There's powerful writing, as our Outer Banks Ombudsman can demonstrate, and then there's the sheer brute force of a 7-word text, one that spares all preparatory run-up or foreshadowing. And then there's the idiotic blurt of a reply.
My baby girl got the coronavirus.
She's 19. She's otherwise healthy. She should be just fine. And, spoiler alert, she's now through the woods and already out of quarantine. But it still jolted and jarred me to get that news and consider what it might mean.
In the world in which we live, there is an endless supply of Monday Morning Armchair Quarterbacks (most of whom are of the Ryan Leaf variety) who tell us what they would have done, or what we should do, or neither of those but simply tell us that people are doing it wrong... and how dare they? Where the pandemic is concerned, way, way too many people apparently have some or all of this mess all figured out. Totally pegged. And the more sure someone is about any element of COVID-19, the more quickly I dismiss them as a foolhardy gasbag.
But I'm here to say that the comfort level that the University of South Carolina, its administration, and its seemingly unflappable president amply provided me leading up to and during my daughter's illness reduced my 385-miles-away angst significantly. While UNC, ECU, JMU and other schools have punted (for their own reasons) and sent kids contaminated and otherwise back to their homes and hometowns, USC said in not so many words, "We have a plan. And we feel good about where we are with it."
To wit, and to an almost alarming degree, there is a USC COVID Dashboard that began at Alert Level: New Normal and has risen no higher than Alert Level 1: Low -- even as the active cases among the student/faculty/staff population topped 1,700. There have been fleeting moments where even I wondered if the USC Prez was Kevin Bacon in the Homecoming Parade.
And then two things happened. One, that number quickly dropped to 640 as hundreds of people are graduating from quarantine with clean bills of health. (We presume; what the virus does to the body can have horrible, lasting effects, but unless you want this father to freak the fuck out, let's move on.)
Second, my daughter got better. She was sick for several days (exhausted like never before, achy all over, mild fever), felt slightly better, waited for a scheduled COVID test while self-quarantining, tested positive, moved into the quarantine dorm (in this case, a hotel room), kept at her classes online all the while, waited for the 10-days-from-first-symptoms paroling -- which meant only three days in formal lockdown, and moved back into her dorm room yesterday. Where she rejoined her roommate and suitemates, who have now all had the virus.
She's back to being a college kid, still in a strange time, but with a mildly augmented sense of calm. She was a total trooper throughout, talking me off ledges here and there and going full Freaky Friday on me by being the composed teenager to the uneasy parent.
Are there potential holes in this university's plan? Almost definitely. Is its success somewhat contingent on the good sense of 34,000 people who are at the age of pre-frontal-lobe-full-development? As in the age when Dave ate a cicada on a dare, when Rob won the projectile vomit contest, and when I got an embarrassing and not quite right tattoo of a girl's name on my groin? Yes, yes, it is reliant on those kinds of people. Yikes. But I still like this plan better than a number of the alternatives I've seen.
That's the news for now, and I hope that's all the news of its ilk for a long, long while. Good luck to each of you and yours out there, and may your own run-ins with this beast of a virus be like mine. You know, like a ride on a timeworn, rickety roller coaster. It scares the crap out of you, makes you curse and swear and feel ill and you just can't wait for it to be over... but then it is, and you sigh, and you still think you might puke but you're so happy to be descending the stairs that you don't even consider the organs that may have gotten damaged along the way.
And that's just the dad of the patient. Godspeed.
Posts
13 comments:
Wow. That is a roller coaster of emotions over the last month. Glad she is on the mend.
We have had positive cases in our town's high school this week. Word on the street is one girl knew she was in close contact with somebody who had COVID over Labor Day w/e, but came to high school anyway. Suboptimal b/c every parent has to do an on-line questionnaire every day, attesting that they won't do that. I should find that whole family and jam them.
A lot of these plans do put a lot of trust in people to do the right thing; even if it inconveniences them.
jesus, dude. thank the big guy up above that she’s feeling better.
Good to hear she's recovered. We have neighbors with a Freshman at JMU. JMU told everyone go back home but you could also apply for a waiver to stay on campus. They granted 3K waivers out of the roughly 5K Freshmen. Neighbors son got a waiver, then predictably COVID a little while later.
you guys want to see the w&m swim team rapping about losing their program? of course you do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=-yF1Nr0ODDQ&app=desktop
it's about what you'd expect, with one major exception.
Today was a shitty day already, for obvious reasons. But the hammer just dropped in our town. Some dipshit mom in our town hosted an indoor party for 50 high school kids over Labor Day w/e. Beer pong was a part of it. Turned out to be a mini super-spreader event. At least 15 high school kids now have the virus. The town just put the high school on virtual learning for two weeks. No word on the other schools, but I expect the same to be announced for my kids soon.
But the town also decided to cancel all sports and all extracurriculars for two weeks, at a minimum. This is despite them establishing safety protocols. Many parents (including me) busted their asses to jump thru hoops and safely get sports set up. It’s a cowardly, rash decision. And the kids, who had a largely positive experience their first week at school, lose the most.
Here’s the best part - the mom who hosted the party is a para-professional in a 4th grade class, and she has a student in her class who is compromised. Fuck her.
yikes. we're still open at eb, but it's a shitshow. some kids at the vo-tech have it, and they were at the high school this week. but we haven't shut down yet. glad z is feeling better.
i think i got paid out $8 for eating that cicada.
OMDL! Whit — so glad she’s okay, here’s to hoping no long-term effects!
Good Lord, how could that woman be so careless?!
Our kids finished virtual week 1. Relatively well really. But they’re in HS/MS and pretty self-sufficient. They miss their friends but lots of cyber communicating going on. Friends with elementary kids, on the other hand, have said it’s horrendous.
All of this just sucks!!
That sucks TR. We’ve got a couple of school systems open in person about 1/2 time in our area, but it’s too soon for any issues to be publicized by the municipalities that opened.
Hey Whit, glad to hear your daughter is thru the maelstrom. Can only imagine your anxiety. My nephew was supposed to be a soph at SC this fall, but he and my sis's family opted out and will wait until we have a better handle on the virus.
Nick Nurse needs a bigger shirt. He looks like a guy who thinks he’s in shape, and thinks his shirts are tight on the arms b/c of his “guns”.
thank you, tr. the world needs truthtellers.
I do what I can.
Post a Comment