Paint the big yellow X on the Plumbean door

[Mr. Plumbean]

The crazy new virus they've been talking about on TV has hit the Plumbean family. The child tested positive. I kinda suspect I'm coming down with it. Wish us well. (We are all vaccinated and boosted so hopefully it won't be that bad...)

[JackieLikesVariety]

I'm sorry, Plumbean, and hope you all are OK. I know fewer and fewer people who have still not had it.

[Mr. Plumbean]

I have it too.

My test was negative.

But the kid definitely has it.

[SmartAleq]

Oh dear, hope it goes away quickly and with no drama--keep testing yourself, just because you're negative now doesn't mean you're guaranteed to stay that way.

[thylacine]

May the touch be short and light

[stormie]

Yes, hope you all recover soon.

[teela brown]

Hope your child gets over it soonest and doesn't pass it along to you.

[Mr. Plumbean]

Wife and I are both sick but testing negative on the home kits. I'm getting a PCR test today, just to know. No sicker than I am with a bad cold or non-swine variety flu. But I am positive and symptomatic I have to avoid public places for a week. Not sure how we'll buy groceries (maybe just eat all the food we have).

[Detroit Hoser]

Plumbean, don't be fooled just yet. My wife tested positive on Christmas Day when we both felt like Santa had crapped on our heads. I didn't test positive until a week later even though I was symptomatic.

[Mr. Plumbean]

Oh, I'm assuming we *do* have it, too much of a coincidence to get sick with something else a few days after the kid tests positive for covid. I just hope it doesn't get any worse than it is.

[Rat Diva]

Hey, Santa, quit crapping on people's heads. It's February.

Hope you and the fam recover quickly and undramatically, Plumbean.

[Detroit Hoser]

Yeah, duh, my post was stupid. Of course you know you're positive, just like I did. I just needed the proof for the fucking Census and my antibodies refused to put out until later. I also tested positive after rebound Paxlovid Covid, but tested negative the day I finished the med.

I'm going with the assumption the tests aren't foolproof. I hope you feel better very quickly -- and congrats on avoiding it for this long. I was disappointed when my record ended.

[Solfy]

Originally Posted by Mr. Plumbean

Not sure how we'll buy groceries (maybe just eat all the food we have).

I don't know about you, but where I'm at the grocery stores are still offering curbside pickup.
Get well soon, Plumb-family.

[Mr. Plumbean]

I should get the PCR tests.... in a week. How useful. The website said 1 or 2 days, but the lady at CVS said it is more like 3, weekends don't count, and the coming weekend is 3 days.

[SmartAleq]

Instacart is your friend, friend!

[Mr. Plumbean]

Just took a home test and got a positive. I'm actually relieved, I felt like the previous tests were gaslighting me.

I am not that sick, just like having the flu. Definitely better than H1N1 which was absolutely fucking miserable. And actually better than the shots, which knocked me flat.

Yeah, given the confirmation I think we will have to consume all the food we have and/or use a grocery delivery service.

[thylacine]

Um, congratulations? I hope those shots mean it hurts little and leaves without scarring you

Delivery all the way

[Mr. Plumbean]

Yeah I am glad to be vaxxed and boosted.

[SmartAleq]

I was SO happy I was a PITA who insisted on getting the grandkid vaxxed as soon as the FDA gave approval to pediatric dosages, because by the time he caught the shit he was fully vaxxed and boosted so it was just a blip on his radar.

[Wolf Larsen]

Hope this isn't bad and you recover quickly, Plumbean.

Smartie, you are a good grandma.

[eleanorigby]

I give up. I've forgotten how to get images here, if I ever knew...

Sorry to hear of your affliction. Hope everyone has a mild case and is better soonest.

ETA: hey, it worked!

[Mr. Plumbean]

Wife lost her sense of taste and smell today.

Covid sucks.

[SmartAleq]

See now, that's the kind of thing I'm most paranoid about cotching the couf, having my smell and taste disrupted. Dying is quick, not enjoying food properly for who knows how long is living death, for me anyway. Hope it corrects itself right quick, poor Mrs Plumbean.

