Day 4 - I’m getting tested

Today got off to a good start, I thought! It was the first day of online lessons for our students, so I joined in to watch my managers 9am introductory lesson, to see how it all went. I watched it from bed - thank goodness for the “mute camera” function!

After this, I got up, did a few jobs around the house, and at one point even thought to myself “I actually feel great!” I made my lecture for later on in the week and at 12pm I logged on to my first live “Zoom” meeting with my engineering class. The class went really well and the students seem to have really engaged with the material that I’ve posted online for them. They had lots of questions for me!

After this online class, I phoned my GP to try to get my usual prescription sent out to me, and the secretary told me that the doctor would phone me back. About an hour later, I received a call from the doctor, as expected. What was slightly unexpected, however, was how seriously the doctor took my description of the chest and cough symptoms I’ve been having. From today, anyone who displays any respiratory symptoms is meant to get tested. So, what was initially a simple call about my prescription, turned into my doctor ordering a covid19 tester to come to my house, while asking me to self-isolate and for Peter to self-quarantine!

This news kind of turned my day on its head a bit. I did managed to host another good online class with my science group at 3pm, but after that my focus was on getting up to the pharmacy to collect my prescription for steroids and inhaler for my chest, before the shop closed for St Patrick’s Day tomorrow.

Of course, just when I thought things couldn’t get any more mad, the electricity went. This resulted in the pharmacy not being able to process my prescription, despite Peter very kindly going to the door of the darkened Lloyd’s pharmacy in Hollyhill to talk to the pharmacist there. Cue a bit of panic! As we’d no electricity at home for internet or for our laptops (which both need to be plugged in to work!), I had to phone Anna to search for the fax number of a Cork pharmacy online. Thankfully also, the weary doctor’s secretary stayed on phone duty a little bit after hours for me to call her back and give her the new fax number for the prescription. A quick trip down the empty roads, with Peter again going into the shop for me, meant that I was soon back home with my medication in hand.

There was still no electricity however, so I lit some candles and, as I sat there in the dark waiting for the Covid19 testers to come to my door, I thought “what on earth has happened for it to come to this?!” There are so many surreal moments every day now!

That evening both me and Peter were in need of some light relief, so the guitar was taken out and I’d a good old laugh singing harmonies along to some of Peter’s self-penned tunes. A quick catch up then with Mum on Zoom, and I was off to bed for some much-needed rest. Who knows what tomorrow will bring!Read more