New lockdown rules from Monday 23rdMarch; we are now only allowed out for very occasional food shopping trips, or we are to order online, one form of exercise a day and no friends visiting, public gatherings etc. All non-essential shops will shut. Charlie started coughing last night and I have what feels like a slight cold, so we can’t go out now anyway, though we will obviously still be walking as much as we want as there’s nothing and nobody for miles around.
I deactivated my facebook account last night, as I got fed up of the fear and scaremongering and hysterical attacks of my questioning of the media coverage and feel better for it. Decided to start making a vlog instead! May not post it publicly, or I might…
Tuesday the 24thMarch and I had my tutorial with Kate by video call. It went well. She was very understanding of the situation obviously, as everyone is struggling in different ways and said I could submit all my work via my website and could send her a link to it now (in case we can’t get fuel for our electricity generator later) but I can continue to update it while I can.
Started making my vlog but then, Tuesday evening my husband Charlie, who is 62 and might be considered to be moderately high risk as he smoked for 25 years, has suspected mild heart disease, (diagnosed by a running ECG 10 years ago, refused invasive tests to confirm, takes no medication for it and has had no surgery) in addition to coughing, developed a fever and aches etc. The next morning, I woke up feeling fevered and exhausted with a slightly sore throat. We stayed in bed and slept it off most of that morning and then dragged ourselves up later. No energy to do anything.
My 19 year old son had been coughing a little when he came back from his halls in Aberdeen, where he said there had been a confirmed case of Covid-19, (in his building but not in his flat) and all his friends had been ill with cold symptoms and quarantined in the building, but not in their rooms, so we assumed this could be it? Also, we had all been at college or university mixing with many international students and Charlie had been at a gig, on the 13th, with over 300 people, just before the ban on big events like this, That was 10 days before he started coughing, so seems possible. My son never felt ill though and neither did my 22-year-old daughter and they have both only experienced the mildest of cold symptoms (slightly runny nose and the beginnings of a sore throat that never developed and maybe a little tiredness) so far anyway. This also seems in keeping with the Coronavirus, as its being reported as affecting mostly older people and those with vulnerable health.
Here’s my WITCHCRAFT bit now! We had been drinking yarrow tea at the first sign of a sore throat and then taking echinacea and we also drank elderflower tea (with fresh yarrow in it when I could find it, as I’d run out of dried) and I had also been dosing my husband with hawthorn tincture to support his heart. I also dosed him with some, (now much maligned) homeopathic remedies, rhus-tox for aches, belladonna for sore head and fever and hep-sulph for infection (as his chest felt slightly sore when he coughed, and his breathing was ever so slightly laboured.) These are remedies I have used with apparent success in the past. The next day I was very much improved, and he was a little better, but still exhausted and unable to do much and still coughing, but only from time to time. The day after, today, Friday, we are both pretty much back to normal, if a little tired. Charlie’s cough has changed, loosened up and he is back working in his studio, and I have been writing and sketching ideas and am back working on my video editing and essay and this.
I suppose we may never know it that was the Coronavirus or not, but I write the details here in case its interesting or useful to anyone. My 30-year-old brother who right now, is staying in a building on the same croft as us, has very mild symptoms too, like mine, but milder, and no cough. The fact that the young people are relatively unaffected, and Charlie had it worse, would suggest it may be the coronavirus. But even he had what seems a fairly moderate dose if it was. We all described the same slightly spaced out almost drugged or pleasant hangover sensation. We managed a sort walk and a little time sitting outside (as it was just mild enough for that with a coat on) every day and all in all it wasn’t really an unpleasant experience (if it’s over that is…), not as unpleasant as a proper cold, or a bad flu, but definitely felt like a flu or infection of some sort, because of the fever, aches, heavy exhaustion and spaced out feeling, rather than a cold. At no point were any of our symptoms bad enough to think about taking painkillers.
So that’s what’s dominated this week and we just hope our food, fuel, bogroll and cat food will now last till the end of our quarantined period, (our food at least should last, even if we’re down to just lentils and kale or if we get desperate enough… cat!!) 🙂
Rachel Bride Ashton 