Happy Wednesday, friends! I’m sharing a little life update with you today. I have officially been away from the bedside as a nurse for 5 months. I talked about Stepping Away from Nursing in a past blog post due to mental health and severe burn out. I planned to return to another travel contract in February but unforutnely that did not happen.

On January 4 my sister in law and I both tested positive for Covid. We both had pretty severe flu like symptoms for a week. Fever, congestion, body aches, fatigue. I began to notice I was becoming very short of breath with any exertion- stairs, household chores, and showering. I began checking my vitals with a pulse ox and realized my O2 saturation (oxygen levels) was fine but my heart rate was jumping up well above normal- 130s-140s every time I was moving. I knew this was a symptom of covid and assumed it would get better. However, it continued to only get worst.

I finally ended up in the Emergency Room 3.5 weeks after testing positive. My heart rate was in the 140s and my BP was 155/99. I felt absolutely awful. The ER did a CTA to rule out a PE (clot in the lung) and it was negative. So, they sent me home with a beta blocker (heart medication) and a cardiology referral.

It took over a month to get into a Cardiologist. When I went to my appointment he told me he has been seeing this with other people around my age post Covid, and it can take 6 months or more for it to resolve (better than permanent but I was hoping for a shorter timeline). I am schedule for a variety of cardiac test at the end of the month- an echo (heart ultrasound), stress test (treadmill test), and a halter monitor (monitor to ensure I’m not having abnormal rhythms.) After this, I will return to the Cardiologist to review test results and go from there. I am currently taking a beta blocker (heart med) twice a day and it does help with my heart rate and seems to make me feel a little bit better.

I am unable to work because the heart rate issue. I can barely make it a loop around the campground without becoming short of breath, I know I couldn’t not go through the stress of being on the floor and easily walking 5 miles during a shift. I’m also having brain fog. I tried to go to the grocery recently, and I really struggled to find what was on the list. It just wasn’t processing. I also was very overwhelmed and could not keep a train of thought with all the stimulation around me (and the store wasn’t even busy.) I struggled talking to my husband and understanding what he was saying. I know I can’t return to working as a floor nurse until that has resolved. It wouldn’t be safe for my patients.

Thankfully, I am to the point now where I can work on the computer in a quiet environment. I require frequent breaks and can take longer than normal to get things done, but I am able to do it. I am doing some work for the company my husband owns, HypedUp Studios. Social media management, content writing, designing graphics, helping write up contracts, ect. It’s not my norm obviously, but I am learning a lot and honestly really enjoying everything I am doing. It’s giving me some purpose and providing a nice reprieve from nursing.

I’m also doing a lot of work expanding on my Nurses Supporting Nurses: Support Group. So much is in the works to help with my fellow CNAs, nurses, and APRNs and I can’t wait to share it. The support group is also going well and I’m really enjoying connecting with other nurses and CNAs. If you are looking for community and support, please join us! We would love to have you!

Thankfully, there is still good things going on in my life. My husband has been absolutely amazing through all this and has gone above and beyond helping me. I feel bad so much falls on him right now, but I really appreciate all he has done. My parents, sister, and friends have all been great support as well. My sister gets married in less than 2 months and I’m the Maid of Honor so lots of fun and excitement there! I’m also working on exploring more ways to use and grow my nursing practice during this time I am unable to work as a bedside nurse. My therapist and I had a great session recently discussing my options and how I can grow. It was really nice to feel some hope and happiness.

If you made it this far, thank you! I had mentioned my long haul covid but never really got into to detail. I am hoping and praying for more answers soon and that I will be back to feeling like myself soon. If you are suffering from long haul c, I’m sending you love and light.

Also, YES I am vaccinated and boosted. YES, I wore and still wear a mask when I’m out. YES, I try/tried to mitigate my risk of exposure when and where I can/could. And YES, I’m still very thankful for the vax, I think it helped, and I think you should get it if your doc approves.