Testing times - Covid in 2022

[Edith Bacon]

You look really, really chilled

[The Vagin Mary]

They thought I was cock out cray cray

[The Vagin Mary]

You look really, really chilled

Not a clue what is going on

[Kenickie]

I'm so sorry, Vag. What an absolutely horrendous time of it you had (although you look pretty peaceful in the last photo ;) ).

[The Vagin Mary]

Ok I’m getting self conscious now

[Epponnee Rae]

Bloody hell, Vag. I’m so sorry, that sounds absolutely horrendous for you and your mum. You poor sods.

[Zoomer]

You look totally away with the fairies in that second pic. Sorry, though, that all sounds horrendous. And your poor family must have been so worried about you too. Glad you're back with us.

[Tsu]

We haven't had it as far as I know. We had a PCR when we came back from our holiday in November and have done a few precautionary LFTs and all have been negative.
I've probably tempted fate.

[The Vagin Mary]

Thanks guys yeah glad to be on the other side

[Bat Macdui]

I'm sad I missed the photographic evidence. Seriously though, fucking hell, Vag. I'm glad you're okay now.

[Epponnee Rae]

I’ve also not knowingly had it. I’ve done PCRs both here in the US and in the UK, when I had mild cold symptoms, but all came back negative. I’ve also done lots of LFTs and again always negative, though I take the point about reliability. In the US I have pretty much isolated since we’ve been WFH, which was easy to do when I lived alone, and not much different with a flatmate. I have done some socializing, though it still tends to be outside. I did more things indoors back in the Uk, galleries, shows, transport etc. but always masked. I’ve eaten inside a few times since last summer, so my exposure risk is a bit higher.

[Tsu]

Bloody hell vag! Glad you're alright now. Must have been terrifying.

[Marth]

Blimey. Vag. Glad you and your mum are ok and through it.

I've never had it, though I've had periods where I've felt like I'm getting a cold but haven't really. I test all the time cos of work,and have been on packed buses, tubes, pubs etc. Thursday I was on the most horrendously packed Northern line train and my train back to Bristol was packed and full of no one wearing masks. I'm amazed I haven't knowingly had it

[kiwi]

No pox here either, although in the last few weeks we have both been ill with a flu thing that both times I was convinced was Covid, but no positives.

I'm booking things 'to do' that I am promising myself I will actually do and not jib out of a week before due to the fear. I haven't left the house really either to go to work or the supermarket for two years (bar a couple of trips up country where I knew I would be outside all the time) and it's time to get out of that.

[Lily]

I am sorry to hear you and your mum have been so unwell, Vag, and hope you are both on the mend. Poor little TBL, bless him.

I think I had it at the very start (Jan-Feb 20) but that's it. I am pretty much living as normal now apart from wearing masks in shops, etc. obviously (so I am making plans, seeing friends, etc). I think a big test will be a dance night in March that I want to go to. I need to gear myself out for it as I feel cautious about going, not so much out of fear but because I've got so into the mindset of not being around a load of people dancing around without masks on.

Kiwi, have you been seeing friend or family at all?

[Estrella]

I’ve not had it, but my country locked down to international arrivals in March 2020 and my state was locked down to any incomers from other states until Dec 2021 so we were pretty much in a COVIDSafe bubble (we had lockdowns when there were outbreaks too).

Now borders are open it’s running rampant but people are mostly vaccinated. I’ve been WFH since Dec last year and we are due to go back in early Feb. Im boosted and my kids have had their first shots (booked for second in March) and we wear masks whenever we go out in public so there’s not much else to be done. We are apparently about to reach peak Omicron, but the (delayed 2 weeks due to Covid) school year starts on 7 Feb and I’m sure cases will climb again with that.

[Ella]

Good luck, kiwi. We’ve been making ourselves go out and mingle a bit more recently (aka pretend to be normal ).

[Estrella]

Vag, that sounds properly terrifying. I missed your pics, but am glad you’re getting back to normal.

[Suzi.Q]

Bloody hell Vag. G and I have both had it in December 2020. For him it was like a bad cold, for me it was the most ill I’ve been and stayed home. There were a couple of nights when I genuinely thought I’d end up in hospital. E tested negative but I don’t see how he can’t have had it, as I’m convinced we got it from his nursery as they had an outbreak at the time.

[Dutchie]

Good grief Vag, that's a really scary thing to have gone through! Glad that you're (mostly) OK now. I also missed the photos.

My cousin's husband was hospitalised with Covid in the first week of December and spent a month in the ICU in a chemically induced coma on a ventilator. This week he has been moved to a rehab centre where he will spending the next weeks/months as he has so much muscle wastage. When he was first coming off the ventilator, he even had to train his breathing muscles for 15 minutes at a time and then go back on the vent. He was double vaxxed and boosted but has leukemia. Understandably, his wife and kids go mad when they hear the "just a flu" argument being trotted out.

Well, we just got Jake's PCR results back: positive. So that's 2/5 so far. My results should be in later or tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon Mr D and Neil are getting tested. I'm really pleased Jake is positive - now at least we know something for sure, so no more guessing and speculating where he is concerned. Also, he only had a sore throat for a day and felt a bit ropey but the last couple of days he's been fine.