Light, Love, Hope

My daughter had to write an argumentative paper for school.  We have combined our thoughts below regarding the vaccination dilemma:

Covid-19 or the Coronavirus has been affecting the world for two and a half years now.  There has been controversy ever since the Covid-19 Pandemic began as to where it came from and if it was manmade. When vaccines became available, there were strong opinions on both sides about whether to get the vaccine or not.  Some even speculated the government was doing population control with these so-called vaccines.  Meanwhile, others believed strongly in the life saving benefits these vaccines would provide.  Pfizer and Moderna were two vaccines that came out requiring two doses, while Johnson and Johnson provided a one dose vaccine.

We felt strongly in my grandparents getting the vaccine early on since they are in their 70s with some underlying health concerns.  Sadly, so many lives have been lost to this virus, and we did not want my grandparents affected if we could help it.   When the vaccines rolled out for their age group, we were online scheduling appointments at the nearest facility to ensure they would be protected.  Up until that point, my grandparents were afraid to leave their houses because they did not want to be infected with the virus.  It was incredibly sad not seeing them at Christmas in 2020 because of fear of the virus that was claiming lives left and right at that point.  My grandparents preferred to be safe and rarely left their homes until they were able to secure an appointment to receive the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.  After their second dose two weeks later, we had to wait another two weeks before we were finally able to be reunited with them again.  It was such a hard time going through this and missing them so much.  It was a sweet reunion when we were able to be in the same room with them and an added treat to be able to hug them again!  We did not want to let go of them after all of the time spent apart!

As of March 19, 2022, there have been a total of 3,449,806 people in the world to only receive the first dose of the vaccine.  The number of fully vaccinated people is only at 2,904,366 in the world.  Part of the hesitation in getting the vaccine was due to side effects people were developing, especially from the Johnson and Johnson vaccine which was said to produce blood clots.  Studies have suggested this vaccine could possibly cause birth defects to unborn babies of women who receive the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.   It is only natural to want more research into a product you are putting into your body to ensure no long-term side effects will occur to you or to your unborn babies.  Even with ongoing research proving the effectiveness of saving lives with the Pfizer & Moderna vaccines, people have still been against putting a foreign substance in their bodies.  Certain people are convinced that the vaccines nor the masks work to prevent Covid-19.  Even though research has shown that masks will help prevent the spread of Covid-19, people are still up in arms about wearing them as well as getting the vaccine.  They would rather argue about their effectiveness and how implementing mask mandates and some companies implementing vaccine mandates were taking away their freedom.   People did not think of their fellow man in cases like my grandparents who are older with underlying medical conditions.  They would rather argue instead of putting a piece of fabric over their nose and mouth to prevent spreading infected droplets on to others.  We have been highly disappointed in people showing no regard for their fellow man especially in cases like those where people have underlying medical conditions which makes them even more at risk of developing serious life-threatening complications if they were to catch Covid.  Why not do all you can to protect yourself and others from this known deadly virus?

On the flip side, there are people that argue over allowing your natural immune system to do its job.   While I understand this, other vaccines such as those to prevent Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Polio, Chickenpox, and Hepatitis B were required before children would be allowed to attend school. I remember being told my immunization record was not up-to-date, and I could not attend school if we did not get into a doctor’s office to receive the needed immunizations to update my record.  If the other vaccines were required due to their lifesaving measures, why, then, is the Covid-19 vaccine not required in a school setting?  Furthermore, in smaller classrooms with conditions that do not allow you to socially distance yourself from your school mates, it would seem necessary to protect yourself by getting the vaccine and wearing your masks. This should be required of others in the classroom setting as well.  Sadly, it is not.

When the vaccine came out for my age group, I thought about it long and hard before I decided to roll up my sleeve to take it.  My family and I prayed that we were making the right decision and that we would not have any bad long term side effects from it.  We felt strongly in protecting our family because we wanted our family safe and together.  Seeing lives being lost on the news to this horrible virus saddened us greatly, and we did not want to take a chance in losing any of our family members to this virus.  My parents and I have been vaccinated, and my grandparents and sister have been vaccinated as well.

