pearwaldorf | (no subject)

COVID19 stuff

So I don't want to be alarmist, but I think there is a very real possibility we can't rely on existing infrastructure to take care of us, or even confirm if we have the virus or not. This is in Seattle, aka US Wuhan. I know this is one account and anecdotes are not data, but it correlates with what I've heard elsewhere on Twitter. If we don't have a clear line of communication re: what to do if you need to get tested here, wtf are we going to do in other places?

My usual method to handle anxiety about things is to run through the worst case scenarios and see if they're things I/we can reasonably deal with. Here's the situation as I understand it:

I am working from home and can continue to for the indefinite future
Husbando is designated essential personnel at his workplace and must come in
His workplace is already a hotbed of illness at the best of times because there's a lot of travel in and out (many employees are of foreign origin)
Husbando is immunocompromised and has asthma

Here are possible scenarios:

One/both of us gets coronavirus and we both have to quarantine. I can keep working from home while Husbando stays home. Not ideal, we'd take a pay hit because Husbando has no more time off, but hey that's what savings are for
Husbando gets coronavirus and has to be admitted to hospital. This is what I'm concerned about, because if it's not treatable with rest at home it can get dicey real quick and there's not enough ICU capacity. Should check with PCP about what to do if that happens.

I think we're pretty well fortified if we have to quarantine. We live within walking distance of a grocery store and if it becomes necessary we can order groceries online. If food delivery were to completely stop (unlikely) I did buy some freeze-dried food. I should probably stock up on gallon jugs of water for general emergencies. We get 90 day prescription refills routinely, so we're all right there. The cat gets food and litter auto-delivered, and we have plenty of that.

So it could be worse. I don't think there's any real way to feel adequately prepared for something like this, but listing out what I do have helps somewhat.

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From:

nonelvis

I didn't realize your husband was immunocompromised, which would scare the hell out of me in your position. I'm glad you're handling this as calmly as possible, and I hope this thing spares both of you.