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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
I had my vaccine last week. I am only 22 so most people my age (minus those that have healthcare jobs) are not being vaccinated yet but I am an unpaid carer for my grandparents who are shielding due to having health conditions including weak lungs so I was eligible to get mine early to protect them when I go in to clean and look after them. The vaccines were being done in the town hall on a nearby town. I had mine at 6.30pm on a Friday night. You did not need to show any email confirmation or paperwork and obviously no bill as we have the NHS in the UK. I just went in and said my name and took a seat. It was quite quiet. A woman that was waiting at the same time I was said to her nurse that her husband had been in for his vaccine a couple of hours earlier but they could not come together as her appointment was later. The nurse said that in future for her second dose she could probably just turn up with her husband and ask if she could have hers at the same time as her husband as there are usually spare appointments. I had the Oxford Astra-Zeneca vaccine. This week there has been lots in the news about whether it is safe to give to young people due to blood clots - they are saying they might give young people my age a different one when it comes to mass vaccination of 18-25 year olds. But oh well, I have had it now and a week on I feel okay. I felt very tired and droopy the evening after I had it and then had a bad night where I woke up multiple times vaguely conscious of being sore and aching. It felt like a cross between flu and a bad period. My fingers felt like they were thrumming. I took ibuprofen and paracetamol and kept hydrated. I did not realise I had a temperature until my mum came in and asked why my windows were open and why the room was so cold. Turned out I had a temperature of 100 F. I felt dizzy and weird all that morning but actually found I felt worse lying down in bed than walking about. I had a shower and felt better. That afternoon I managed a nice walk in the sun and saw some frogs. I was tired after again but it was fine in the long run.
April 10, 2021
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When is the last time something really made you laugh? Tell us about it.
That's a great question, and my very sad answer is "I don't know." I can't remember. I watched four movies over the weekend that were supposed to be good, and they were all so fucking nihilists I felt worse after. I love my husband but he's a complete introvert, can go days without talking to me. I recently ran workshops for first responders, to help them manage their trauma, and that was so sad I cried afterwards. We celebrated my daughter's graduation from nursing school last weekend, and that was fun, but we didn't laugh. The nursing home called to tell me my mother had an abscess on her anus, and that was "funny" in a sick sort of way, just the alliteration and sound of it. But I know it's very painful, so I didn't laugh. This question has made me realize, I need to reconnect with my funny friends and do some laughing! OMG. I had no idea I hadn't laughed in so long.
April 28, 2021