Coronavirus June 2020: How are you coping with it right now?

Dear users and authors,
how are you coping with the coronavirus/COVID-19 situation right now?

Corona—to be honest, I’m really tired of hearing about it. I’m in a high-risk group and am following all the necessary precautions, but I found the ban on contact with family members of elderly residents in nursing homes particularly harsh. When you have nothing left in life, that was more of a punishment than a help. I think it’s good that things are starting to look up again.

Unfortunately, I’m also in the high-risk group. Other than that, I work my two days a week. I only have contact with my husband. I also see my daughter, keeping a safe distance. Sadly, my grandchildren aren’t with us. Luckily, we have our two cats, who keep us on our toes.

I don’t follow this topic as often as I did at the beginning.

I have a mini-job, and my husband is on reduced hours. Other things are taking priority right now.

Best regards, Gabi

My husband has been working from home for weeks, and there’s no end in sight. This has drastically changed our daily lives—some aspects are nice (e.g., coffee breaks together), while others aren’t so great (lots of overtime).
We’ve avoided social contact for a long time, and even now we only meet up with friends or family very rarely—and even then, we don’t really get close to each other.
Wearing a mask isn’t pleasant, of course, but it’s not as tragic as many people make it out to be.
My sister is very anxious, so we wore masks even during our brief visit—a small price to pay to see her again.
Overall, the worst part for me is this overwhelming uncertainty—a lot of things are allowed again, but which of them is actually the right thing to do?
We don’t want to bring the virus to anyone, and no one can really know for sure if they’re infected. That’s why we still haven’t had any contact with my in-laws, who are both in a high-risk group.
I’ve really been missing a lot of things lately, like craft fairs and concerts.
We’ll see what else happens during these strange times.

well, what can you say about it? For me, social distancing applies until there is something to fight this virus. I belong to the high-risk group, have severe asthma and a few other health problems. The only daughter I see regularly is my oldest; she lives only about 150 m away from me and helped me a lot when this whole thing with the virus was at its peak. I still don’t go to my other two daughters, because the risk is too high for me, especially since the youngest goes to school and my daughter has contact with, in my opinion, too many people. Okay, we live in an area where there were relatively few infected people, but nobody has it written on their forehead: I had it, or I have it right now. Thank God my husband is retired now too, so we can shield ourselves as well as we can. We do go shopping too, but because of the mask and my asthma, every time it’s like running the gauntlet. I’m barely out of the store before the mask comes off and I can really breathe again. Last week it was so bad; I was shopping with my oldest, then I gave her the money and she gave me the car key so I could get out. Afterward she said to me: *Mom, I thought you were going to keel over at any moment, you suddenly looked so pale.*
I regularly video chat with my other children and grandchildren, so it’s not quite so bad. Sure, you can’t hug or cuddle anyone that way, but at least you can see them without risk.

I’m making the best of the situation.

There’s really no other choice.

Health-wise, I’m okay; work-wise, not so much. 2020 has been a real challenge.
I’ve been on short-time work since March and am expected to remain on it until the end of August. No guests at the hotel. The hotel is open again, but there’s still nothing for us to do.
I had to wait a long time for my money from NAV (Norwegian Social Security Administration)—they had so many recalculations to do. I applied for an advance, which arrived within three days, but I had to pay it back because I’d received my benefits.
We also had to cancel our vacation to Germany (flight, ferry, lodging). We did get some of the costs reimbursed. We wanted to go to Hamburg in August to see the Tina Turner musical, but everything’s up in the air. We’re a non-EU country, and Norway still has its borders closed, so we’re still not allowed to fly or travel there. We’d have to pass through three countries anyway.
But shopping here is no problem—no mask required. There are bottles of hand sanitizer at the entrance, and people keep their distance. It’s not as crazy here as it is in Germany. That’s the only good thing. Sports and outdoor exercise are all allowed. Travel within the country is allowed, too. But I really miss traveling to my beloved homeland.
I can only keep in touch with my parents or see them via Skype or WhatsApp. Hugs will have to wait. It’s really not easy.

For the past week, we’ve been allowed to do more again: sports, book clubs, small-group concerts… all, of course, while maintaining the required 2-meter distance. Starting in July, we’ll even be allowed to work in the retirement home’s cafeteria again, which I’m really looking forward to. Shopping here is just like it is for Bastelfan, which I’m very happy about, because I don’t feel comfortable at all wearing a mask. When traveling by public transport, however, I would put one on as recommended if social distancing can’t be maintained. But for now, I’m hardly going anywhere—for local trips, I usually take my bike. Now the border with neighboring countries is reopening, and I really hope that the increased traffic doesn’t cause infection rates to spike again. We’ve only seen our two daughters and two older grandchildren once or twice during this whole time—while keeping our distance. We Skype regularly with our son and our little grandson in America, but I’m still sad that I couldn’t give the little one a hug in April as planned…

Are you doing okay?

Yes, thank you—thank God, everyone here is healthy; I hope the same is true for you and your loved ones. Otherwise, I’m still taking it easy and keeping my distance, because this is far from over. You can see just how quickly things can escalate right now in Gütersloh. In my home district, there are still 526 patients who have tested positive for COVID-19—more than enough reason to be cautious.

Glad to hear you’re doing well, Akela.
I’m okay, thanks for asking.