There have been people who argued that once you are infected with Covid that you cannot get it again.  This is false information, though.  While you have a natural immunity to the virus for 90 days after being infected with it, you can still be re-infected with Covid.

Yet again there are arguments with people saying it was foolish to get the vaccine since you ended up catching Covid anyway.  Again, if those around us had been wearing their masks or had gotten vaccinated instead of coughing and sneezing while claiming it was “just allergies,” maybe we would not have been infected by them.  However, the vaccine was not a surefire way to prevent the virus, but it was, instead, a way to ensure milder symptoms if you were to become infected with it.  Studies have shown a higher rate of hospitalizations due to non-vaccinated people requiring care in ICU and even being placed on a ventilator.  Those vaccinated individuals tend to have milder symptoms where they are treated at home and do just fine. Again, the vaccine does not guarantee you will not become infected with the virus, but it only helps ensure milder symptoms.

My family and I are just getting over two weeks of being infected with Covid-19.  Being that I am younger, I did not have any complications and only had headaches, felt achy and tired, as well as having congestion and a runny nose.  I did not develop a fever, and my lungs were not affected by the virus.  My parents had milder symptoms as well but did feel the effects of the virus longer than I did.  We are all thankful for having received the vaccines so we only had milder symptoms and did not require treatment in a hospital setting.  It was along the lines of flulike symptoms, but we do not wish to go through this again.  Therefore, after our three months of natural immunity, we plan to get our booster shots especially with news of another variant being found in Europe.  There is fear that while mask mandates have ended in certain places that we will need to place our masks in a drawer to pull them back out later for Winter when there is another surge of the virus.

We feel strongly that the vaccines are meant to preserve lives, and we encourage anyone “on the fence” to get the vaccine to help them should they become infected later.

We sailed into the month of March with high hopes, as everything was looking good on the horizon.  Our family member’s surgery was a success, and he was well on his way to a speedy recovery without any complications.  Praise the Lord!

March 4th, our youngest daughter complained of not feeling well after spending time outdoors in the hammock after work.  We were convinced, at first, the nasty green pollen in the south had her allergies flaring since it’s that time of year!  Within a few days, she had grown worse, which prompted a home Covid test prior to getting ready for school that Monday.  Within seconds, the test started revealing a positive result.  We still needed to wait 15 minutes for the final verdict.  Looking in her weak, watery eyes, we already knew the answer.  For one who never complains to speak of body aches, we knew this wasn’t an ordinary allergy issue.

The timer went off, and she was, in fact, positive for Covid.

We called her doctor’s office as soon as they opened that morning to get her in to be seen.  We were trying not to panic but certainly were not taking any chances either!  They did another test in their office, and the result was positive as well.  Youth was on her side, and the doctor felt she would do just fine especially since she was vaccinated. The doctor warned of complications of fever and rash that could develop in six weeks.  If this occurs, she needs to be seen immediately.  We are praying this will not happen!

The doctor also said my husband and I could cross our fingers and hope we didn’t get it.  However, the likelihood was we probably would due to how contagious it is.

Fear is a beast, but our faith is bigger!

My husband was hit hard shortly thereafter with body aches and a headache that Advil nor Tylenol would relieve.  I had already been exposed by this point, although I had minor complaints to begin with.  We waited a few days to test, and sure enough, my husband’s test was positive as well.  My home test was not positive, so I thought surely I had a strong immune system that would not allow this pesky virus in.  Sadly, within a few days, my headache and body aches began.  My joints hurt, which usually indicates a fever, but not in this case.  I found comfort with the aid of a heating pad on most days.  We were taking Advil, but it almost felt as if the Advil made the pain worse.

