Covid

So, my husband has Covid-19. He's been feeling sick for a couple of days, flu-like symptoms. And extremely violent sneezing. The wait for drive-through PCR tests is hours long at the moment but I managed to get the last couple of boxes of rapid antigen tests this morning at only the second place I asked - score! He came up positive, the rest of us negative. They are not as accurate as the PCR tests and he will go and queue for one of those tomorrow, but given the circumstances there is no reason to believe it is a false positive. We are all isolating for seven days, trying to keep Tim separate from the rest of us, then will test again. I think he has to quarantine for 10 days? He started feeling sick on Boxing Day so of course everyone we saw on Christmas Day was here during his infectious period. I'm amazed that the kids and I haven't got it. 

We don't know where Tim got it, he hasn't been out much in the past couple of weeks. There was a case at Aiden's school so we had him tested a few days before Christmas, never got any result, but he has tested negative today at home and no symptoms. 

Tim is actually the first person I know to have Covid. Back in the mists of time when we thought Delta was bad, Sydney got up to around 2,000 cases a day. With Omicron it's 12,000 a day! At least it's supposed to be less deadly. Tim has asthma so we'll be keeping a close eye on him. From a distance, of course. 

Home

Thursday:

Tim is coming home today, yay! I didn't mention my husband was away all week because I don't advertise stuff like that on the internet "defenceless female home alone" or "home vacant for a week while family on holidays", just in case someone tracks down my location. I only talk about it after the event. But he has been away on a business thing since Monday morning and gets home tonight.

Of course I have missed him a lot, but the worst thing has been trying to sleep. You'd think lack of asthmatic snuffles beside me would help! But I get nervous without him here. It's weird because I lived alone for years before we married, and liked it, and didn't get scared at night. I guess I'm not used to it now, or maybe it is having children to protect. The last three nights I've been on high alert, unable to relax to sleep properly. Couldn't shower late at night because I felt too vulnerable. I had to get up earlier, which is fine because I was awake anyway. So after three nights of this I am so tired! My face feels all droopy. But Tim will be home tonight and I'll be safe.

Nigella Lawson seems to be able to feed sixteen people on one roast chicken, with leftovers. I cooked one last night for the three of us, there is one tiny piece of breast left. Aiden ate daddy's share. He is nine and ate half a chicken all by himself! He scrounges for food after dinner too. Growing boy. He is so little (with us as parents he is never going to be tall) with no body fat, but active. Luckily he likes real food and it's easy to direct him to have an apple, or some (homemade) yoghurt. Salad is one of his favourite foods. When he was little enough to fit in a shopping trolley seat I use to give him a whole capsicum (red pepper) to eat as we went around the supermarket and strangers would often comment about it. He doesn't like cheese or potato (except chips) and only recently started liking chocolate. Unusual taste buds.

First day of term

Monday:

First day of term. I got the kids off to school, but the husband was home in bed with a nasty stomach bug. He's usually pretty stoic, but he hates vomiting so much. I suppose we can be thankful that he wasn't like this yesterday, when we were in the middle of visiting and travel.

Actually I had some bad stomach pains throughout yesterday, and the kind of experiences you really don't want to have in someone else's bathroom, but I assumed it was just my body reacting adversely to all the junk food. Now I think it was probably a virus. Not feeling absolutely stellar today, but doing ok. I hope Tim gets better as quickly, and that it is just a 24 hour thing.

I dashed out and did the shopping. A nice healthy trolley. Fresh meat and vegetables and no junk. The sort of trolley where you wouldn't mind if your doctor was walking past and happened to glance in. Not the one where you want to explain to the cashier that you are buying all this for a party on the weekend, honest.

When I'd just got to the shops I realised that in the flurry of getting the kids to school and the worry of going out leaving my husband home alone sick I had not only not put on any make-up (I don't wear much, but always mascara because I have invisible blonde eyelashes otherwise) but I hadn't brushed my hair or my teeth! Slightly embarrassing. Luckily I didn't see anyone I know.