We’re doing fine, too—except for my sister… She broke her arm two years ago and has had constant problems ever since—screw in, new screw, screw out—and her arm broke again after three months.
She finally had a surgery appointment with a specialist in mid-July, but her cat got between her legs and she fell. She couldn’t break her fall and ended up breaking her leg as well… Everything is extra complicated right now during the pandemic; at the hospital, only my nephew was allowed to visit, and even then only by appointment, for a maximum of one hour, and not every day.
Because of her broken arm, she can’t use crutches; she’s in a wheelchair and feels unusually helpless right now—which isn’t helping her mood.
To pass the time until her arm surgery, she’s currently in short-term care at a nursing home for the elderly; due to COVID-19, she’s in quarantine in a private room that she’s not allowed to leave. Now not even her son is allowed to visit her. And there isn’t even Wi-Fi...
When she’s transferred to the other hospital for her arm surgery, she’ll likely have to go through quarantine again—that’s what she was told...

So, everyone, please take good care of yourselves. COVID-19 is making everything terribly complicated.

Well then, all the best to your sister—hope nothing else comes up; we really don’t need that right now [Image removed]

Oh dear. Yes, right now is definitely not the time to get sick and end up in the hospital. I hope your sister gets well soon and that her surgery goes well. Thank God, everyone here is healthy, and there are currently no active cases in our town. We’re staying home a lot and seeing very few people. That works out well for me—it gives me time to enjoy my crafts and the garden. 

Thank you for your kind wishes, everyone.

Get well soon and speedy recovery. 

Fun-Design, that doesn’t sound good at all. Your poor sister. I hope she gets well soon, and I hope everything goes well for her.

Things are slowly looking up for me at work—I’ve already been able to work at the hotel for a few days. Hygiene is a top priority, but we don’t have to wear face masks while working. On trains and buses and while shopping, face masks aren’t required here, but we do have to maintain social distancing.
Otherwise, everyone seems to be in good health.

Claudia, I wish your sister all the best, too.

We were in Austria yesterday visiting friends and really enjoyed it. There’s no mask mandate there, and sitting in the beer garden—and especially shopping—is such a joy! It’s sooo relaxing! It really felt like a vacation. Since we’re only 30 km from Austria, I’m already thinking about driving there to shop and fill up on gas. Otherwise, I just go to the weekly market and have my organic grocer deliver to me. 

We just got back from a little trip to the Baltic Sea. It was already pretty crowded everywhere. We managed to snag one of the last camping spots at Pöhl. It definitely felt good to get out and about again. :)

Thanks for the well-wishes.
I’ll be able to visit her briefly tomorrow—we’re both really looking forward to it. Her arm surgery is next week; everything is progressing step by step.

Wishing everyone a speedy recovery.
Are you all doing well?
@Claudia, how is your sister doing?
Best of luck with the surgery.

Josefa, thanks for the kind wishes.
It was soooo great to see each other again—but everything just takes time and a lot of patience.
Tomorrow she’s going from the nursing home to the hospital, then she’ll have surgery on her arm… hopefully it goes well and this whole thing finally comes to a good end.
We’re about to do another laundry change, unfortunately without being able to meet up. Since she’s currently staying at a regular nursing home as a temporary arrangement—and the residents there naturally need to be kept especially safe—visits are pretty much the exception… which is understandable, but emotionally not easy.
It’s also not exactly the ideal atmosphere there for a good recovery… we’ll see how things go at the hospital and afterward.

Stay healthy and cheerful, everyone.

Hopefully, everything will work out.

@Fun-Design,
how is your sister doing?

Hi Josefa, I just saw this... thanks for checking in.
I’ve been really busy in real life lately, which is why I haven’t been on the forum.

She came through the complicated arm surgery well—she can already do more with her arm now than she could in the two years before the surgery.
After a few days at home, though, she went back to the hospital yesterday because the wound on her leg got infected. Apparently, she’s having a reaction to the material of the screws and plates that are supposed to stabilize everything there. The next surgery is tomorrow....

She really enjoyed her days at home, even though she was in a wheelchair and had to rely on home care services. We spoiled her as much as we could—I cooked for her and brought her cakes.

Well, now it’s back to square one; I’m curious to see how things will go from here.
We’ll see when (and if?) I’ll be able to visit her there...

Oh, that doesn’t sound good. If only we knew beforehand what our bodies can’t handle.

I hope your sister’s next surgery on her leg goes more successfully.

I’m sure that once her broken arm heals well, it will give her back a bit of her independence.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed for her that the surgery goes well. 

Dear Claudia,
all the best to you and your sister.
It would be great if you could write about how things went when you have a chance.

Thank you for your kind wishes—I’ll pass them along.

The surgery was a few days ago and went well, but she’s not allowed to put any weight on her leg at all right now. The bone is supposed to heal slowly and without stabilization, and they’re using some kind of negative-pressure tubes and gauze to help close the wound.
It’s amazing what options are available these days.

Wound care is now performed occasionally under light anesthesia, since it’s apparently very painful...

For her, though, it requires the patience of a saint...

Due to rising COVID-19 cases, visitation is once again more restricted—only my nephew is allowed to see her.

And how are you all doing, my dears?

Stay healthy, everyone.

I’m glad the surgery went well.
I hope your recovery is going well, too.

I’m glad to hear the surgery went well. Yes, patience is tough. As long as we’re healthy, it’s easy for us to say, “Be patient,” but for those affected, it gets harder and harder as time goes on.

Everything’s fine here. Everyone’s healthy. Two weeks ago, our little grandson had to get a COVID-19 test, so we all stayed home from the time of the test until the results came back—but with working from home, that wasn’t a problem. Thank goodness it came back negative—just a mild cold.

A nephew was supposed to fly to the U.S. today for a six-month scholarship abroad, and of course he’s really bummed that it’s not happening. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity during his studies, and the offer won’t be available “after” the pandemic.

Otherwise, we’re still taking it easy with everything. There are no COVID-19 cases in town at the moment, and that makes me think it’s actually nice to be a “village kid” (even though the town now has over 9,000 residents).

We’re enjoying the summer in the garden.

Stay healthy and take care of yourselves.