Post #27: Still Germinating
- Nana Beryl Jupiter
- Apr 9, 2020
- 8 min read
Updated: Jul 23, 2020
Since I published FinallyNana Blog #26 at the end of March, the coronavirus pandemic has been expanding exponentially in the United States and worldwide, giving me much more to worry about, both where my grandson and family live in Fiji and on my own home front in the Boston area.
Even a couple weeks ago, Cooper’s daycare/nursery school Kids First, sent parents a kid-friendly video explaining coronavirus for their children, which I appreciated watching too and you might also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPsY-jLqaXM
Our daughter Stacy also emailed, “One good thing about living under a very authoritarian government is that they can just call full lockdown at any time.”
And they did, the Fiji government recently announced a 14-day quarantine to stop the spread of COVID-19. So now Cooper’s school is closed and Stacy is working from home. And Jason and Stacy are creating extra homebound activities for 3 & ½ year-old Cooper, in cooking, arts and nearby outings.
Although there were only 16 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Fiji as April 9, Stacy informed us that two of the cases are hairdressers who worked in a very busy salon, so more cases are expected. While I am glad to hear that the Fiji government is taking this pandemic seriously with proactive restrictions, I am admittedly worried about the health care resources in this small island nation to adjust to a serious outbreak.
Even in our first world country, our health resources are being stretched to their limits and beyond. My husband Jesse and I are isolating in our suburban Boston home, leaving infrequently for market and pharmacy needs. Our dog Oliver is getting plenty of canine outings as we seek ways to exercise and get fresh air. Jesse is mostly working from home through telemedicine consults, with minimal forays to his satellite medical center. We are well now, but the prospect of a coronavirus infection is frightening, as we are in the older demographic and stories abound of horrible illness and hospitalizations.
And unfortunately I have an extra worry for myself, having had lingering respiratory issues for the past several months. And how might that have happened, you wonder? As you likely suspect if you read my last blog, my illness came from the love of my grandson, and his parents, who visited us in November, bringing along their coughing Fiji germs. Having arrived with these long-lasting bugs for which they had already sought medical attention in Suva, Stacy further consulted with her cousin Abby, a pediatrician, in whose New York area home we were staying early in their U.S. visit. Dr. Abby examined Cooper and assessed that he was generally improving, but even so, professionally prescribed antibiotic prescriptions for both Cooper and Stacy.
Fortunately, our visiting family was well enough to enjoy connecting with New York area family and conclude with an overnight in New York City to give Aussie Jason a brief overview of the Big Apple. While Stacy was meeting at her employer Wildlife Conservation Society’s headquarters at the Bronx Zoo, Jesse and I, along with my brother David and wife Tracy, took Jason & Cooper on a whirlwind tour, rushing through bustling Times Square (Disney Store, Hershey’s Store), Rockefeller Center (recently erected Christmas tree, skating rink, FAO Schwartz, Lego store), St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Fifth Avenue and the Central Park Zoo.
During our quite chilly afternoon outing, Jason stopped by street vendors to buy thick gloves for himself and a scarf to wrap over Cooper in his stroller (although we had certainly bundled Cooper up in Nana-purchased winter jacket, hat & gloves). Accompanied by Stacy and our niece Sophie, an NYU student, we ended the day at a quintessential NY Italian restaurant, while Cooper slept the entire time in his stroller.
Rushing around in cold New York City was probably counterproductive for my immune system, likely already attempting to suppress invasive Fiji germs from up-close-and-personal Cooper care. By the time we all returned to our Boston area home, I had one very sick night and remained somewhat ill for the rest of their visit. The lasting problem was a very bad hacking cough which occurred sporadically during the day and tended to wake me up in spasms at night. While Stacy went to more meetings in Florida, Nana’s sickness did not stop me from entertaining Cooper with Jason’s assistance, in the house and on excursions out of the house.
At Stacy’s suggestion, we made a special visit to Boston’s Museum of Science to see the Thomas the Tank Engine exhibit, which kept Cooper busy at length, as did the astronaut space capsule.
Fortunately, chef Jason was happy to create amazing family dinners. As I told him, “With pescatarian Stacy away, you can have a meat fest.” And he did, cooking wonderful dinners of steak, short ribs and chicken, deliciously sauced and accompanied by assorted herbed seasonal vegetables.
When Stacy returned, she had some more ideas for Cooper entertainment. High on her list for her train-loving, three year-old was a trip to Edaville Family Theme Park with Thomas Land amusement rides. Despite the continuing extra-chilly November weather, Stacy still wanted to go. But I was admittedly relieved when Stacy said, “Mom, if you’re not feeling that well, you don’t have to go.”
“I would have loved to join you,” I told Stacy, “and see Cooper enjoy all the Thomas train rides, but with the weather this cold and how I feel, I am glad to stay home. And since it’s Saturday, dad will go with you. Meanwhile, I will make dinner, since Jason has been cooking all week.”
The report came back: they had fun but they were all freezing! I was so happy to have stayed home, rested and prepared a salmon dinner, concluding with a homemade apple pie.
