much strickter rules where I am then in where you are but still we have a lot of people who just refuse to believe or who just don’t really care about anyone but themselves. It’s frustrating.
Sorry for the delay, I sort of went AWOL on my blog the last few months. Sad to say that since you posted this in October it hasn’t gotten any better. Our daily number of cases are sky rocketing and where I live they refuse to do anything about it. The vaccine roll out has been sloppy, but even with that people are acting like everything is okay. The vaccine can’t help you until you’ve had both doses and it’s been five weeks. Plus we need at least 70% of the population to be vaccinated. So frustrated.