Thank You, Thank You

I want to take a moment to send a sincere and heart felt thank you to everyone who took the time to read my last blog post. I was overwhelmed by the amount of support and love I received. It truly means so much to me that anyone takes the time out of their day to read and support my little corner of the internet. And for that, I thank you. If you know any healthcare workers in your life, please take a moment to reach out not only to thank them but to check on them. Ask them how they are coping. Many of us are not okay.

Catching Covid

After working in Covid units for the past 1.5 years, including a year in the anti-mask land of Florida, I took some time off of work. And caught Covid. The first week of January my sister-in-law, Stephanie and I both tested positive for Covid. Somehow, my husband and her boyfriend, did not. Thankfully, we were all fully vaccinated. It was still a rough week plus from there on out. Low grade fever, cough, headache, congestion, body aches. We took all the over the counter medications I gave my patients on the Covid units. Our days mostly were spent on the couch. I’m very thankful for the guys and all the care they provided us. We are about 2 weeks out since we tested and we are doing better now- except we are still having shortness of breath and chest tightness with activity. I am very thankful for our vaccines and I know it helped to lessen the severity of our disease. I am hoping that it will also help with out shortness of breath and prevent long haul covid. Please, if you have not, get your vaccine. Talk to your doctor. It is the best way to prevent hospitalization and death due to Covid.

Mental Health Check In

Needless to say, 2022 has not started out as I had hoped. We were sick for a solid 2 weeks with Covid. I can’t walk up a flight of stairs without being winded. Staying home hasn’t been the best for my mental health. I wish she had not been sick, but it was nice to have my sister-in-law, Stephanie to keep me company while I was sick. She definitely helped to keep my spirits up. I also appreciate all my family and friends who checked on me the past couple weeks.

We increased my SSRI (medication for depression/PTSD/anxiety) in December and I think I may be finally starting to notice a difference. It’s honestly hard to say for sure since I have been sick, but I feel like mentally I am starting to feel a little better. I also have my first therapy appointment today. I am very nervous for it, and very nervous to share all of this again. But right now I feel in my heart the right thing to do is share my journey to let people know they aren’t alone, and hopefully encourage someone to reach out for help that needs it. When I look back, I have been struggling for a very long time.

I am still off of work, I am going on 3 months of being off of work. With Covid I further delayed looking for a new contract. However, I do plan to start looking for a February or March start date. I am hoping therapy and medications will make returning to work a little better, but I know the poor conditions I will be returning to with the mass exodus of staff, continued covid surges, etc. After this contract I plan to take some time off again to return home to celebrate my sister’s wedding.

If you are hurting, please reach out for help. I promise you are not alone. Thank you to everyone who is working to end this terrible pandemic and help HCWs. And thank you for the continued support here on my blog.

 

National Institute of Mental Health has information for a crisis hotline and text line for those that need it. As well as information for those who have a loved on who is struggling with suicidal ideation.

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/suicide-prevention