I didn't get any writing done, which is a shame after all my brainstorming yesterday, but I did go for two walks with Thor and did the grocery shopping and made a very healthy stir fry for my lunch and caught up on some slush pile reading (I help a magazine decide which stories get printed in it, the "slush pile" is unsolicited manuscripts sent in). And I finally sent in the form to book Thor in to puppy school. It starts in two weeks, on Sunday mornings. During the walks with him today he was much more attentive when it was just the two of us, but of course as soon as the kids were there or we were walking past strangers he got overexcited and nearly pulled my arm off. It's much more pleasant when he is walking nicely by my side.

I've stuck to my food plan for the day except I added yoghurt to my morning fruit because I found some lovely strawberries when shopping - and I adore strawberries and plain Greek yoghurt together!

I've now got the kids to bed and Thor put himself to bed so I'm going to play my computer game for an hour before I go too.

Elegant birthday lunch

Friday:

Yesterday was Tim's birthday. I hope he had a good day. We started with presents in bed, then French toast with raspberries for breakfast (my blood glucose was a bit high after). He went to work for half a day then I picked him up and we went to a swish restaurant; the kind that has beautifully plated food that also tastes delicious. We had three courses but each one was quite small so the total amount of food was just right for a decadent but not gluttonous lunch. Then back just in time to pick up the kids from school. Aiden begged off gymnastics because he was so excited about the computer game he had given daddy for his birthday, so that was how the boys spent the rest of the afternoon.

Unfortunately that cake I bought yesterday wasn't very nice, we had some for afternoon tea but it was rather disappointing. Oh well, you can't win them all and the rest of the day went very well. I made the requested veal schnitzel and potato bake for dinner, and everyone chose vanilla icecream instead of more cake for dessert (I didn't have anything). A rather carb-laden day.

And I have paid for it today with intense carb cravings, which I have totally given in to. I'm also very tired and lurgy. It's going to take a big effort to put the brakes back on.

I've spent the day finishing an editing job, got that done and sent off.

Totally under/un-prepared for the stair climb on Sunday! I've used work and rain as excuses not to do some stair-climbing the past couple of days. I've done a bit of dancing, but no sprint work which is what I really need.

Pre-diabetic husband

Wednesday:

A week ago, a couple of hours after dinner, I tested Tim's blood sugar. I'd never done it before and had no reason to believe he had any blood glucose problems, he had full blood-work about a year before. He isn't overweight and he exercises a lot, but he does have high blood pressure (almost certainly caused by work stress and currently controlled by medication). The meter came up with the figure 10.1 mmol/L. Around equal to the highest I've ever had.

I was worried, but he had just eaten a couple of apricot delight. They couldn't have got to his blood stream yet (I think) but I figured he might have had sugar on his finger which would have skewed the test. I decided to test again after a high carbohydrate meal.

Tonight we had lasagne and then a big serve of ice cream for dessert. I calculated it was approaching 90 grams of carbohydrate -- which is twice what my dietitian suggested I have. I tested Tim. 9.7 mmol/L. I tested myself. 8.3 mmol/L.

His blood sugar is worse than mine.

Obviously this was not a proper test under the strict conditions they use for diagnosing diabetes, but it is indicative of a problem. Blood glucose for a person without impaired glucose tolerance should never go over 7.8, regardless of how much carbohydrate they eat.

I think we can assume pre-diabetes.

I am shocked and very worried. He has gone from very healthy a couple of years ago to suddenly very high blood pressure and pre-diabetes. High blood pressure is a risk factor so that comes into it, but diet must also play a part.

I control his diet.

I do all the shopping and all the cooking. Apart from the occasional restaurant meal or snack while out with the kids, he only eats what I provide. What have I been feeding us to get us both into this state?

My biggest challenge is to lose weight. His will be to manage his carbohydrate intake. He is a real carb addict; he loves sugary sweets and bread and pasta. If I serve a meal with meat and vegetable and no starch, he will go and have a couple of pieces of toast with honey afterwards.

We both need to do this. Diabetes is scary, but it isn't too late to reverse the process.

When I had gestational diabetes, I stuck to my diet because it was for my baby's sake. I've struggled to stay motivated for just my own health. But now I have two of us to look after again.