May 10th

I was really dreading driving all the way to Arvin.. 
Last time I did that drive, I cracked my windshield on my Matrix (it's still cracked).. would hate to have another thing to repair on the Jetta - my luck, it would cost a fortune like everything else on that car..

so this time, I was a couple blocks away from my final turn, and the road was closed.. I had to backtrack 3 miles to an alternate route.

I went to the wrong door (regular Dr office, instead of the walk-in clinic) but made my way to the proper door. I "checked in" then waited to be called. they did a Covid test, then I went back to the lobby. next they called me in for my appt with a doctor. she got my vitals and then I went to a room. when the doctor came in, I told him my backstory, that I was positive on May 1st but my symptoms haven't gone away. the doctor did a strep swab. that was negative, so he was at a loss what the problem is (story of my life.. doctors never know..) I found out the Covid test was negative as well.  the doctor is sending my swab off to a lab for culture. at this time they aren't prescribing anything. he told me to gargle with saline, and use cough drops/throat lozenges. 

then I just came home and did.. well, a lot of nothing the rest of the day..

May 9th

so yeah.. I'm still lousy - LOUSY - at updating!!

but.. big news.. (depending on how you take it..)
I was diagnosed as Covid+ on May 1st.. 
what a way to start the month 
🤦

April 29th.. a Friday.. in the afternoon, I started having a sore throat..

well.. go back a few days..
one week prior, April 21st, Lori and I cleared out a room at Motel6..
it was a lady she knew who had been burned out of a local motel in town..
she took up residence in room 237 of Motel6.. and kinda sorta trashed the place..
the lady and her 2 daughters and 2 cats, moved to Tennessee.. just up and left..
and left the room FULL of stuff..

so Lori and I went in and organized. Lori was sending some valuables to them in Tennessee.. 
we sorted stacks of everything else in the room..
at that time, the manager talked to me about my interest to start working 2 days a week..
Tuesdays and Thursdays.. doing housekeeping..
so April 26 and April 28th I worked at Motel6
and April 25, 27, 29 I worked at Mtn Aire Vet..

April 29th.. I was exhausted. I was just barely surviving my first week of working 2 jobs..
and totally sore arms and legs - and a day that seemed to be FULL of big strong dogs..
that afternoon, after lunch, I started feeling a sore throat..
and just assumed it was from huffing and puffing and heaving and 'ho-ing' all day.. 
Saturday, still had that sore throat.. muscles weren't so bad though.. 
had a slight fever that afternoon.. 101.2  - I felt COLD when it was warm.. 
🤔
Sunday May 1st I still had that sore throat.. and headache.. and low energy. 
Lori suggested Saturday afternoon that I take a test.  
I took the test Sunday morning while Ronnie was in his first class -- it was positive.
I right away texted both bosses, and my family. 
I trimmed the boy's hair for the month.. but lay low for awhile..
worried to overexert myself.. don't need any issues..
Ronnie had no sense of smell when he cooked dinner..
pasta with pesto and garlic.. he didn't smell it..
I smelled the butter and the basil and the garlic..
later when we were eating it, he realized that his Jimmy Dean breakfast tasted off, but the corn dog with it tasted fine... but later he went out for a smoke, and could smell the food inside.. so weird.
we went to bed at about 10:30 - and then I slept!! 

woke up at 3:30 Monday morning May 2nd (10:30-3:30 is 17 hours!) so I didn't make it to the clinic..
I took 4 ibuprofen later in the afternoon.. just plopped on the couch. all I wanted to do was sleep! 
Ronnie could feel I had a fever when we were in bed.. I don't know what it registered as. at 9 that night, I threw up twice within an hour.. don't remember what time I took the ibuprofen, but wonder if I was "ODing" and that's what made me puke ? I had taken some Pepto to ease my tum tum and that was the 2nd time I puked.. so nothing more for me.. in bed at 10 again.. 

up at 7:40.. had been awake for a whole hour but couldn't keep warm and couldn't get comfortable..
I called the clinic and they just told me to quarantine.. that I didn't need to come in since I already had results. just quarantine 5 days.. and when symptoms are gone, I'm good to go out. according to the CDC app, where I reported my results, it said the 4th would be my 'freedom day' - a little too soon, I think! I pulled the sheets and some towels.. don't know what the 'color of the month' should be - we went with Ukraine.  I also trimmed Gwen, except the mohawk.. left that long until I decided how to do it. on this day, May 3rd my throat glands were swollen. DC was texting every few days to see how I was.. if I was ready to come back to work.. yeah, it doesn't go that fast ? she told me to keep an eye on it, and if they get worse to go in. that night I didn't sleep too well. Gwen knocked a plastic cup off the counter.. when I got upstairs she was raiding the trash, shredding Ronnie's bloody tissues. then I couldn't breathe so I used some nose spray and had a Sucrets.. that was the start of a clogged nose for 3 days.. I'd use nose spray at night, but by morning it had worn off.  
cdc website sent me another survey, with that determined I was contagious 2 days before my sore throat, 3 days before my fever.. don't know how that works.. then I would have gotten sick 2-14 days before that.. I don't know..
and.. ugh.. lost a pyrex lid to the oven - they are not ovenproof.. gotta figure out how to replace that.

woke up at 6am again.. because my nose was clogged and I couldn't breathe.. went back to sleep for another hour snoring through my sore throat. Gwen stole a whole bucket of Dude's chicken treats.. I had cleaned off the counters in the kitchen, and moved that bucket just slightly closer to the edge - Gwen snagged it.. still a whole lot of nothing.. try to keep the sinks and counters cleared so Gwen doesn't go searching.  

Friday I got a text from Katie because they were all hoping I could come back to work on Saturday.. I still need to come up with 'legitimate' results since the at-home tests aren't "reliable".. I still have a sore throat and haven't been able to breathe in days.. I'm pretty sure I'm not ready to go back to work yet.. finally took a shower because I couldn't handle my stink.. I was just so worried it would make me cold(er). 

both Friday and Saturday I woke myself up with a sneeze. took a nap Friday, but couldn't sleep Saturday (though I wanted to..)   one coworker thinks my throat is burned, not Covid.. another coworker thinks I have allergies now, not Covid. it is what it is.. I started laundry finally - it was piling up. figured I was further out of the woods and should start cleaning my messes. 

Sunday was a bit of a lazy day.. Mr Grey came back (hadn't seen him in a week) and was VERY happy to see me. he wouldn't eat unless I was right there with him. day 9 of my sore throat.. I guess maybe I should see a doctor to find out why. ugh..

I had left an appt request with the clinic, then I just called them myself this morning. they don't have any openings until after June 1st.. no wonder they never said to come in. I can go to Arvin - 40 miles away - to the walk-in clinic.. I guess I'll try that tomorrow.. argh..