Since Sunday was their last day with us, I had assumed that Stacy would just take it easy at our house, pack up, etc. But not to miss any major child attractions in Boston, Stacy still wanted to go to the Boston Children’s Museum. With Jesse gone all day at a meeting, Nana of course drove them into Boston (it’s not an easy city to negotiate if unfamiliar) and accompanied them to the museum. It certainly is a great place for kids with lots of fun-filled activity stations and obviously, well-known in the area and beyond, as it was packed with families. Cooper wore himself out, and so did I.
Despite having caught their Fiji germs, I still had a wonderful time with our grandson in our part of the world for almost two weeks. I loved the surprising conversation that comes from a three year-old. When Cooper particularly liked something in our house, such as the old cars and Transformers that belonged to our son way back when, he would say to me, “Nana, I’m borrowing this from you, okay?” What he really meant was that he wanted to keep the toy for himself. Which was certainly fine with me, justifying why I had saved these toys for all these years!
When Cooper came across a small bird in a decorative silk plant, he plucked it from its perch and sweetly carried it, gently cradled in his hands. I heard his dad say to him, “You have to ask Nana if you can keep this.” So Cooper came running into the kitchen, informing me, “This isn’t yours anymore Nana.” So funny!
In the meantime, there was no improvement in my hacking cough. I was not feeling particularly sick but was rather tired from their busy visit with us. On Monday morning, the day they were leaving, I booked an appointment at my internist’s office at Mass General Hospital, scheduled after their airport drop off.
Based on the description of my illness progression, symptoms and the tenacity of the cough, and the doctor’s physical examination, he presumed I had a virus which would just have to run its course, pretty much what I suspected. But to be comprehensive he recommended a chest x-ray. With a finding of “bilateral patchy opacities” in the lungs, I was diagnosed with pneumonia (for the first time ever) and prescribed a week of antibiotics. The serious coughing improved but I was not completely cough-free. Never far from cough drops and water, I began wearing a face mask in close quarters to minimize spreading germs, especially for medical appointments, manicures, some social settings, and airplane travel. In early December, I coughed my way through cold, dry Davos, Switzerland, prompting my Swiss friend Susy to buy me her favorite Swiss throat lozenges, blackcurrant Grether’s Pastilles (which I have since ordered multiple times on Amazon).
When Jesse came home sick from a Las Vegas meeting in mid-December, I caught his illness and my coughing increased, although not to the original extent. I hoped our holiday trip to balmy Barbados at year’s end would kick out the germs, and there was some improvement. Yet residual coughing remained, as I explained and apologized to friends and family who hosted us in Florida in early January.
By mid-January, I had a follow-up X-ray, and was not surprised that I still had some “minimal patchy opacities,” with recommendation to be re-evaluated in eight weeks. Little by little, my cough improved despite the cold, dry Boston winter and two trips to high and dry Colorado Rockies. But during our Aspen/Snowmass trip in mid-February, where Jesse was teaching in an upper extremity course, he became sick again. By the time we came home, I had once again caught his germs, which set off more respiratory irritation and coughing (but still fortunately not to the extent of the November Fiji germ invasion).
Yet by this time, the coronavirus was ramping up, with wide publicity of its major dry cough symptom. In public places, I felt obligated to offer full disclosure, distinguishing my condition from COVID-19 contagion. I never felt sick but my occasional cough persisted into March as Jesse and I traveled to Fiji (another wonderful visit to grandson Cooper, who still had an occasional cough too) followed by Telluride for more skiing. I certainly began to worry whether my compromised lungs would be more inclined to succumb to the ravages of coronavirus. I was mentally buoyed, however, by my skiing at two miles high without any shortness of breath, another major COVID-19 symptom.
As coronavirus was indeed March-ing mercilessly across the United States, we were pondering whether to return home early. Our decision was made for us when the governor of Colorado closed all the ski areas in mid-March. Without being completely cough free, I was very interested to obtain my next follow-up X-ray. The findings: my lungs had improved but were still not fully clear, leading to a pulmonary consult and an additional diagnostic CT scan, revealing some minor unresolved concerns (nothing cancerous). So last week my internist prescribed an albuterol inhaler to help open my airways. I am glad to be on any medication to clear up my lungs, to be as healthy as possible in the face of potential confrontation with the horrible lung-attacking coronavirus.
So as you have read, I presume my winter of respiratory issues originated with my grandson Cooper’s transmission of Fiji germs to me while he was visiting. Despite getting sick, I loved having Cooper and his parents with us. So that’s just the risk I am still willing to take to be with them, even as a more vulnerable senior. Unfortunately, my bout of illnesses has coincided with a much more miserable disease for which I hope I am not more susceptible. And for a while now, I have been wondering, might it have been COVID-18, perhaps a coronavirus cousin, that they brought to me from Fiji last November?
Anyway, best wishes as you may be holiday celebrating Passover or Easter, and stay well!
Cooper is doing his part to help, as demonstrated in this last photo.
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