Again

Hazel keeping me company – note the box of tissues in close proximity!

So, I am out sick again for the third time in as many months. Prior to this, I quite literally hadn’t had a cold since July 2020. It is somehow unsurprising, but also really disappointing, that I keep getting sick. For one thing, New Zealand dropped all Covid-19 public health requirements back in mid-August. So there’s no longer mandatory isolation if you test positive, and no more mask requirements, even in healthcare settings. Which all the experts basically agreed was not the right call, and Labour lost the election anyway, so really they should have just left those last few protections in place.

As far as I know, my unicorn ‘novid’ status continues, as every covid test I’ve taken has come back negative, and I haven’t had any of the more tell-tale signs like fever, loss of taste and smell, or fatigue beyond what’s just my norm. But even just a boring old cold is no fun – I’ve gone through about a million tissues, my chest and abs are sore from all the coughing, and I sound like an 80 year old man.

I was meant to be in the South Island for work this week, but the idea of getting on a plane with my head so filled with fluid just seemed like a nightmare, and the last thing I wanted was to get anyone else sick with whatever I have. So I’ve been home resting up, watching SNL clips on YouTube, and just doing my best indoor cat impression. I’m having to miss yet another hockey game – at this point in the women’s league, I think I’ve missed more games than I’ve actually attended. So I’m really hoping that this cold is the last one for a little while. *fingers crossed, knock wood, etc etc* But it’s been an absolutely shocking spring so far.

The amount of time I’ve been at home, and at home sick, really hit home the other day, when I was looking out the window, and one of my neighbours – who is a good 20 years older than me – drove by and gave me a wave from her car. My first thought was ‘wow, she leaves the house a lot’. And my second thought was ‘whoa, val, you have *got* to get out more!’

So yeah, having written all this, it’s probably time for me to go back to bed and have a rest. But also, my sincerest sympathies for everyone who has had covid for real, because if just a regular old virus has been this hard to shake, and leaving me wrecked, I can’t even imagine how bad the real deal must be.