Skip to main content

Summer Thoughts: 20 Days Out

Another one of my family members joined the Rona Club this week, and as I was sharing my experiences of what worked for me, I started thinking about what I knew, what I didn't know, and what I would do differently to care for myself after testing positive.  

My goal is to stay healthy all the time and yet,  I do acknowledge that we know that this is not a "one and done" type of situation at this moment in time.  

So, I decided to write a letter to my pre-COVID self to help myself out in the future if the need should arise.  (A friend and I recently discussed the fact that we've all been so intent on "not getting it" and wished that we'd better prepared for what to do if we did. If you've had it, what would you do differently?)

Dear Future Rachel, 

You didn't want to get COVID, but you did.  You hoped to remain asymptomatic, but you didn't.  

The virus was annoying, frustrating and exhausting, but it wasn't scary, and you required no special treatments beyond what you could easily do at home, which included lots of rest. 

Oh yeah, rest.  Even in the beginning when you felt weird but okay, it would have been OK to start the resting process.  

I know, it sounds silly to test and rest, but it's probably the best thing you could have done for yourself.  The C-fatigue is not imaginary; you did not make it up in your head.  

And, just because you loudly declare that you are done with it, doesn't mean it's done with you.  It will happen.  Maybe just not on your schedule and probably not in alignment with your work schedule either. 

5 days out, you felt better,  10 days out, you felt closer to normal.  15 days out, you were really glad that you scheduled vacation time earlier this summer so you could have a window of time to do nothing more than rest in the sunshine, read novels and watch documentaries.  

Remember, you can rest sooner or you can rest later.  

Sincerely, 

Rachel (20 Days Post Positive)




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fall Fashion: I Found Aurora's Dress on Amazon

I posted earlier this fall about our idea to be Aurora Teagarden and Nick Miller for Halloween.  We've watched a lot of the AT movies to decide on our outfits, and we finally decided to be Aurora and Nick from Heist and Seek .  It's one of the movies where they are dressed up (the other one is Reunited and It Feels So Deadly .) In going down the AT rabbit hole, I found the designer of her dresses in both of these movies, a company called Dress the Population.  And, I also found the exact dress on Amazon , but I decided that $200 was too much for a Halloween costume.  But if you want to replicate her costume exactly, you can!   For $40, I found a sleeveless sequined blue dress with a v-neck.  You'll see it in our Halloween post.  I may look for a strawberry blonde wig or I might just do a temporary pink-ish hair color.  I'll wear my hair pulled back on one side and a dangly earring like she's wearing above, plus a super pink lip color.   Fun fact: Nick's dress sh
Post a Comment
Read more

Fall Thoughts: "98% of All Diets Fail"

There are lots of numbers associated with the idea of trying to change your body size or composition.  The obvious numbers like the number of the scale, your waist measurement, the size of your pants or your body fat percentage. There are the numbers associated with a best guess for how much of what food you should eat, i.e. 800 grams of fruits and vegetables or 13 ounces of protein (at least for a woman of my size.) And there are numbers connected to how you move your body: how many hours you should strive for per day, how many steps you should take, how many reps you should "leave in the tank" during a weight lifting session.   There are also other numbers, including "the facts."  For example: 80% of Americans aren't eating the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables.  70% of Americans are overweight or obese.   And, my new favorite fact: "98% of all keto diets fail," which was what Dr. Robert Cywes, the Carb Addiction Doctor, who advocates for a
Post a Comment
Read more

Fall Thoughts: A Simple Way of Eating

After sharing a few examples of extreme ways of eating, I've been thinking about some of the more simplified ways of eating that I've tried in the past. I think somewhere between the "simplicity" of the No S Diet and the "sensibility" of the 800 Gram Challenge, you probably have a lifestyle that would work for many people.   The No S Diet: "As simple as possible but not  simpler" What is it: The No S Diet is a "simple program of moderation."  It can be summed up in 14 words: No Sweets, No Seconds, No Snacks, except (sometimes) on days that start with S.   What's the science: There's really not any science; this is more of a habit-based way to moderate your eating.  Who created it?  Librarian by trade and computer programmer by accident, Reinhard Engels.   Why did I stop doing it:  I'm not sure.  I love the simplicity as I re-read about it! I'm sure I was lured away by the promise of low-carb/keto diets and then just foun
Post a Comment
Read more