[Mr. Plumbean]

She says it's already a bit better. Today is the worst day so far for me, let's hope it's the nadir.

[JackieLikesVariety]

Originally Posted by SmartAleq

See now, that's the kind of thing I'm most paranoid about cotching the couf, having my smell and taste disrupted

people don't get that this is a serious thing. I've had jokes made when I tell people my sense of smell (at least) hasn't been right for a year and a half ( guess a skunk wouldn't bother you! ha ha! ) and I can't imagine they'd do that if it was my vision.

today I'm using a lot of spices that have been in storage for ...well, at least since last July, and I think I need to throw away the dried onion it was kind of sticking together like it got some moisture....and I can't tell if it smells bad.

I can't tell if it's gone bad.

[JackieLikesVariety]

Originally Posted by Mr. Plumbean

She says it's already a bit better. Today is the worst day so far for me, let's hope it's the nadir.

take care of yourself and I hope you are both better from now on.

[Dazzling White Diamonds]

Originally Posted by JackieLikesVariety

people don't get that this is a serious thing. I've had jokes made when I tell people my sense of smell (at least) hasn't been right for a year and a half ( guess a skunk wouldn't bother you! ha ha! ) and I can't imagine they'd do that if it was my vision.

today I'm using a lot of spices that have been in storage for ...well, at least since last July, and I think I need to throw away the dried onion it was kind of sticking together like it got some moisture....and I can't tell if it smells bad.

I can't tell if it's gone bad.

A little over 10 years ago, I had what I thought was a horrible cold. Sneezing, congestion, fatigue... the whole nine yards. Felt like I'd been steamrolled, y'know? Lasted about 2 to 3 weeks, and about midway through that, anosmia hit.

And it stayed.

And stayed.

The first couple of weeks weren't so bad - I'd lost my sense of smell by being congested before, and this was a whopper of a cold. Figured as soon as the congestion cleared up, I'd be good. The congested cleared, but my sense of smell (and thus my taste, to a large degree) was still gone.

After a month, I got so damned depressed. I always knew I relied heavily on having a pretty sharp sense of smell, but had no idea the psychological effect losing it would have on me. Couldn't smell food, and the taste was dulled, so that sucked. Couldn't tell when food didn't smell right, which was even worse, and was a bit scary. The comforting smell of fresh laundry, my husband's shave cream, our cats' fur... gone.

Thankfully, it returned - I think it took about 3 months before it started to come back. Felt like an eternity.

tl;dr: I feel ya, Jackie, and I feel for anyone who has/had anosmia.

[Mr. Plumbean]

I wonder if you had SARS, the Covid beta.

[JackieLikesVariety]

thank you, Diamonds, I appreciate that.

this morning I opened a new bag of ground coffee and it seems* like there is a faint whisper of the coffee smell reaching me, but when I did a pour over it still just smells like wet filter.

*unless I'm kidding myself

[Mr. Plumbean]

That stinks Jackie. I mean, I wish it did.

[SmartAleq]

There's an old Spider Robinson book, "Telempath" that has as its central premise a hyperosmic plague and it's a very interesting idea. I ought to read that one again, it's been donkey's years since I read it last. Wonder if it's available on ebook?

[Mr. Plumbean]

LMATFY https://www.amazon.com/Telempath-Spi...=UTF8&qid=&sr= ;-)

We're about to get a huge dump or three of snow, stocking up on vittles for an extended covid isnowlation. I still feel sick but OKish, I am working (from home obv).

[Solfy]

I know someone whose sense of smell vanished due to COVID. It did come back online mostly, but particular smells did not (at least initially). Most alarming from a safety perspective - she could smell flowers and food and whatnot, but not smoke/burning.

Bodies are weird.

[Mr. Plumbean]

Kid is completely recovered, I just have minor congestion and a scratchy throat (which I have most of the time anyway due to allergies). Wife is fine except for a cough. We're both smelling/tasting less robustly than we are used to (esp. wife). Overall we are lucky, this was no different from any other bug passing by and not nearly as bad as H1N1 which slayed us (kid wasn't alive yet; we actually wonder if the steroids my wife got while recovering is why she suddenly caught pregnancy after six years of trying. ;-))