The Coronavirus Diaries – 16 and 17th March 2020

Over the past few weeks, I have watched first with interest and then with horror as events have unfolded all over the news about the Coronavirus. As the situation has now worsened, I have decided to write my experience in The Coronavirus Diaries.

China with interest, followed by the Cruise ships were just news from another place to me to start with. Then shit started getting real with Italy, France, the airlines, the economy… and now, with our family.

I started my blog as a place to record my thoughts, feelings and experiences. I haven’t done that for a while. I have kept meaning to but life has kind of gotten in the way. A toddler, 3 jobs, an ill other half, a teenager, the menopause. But now, here we are in a surreal situation and I can’t help but feel the need – now, more than ever – to record my thoughts and experiences of being caught up in the pandemic of COVID-19

Monday 16th march 2020

Running my Slimming World groups

I counted myself lucky. I ran my groups as normal yesterday amidst all the uncertainty in the world. I took special measures. My usual table clothes were removed and instead we had bare tables which were wiped down on a regular basis with antibacterial floor wipes (the only ones I could get). There was no raffle, Slimmer of the Week basket or interest table. It all felt so clinicial.

I was probably down around 25% of members. The 9.30am and the 5pm came. They needed reassurance and some normality. The 7pm was worst hit and, despite 4 new members, no one stayed following the announcement by the government about non-essential social gatherings. I am thankful to 2 members of my social team who stayed on to see people through pay and weigh and tidy up for me.

The evening news

I have been religiously watching the 10pm news every evening. I got home after group at around 9pm. In normal circumstances (I am telling my future self here ‘whatever they are), I wouldn’t get in until closer to 10pm and I would have Grace with me.

Grace had taken her Grade 3 Piano Exam that afternoon – which she had got the wrong venue for and was nearly half an hour late. Thankfully they were still there and let her take it. I guess the worry about getting to the exam took her mind off the exam itself!

After Grace went to bed, Ross rang his dad (as it was his 70th birthday) and I, as usual, watched the news.

As I watched things unfolding, saw the Army tents erected in Italy for the overspill of patients, saw the NHS talking about the masks and gowns and how they could only wear them up to 40 minutes at a time – not enough time to do all the things they needed to help people, saw the statistics, the fact that around 200,000 people in the UK could die, saw the lack of respirators, I knew that Ross needed to see this.

As I watched, I felt this overwhelming feeling of living in some kind of film. An ongoing nightmare of a television series. It was surreal.

A difficult discussion

After the news, Ross and I knew that we needed a further discussion about what to do next. We have been doing this on a regular basis but this time, things got serious.

If you know Ross, he is one of those people who states that unless there is ‘a bone sticking out or blood pouring out, you are going to work/school. When he said that this was it. We were keeping Grace and Rex home from school and nursery, I knew he meant it.

We discussed what would happen around food, money, things coming into the house such as post and how we were going to manage it and starting to put a plan into place.

I messaged my mum. I was worried about her last week and I was even more worried this week. She is 74 and survived breast cancer twice and more at risk from the Coronavirus. My brother lives with her. He is in and out to work and friends houses and is probably her biggest risk right now. There were a few heated discussions. I told my brother that our mum had survived a serious illness TWICE and I wasn’t going to let some shitty disease take her. We agreed to talk tomorrow morning.

tuesday 17th march

Today has been hard. I woke up at 5.45am with so many thoughts whizzing around my head. I was waiting to hear from Slimming World Head Office to see what their stance was about our groups. I was also concerned about Grace and how she would take the news about being off school.

telling grace

Rex woke up at 6.50am so I took him downstairs and Grace followed around 20 minutes later. I explained what Ross and I had decided and she was very upset.

I knew that she wouldn’t take it well and I did think at one stage when I was laying in bed earlier that maybe we could just let her go for today. But then I thought of Ross and what he had said, so I told her that we would discuss it when he came down.

Eventually, she understood and so I rang the mum of the friend she normally walks with to let her know of our decision. She was supportive and understanding.

worrying about my mum

As I said about my mum (above), I am worried about her. I had a long – and difficult – conversation with her this morning and said that my brother, Jeremy, either needs to move out or self-isolate with her. It is the only sure way that the virus will not come into contact with her.

Two of my other siblings live nearby and they have offered to deliver food and supplies. Plus, my stepdad has his own place. I suggested that they could always move in together and have my brother move in there.

I was in tears speaking with her. I was worried that I wouldn’t be seeing her for the longest of times – possibly ever. It really is scary.

She told me to let everyone know that she only wanted a card (if anything) for Mothers Day. We needed our money more than she needed anything right now. I told her that I had already arranged something thanks to my blog. Knowing the rest of us, we will ignore her – we are so like her!

I then had a chat with my sister, Davina. She is usually on the same page as me and we had a really good discussion about the situation. She really did make me feel supported.

Slimming world groups closed

It was confirmed in the morning. All Slimming World groups were to close – which is pretty much a no-no for any group. Even at Christmas with all the difficulties I experienced, I had to keep going. For them to do this, you knew things were serious.

I put a note in our Facebook group and advised as many people as I could. I am still in the process of calling any members not on Facebook or on email.

Of course, it put my earnings into uncertainty but Slimming World assured us that they were going to come up with something for us.

a new routine

It was really difficult trying out a new routine. It was a bit all over the place in the afternoon and, once Rex went for a nap, I took some time for myself to reflect on what is happening. Once that was done, I started on some of my blog work – which is still coming in, for now – and listen to my radio show. Ross and I had found a way to record this from home using his kit and accessing the system remotely.

I also received a text from Grace’s school to ask us to access the Parent Portal as they had had to close the following day due to a child contracting Coronavirus. On reading the letter on the portal, it stated that the NHS were ‘80%’ certain that this child had the virus. He hadn’t had an official test.

I then made Rex some dinner and put together a Roast dinner for Ross, Grace and I (with a bit put aside for Rex the following day) so we could sit down in the evening and eat together whilst catching up on the latest episode of The Walking Dead.

Rex had a bath and I played with him, then I put him to bed. He has taken to fussing and crying (for attention) at bedtime at the moment so I was up and downstairs a few times – Ross and Grace took their turns as well!

After eating and watching our show, Grace went off to bed and I rang my mum to check in with what was happening. She said that my brother was going to speak to his girlfriend about living at her house and a decision should be made tomorrow. I told her I loved her – again – and said that I would be keeping touch on a regular basis.

After watching the news, Ross and I decided to go to bed. It had been a long day. I was knackered – and it was only day one of this whole sorry state of affairs.