DON’T SHARE YOUR GUACAMOLE!

Tuesday July 21st.  Dr. Léon showed up in his uniform shirt this morning, armed with gloves and swabs.  Having your nose and throat swabbed is not fun.  I’ve done it to people in my career.  I know.  He was gentle and kind and it was over quickly.  4 business days of sequestered waiting ahead.

We’d been really careful since lockdown hit in mid-March.  Up until 3 weeks ago we only went out for cash and groceries.  Our groceries consist mostly of prepared foods from the Tuesday market, weekly veggie & fruit delivery from a a one man operation called Muyaru, and an occasional delivery from our Costco courier.  But after months of canceled ventures and groundhog days, weeks of watching friends wander out (seemingly) fearlessly, we started discussing how to expand our social life, for our mental health.  Surely we could all be adequately careful.

I invited one of our friends to the pool.  She sat on one end with her mask on and I sat 6-8’ away with my mask on.  We made the best of it, talking and laughing for an hour or so.  We were a bit nervous, strained.  But glad for the company.  So Ben and I decided to invite a single friend over for wine.  Then a couple.  But control over mask wearing and distancing didn’t seem possible to the extent we’d hoped for.  We were uncomfortable and had to face it.  Maybe it just wasn’t time for us to socialize yet.

A few weeks ago, after reviewing my feelings about it all yet again, I decided to accept an invitation for lunch on her terrace.  Masks on except for food and drink.  We didn’t touch or share anything.  And it was good, so good, to feel a sense of camaraderie and inclusion again,  like it might finally be ok to see a friend now and then.  Life could inch forward.  But a few days later that vision came to a grinding halt. My pool buddy was sick.

5 days after seeing her at her home she woke up in the middle of the night feeling lousy, with fever and pain.  A few days later test results were positive for Covid-19.  Her doctor did contact tracing, testing a group of 5 she’d had lunch with.  Friends, including us, jumped in to help with delivering food and calling daily, something she’s quite grateful for since she lives alone.  I contacted my doctor with the information and was told to call back if we had any symptoms, that most likely we would’ve had issues already if we’d contracted the virus.  But we had none.  Until 2 weeks after my lunch date.  

Ben woke up with an unusual dry cough and fatigue.  He called Dr. Léon who agreed we should both be tested, based on our exposure to our Covid-positive friend and Ben’s symptoms.  The next day I woke up with leg pain and nausea. That morning the doctor came to our home to test us.  Test results in 4 business days would push us to Monday but he made it clear we would hear from him on Saturday.  By Thursday we both felt better and were doubtful that our tests would be positive.  Saturday afternoon we received the news we’d hoped for – our tests (and those of the others involved) were negative! Hooray! Way too close to home. 

Now the question is – where did our friend contract the virus?  Should you trust what people say about how careful they are?  Is it careful enough for you?  What if you and your partner have different risk factors?  What if you contract the virus and your partner doesn’t?  What if you’re both sick at the same time?  Have you stockpiled what you’d need to manage while you’re stuck at home?  Do you cut off friends when you know that your time together  boosts your mental health?  (Do they cut you off if they think you’re over-reacting?)  How do you find balance between mental and physical health in the midst of this?  This experience brought home so many questions.  It stopped us in our tracks for a few days and made us reevaluate what the next steps for us should be.  One thing’s for sure – there is no simple answer, as we all know from wading through 4 1/2 months of constantly changing information.  We’re still discussing our options.  Each person has to decide what they’re comfortable with and hopefully that includes the safety of others.  It’s easy to slip up without even realizing it.  Knowing someone who has Covid makes that quite clear.  There have been (thankfully) very few cases here at Lakeside, often making the pandemic seem only a distant cry.  But as in the US, cases in Mexico are rising as businesses open up and people start gathering again.

I talked to her today, my pool buddy.  She knows she’s had a mild version of Covid but she didn’t feel well again.  Went back to the doctor demanding to be retested – “I want to know that this stuff is gone!”.  Instead, he found a new symptom.  Wheezing.  He put her on an inhaler.  “I went out yesterday, you know?  After 16 days in the house, I had to get out.  But I knew that it wasn’t safe.  I just didn’t feel safe.”  The intense fear of Covid lingers.  For us all.

As Dr. Léon left our terrace the other day he passed us a smile and a word of advice – JUST DON’T SHARE YOUR GUACAMOLE!!!  He has a point there.  But is it enough?