We were out for one week at this point from school and work.  All day Sunday I had chills.  Heating pads, blankets over my head, even soaking in a hot tub with Epsom Salt would not relieve the aches nor the chills.  Even still, we packed our lunches Sunday night and had our belongings by the door for easy access Monday morning.  We were all determined to return to school and work.  However, when Monday’s alarm went off, I knew I would not be able to function at work.  My body aches grew worse, and the bones in my fingers, back, and toes were aching.  My husband was not much better.  We had both stayed in touch with our employers, and thankfully, they were understanding of our need to be out longer as family comes first before anything else!   Besides, we wouldn’t want to go into the office and chance infecting others.  The right thing to do was stay home and isolate.

My daughter improved, and we were so grateful for her recovery.  Thank you, Jesus!!

My husband’s aches increased, and we were sharing the heating pad at this point.  After several days of no relief from the aches and pains, we found an article online indicating Advil could cause an inflammatory response when taken for Covid, although it was not proven in another study to be the case.  It certainly made our symptoms worsen, so we switched to Tylenol.  Almost immediately we felt relief from the body aches.  Thank you, Lord!

We tried every day to go into work.  Each night we were hopeful for rest and recovery.  Yet, it seemed when one symptom was starting to subside, another would come along.  This time, vomiting and diarrhea came knocking on our door.  Our poor dog was affected by it as well.  It was a struggle to stay hydrated during this time.

Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, my throat started to swell.  It was painful to swallow, and I knew a doctor’s visit was needed to rule out Strep.  Wednesday’s doctor visit consisted of a strep test along with a combination of a flu, RSV, and Covid test.  Within 15 minutes we learned it was not Strep, but the results of the combination test would not be available until the following day.  The doctor prescribed Prednisone and an antibiotic for inflammation and swelling of my throat and lungs.  We feared the word “Pneumonia” and the prayers really started going up at this point.  I work with some mighty prayer warriors, and it provided great comfort knowing I could ask them to pray right alongside me.  And I knew they were doing just that.

The results were in Thursday, and Covid was confirmed.

We hadn’t seen my oldest daughter and her husband in three weeks.  We were all scheduled for an outing the Saturday after my youngest daughter developed what we thought were allergy symptoms.  Being cautious, we took a raincheck until we knew for sure what was going on, and we are thankful we postponed it.  We did not want to put my parents or my daughter and her husband at risk.  Although she gave me grief about canceling on them, we protected them in the process.  After three weeks of not seeing each other, she insisted on bringing me some Gatorade Thursday.  She left it on the porch, and we saw each other through the glass door initially.  Seeing her brought tears to my eyes, but boy did it do my heart good laying eyes on her!  She felt the same relief being able to see me, and so she sat down on the grass while I took a seat on the front porch steps.  We kept great distance between us while we talked briefly, and it was so good visiting with her after weeks of not seeing that precious face of hers!!

My parents have checked in daily, as has my coworker, and we have felt surrounded and comforted by their prayers.

It’s Sunday, and we are gearing up again for a new week.  We pray for strength and for relief from feeling fatigued after battling this for two weeks now.   We are so incredibly grateful to have had mild cases of Covid-19.   The doctor indicated we have three months of natural immunity to Covid-19 now, so in June it is recommended we get a booster.

If you or your family develop Covid-19, we recommend Tylenol for the aches and pains.  Warm lemon water with honey will help keep you hydrated and help with congestion and mucus.  A heating pad will comfort.  Do not take any anti diarrhea medicine, as it could make you worse by not allowing your body to rid itself of the virus.  Crackers with water will help with nausea when you are not able to keep anything else down.  Mucinex DM may help with your cough, but I actually found it better to inhale steam to loosen congestion and thin mucus to help me breathe better.  Rest … please allow your body time to rest and recover.

Praying friends and family are the absolute best, and we are thankful for the many prayers for our family during this time.

Here’s to making a full recovery!