Living and working through a pandemic, we all know how to do this. It’s coming up to a year! Two weeks ago, my 16 year old daughter got a call from her employer. Someone she had worked with, side by side, had tested positive for Covid. She was instructed to self-isolate for 14 days. We know about Covid and how easily it spreads and the precautions to take, but now my daughter was a close contact.
What does it mean?
What followed was a flurry of activity calling Public Health to see what it meant for both my daughter and me. Researching and booking a Covid test for 5 days after contact which is the best time to be tested. Me, wiping down surfaces, cleaning, and disinfecting. I have no idea if this helped but it gave me something to do. I was considered low risk. It was explained to me this way. The person who tested positive was A, my daughter as a close contact was B, and I was C. A and C have had no contact so there was no reason for me to be tested or to self-isolate. If my daughter tested positive, then I would become B which to me seemed like I should self-isolate as much as possible too, which I did.
My daughter had no symptoms but, of course, she could have been asymptomatic. She was restricted to her room. When she did have to come out, she wore a mask and we stayed 6 ft apart as best we could living in a condo. Luckily, she has her own bathroom right outside her bedroom door.
She got an unpaid vacation from working, doing dishes, making meals, cleaning up, taking out the garbage, and walking the dog. Since school is online that was not affected except her desk was no longer the kitchen island but her bed.
How to get tested?
In case anyone is wondering, the testing process was efficient and organized. I booked an appointment online through Ottawa Public Health. The current schedule goes out 48 hours but apparently they are working on making this longer. We showed up at the appointed time and my daughter was greeted at the door and escorted in. Twenty-five minutes later, she came out an exit door on the other side of the building. She received the PCR nasal swab test which produces the most reliable result right now. It was an orderly process and the doctor was really nice…very important…and it was quick and not too uncomfortable. She received a handout with a link to obtain the results and was told it would take 24-48 hours. And, 24 hours later, we had a negative result. Sigh of relief!
How did we cope?
How did my daughter fare mentally and emotionally? Well, she is a teenager so being behind a closed door was not too much out of the ordinary as long as she had her phone, of course. But, at times, I could hear a lot of cleaning going on in her room and bathroom, and the movement of furniture, which I know is a sign of stress release for her. She worked out a lot and as luck would have it, she’d received a set of weights for Christmas. The sound of weights clunking down on the floor could be heard and felt next door in the living room, lol. She did admit to having a mini breakdown in the middle of the night but got through it by writing pages and pages in her journal. The good news, she has some solid coping skills.
For me, I carried on as usual with the worry there in the back of my mind. There was more time spent on daily chores with my helper on leave. Undoubtedly, I was not as efficient or focused and was happy when test day finally arrived. I was 90% sure she didn’t have it. I reminded her how she’s never picked up any viruses at school besides a cold, not even lice. She has, as my mother would have said, a strong constitution. I’ve always said it comes from spending the first 15 months of her life in an orphanage in China. She built up a hardy immune system.
How was business?
As for my business, my clothing was isolated in a separate, closed off room. I know that surfaces including clothing have a very low risk of transmission. Plus, goods can always be left in quarantine before opening. This was something we heard a lot about during the first lockdown but doesn’t seem to be an issue during this 2nd lockdown. With all the purchasing going on from Amazon, I think it’s fair to say that receiving packages purchased online is extremely low risk.
For customers wanting to do local pickup, I was transparent about our situation. All were okay with either doing contactless curbside pick up with masks on or delaying pick up to a later date.
So, all is good. We survived. I’m happy to see my daughter’s mostly smiling face again, to get a reluctant hug, to laugh out loud with her on the couch, and to have help with walking the dog again.
Back together!
P.S. Thank you to all who’ve taken advantage of my 50% OFF sale. It’s still going on. I mostly have sizes left at both ends of the range, Size 1 (XS to S) and Size 4 (XL to 1X) and Size 5 (2X to 3X) so if you fit into either one or know someone who does, please have a look-see.
Until next week, be safe and well,
~ Colleen
I’m a recovering Chartered Accountant and Breast Cancer Champion turned Fashion Designer. My COKANNA Canadian-made bamboo clothing is all about comfort and style. Giving back to the community is important to me so I support Rethink Breast Cancer‘s metastatic breast cancer education, support, and advocacy work.
