My COVID19 Journey

[shawnhcorey]

Last night, I felt just slightly warm in the forehead and, frankly, it freaked us out. Don't have a fever this morning, thank goodness.

Glad you're feeling better.

Don't forget the regular flu is also going around and due to the lack of test kits, it's hard to tell the difference.

 

[Celebrim]

Last night, I felt just slightly warm in the forehead and, frankly, it freaked us out. Don't have a fever this morning, thank goodness.

I think we're all being a little paranoid over every symptom right now. Most of my friends are software developers and we're all working from home, which is convenient but all the days and hours are blurring together.

I've been thinking a lot about how people in say 1600 or 1700 must have felt when someone, anyone, anywhere near them had an infectious disease. Even just one. It must have been like, "Well, my times up." Even this little taste of reality makes me appreciate more what our ancestors went through before we knew what a germ was or what do to about it.

Stay well.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

1) I enjoy 5E D&D, Savage Worlds, Vampire and I am interested in trying Torg Eternity someday.
2) I was playing in two campaigns/groups before the coronavirus stopped everything. The first group plays weekly and is 5E. We actually alternate back and forth between two 5E campaigns so neither DM gets burned out. The second group I am playing with only plays twice a month. It uses the Golarion (Pathfinder) setting but we are playing with Savage Worlds rules.

1) I have been told that I would like Torg. Haven't tried it yet, though.

2) My regular face-to-face group switches up too. I run about 60% of the games in 5e. I've been running regular D&D for 34 years, keeping up with the newest edition (that's partly because I've been selling it since 2e!) In between arcs, we do short Delta Green or Shadowrun games. Though lately one of the players has been running us through Tomb of Annihilation in 5e.

Sort of oddly for me, even though I sell it, I've never played Pathfinder 1. (I playtested PF2, though.)

Another (perhaps) odd thing is that until last night, I'd never played live online. We started a Shadowrun game over MS Teams. It was okay (Teams was a bit frustrating). I've mentioned I play PBP here, but I've never even looked at Roll20 or whatever. I probably should.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

1) I'm in New Jersey in the US. My state is #2 in terms of cases, but we've had a lot less testing than NY so that number is likely low. We are the most densely populated state in the US, which is not a good omen.

2) Except for far too many store trips because the hoarders cleaned out toilet paper everywhere for a couple of weeks, we've been isolating here.

3) My wife is in multiple risk groups if she does get it, and she hasn't been sleeping so she's worn down which has traditionally left her more open to catch something. I'm medium-grade anxious all the time right now.

4) My kids are happy with school-from-home, especially since they shifted the time so it starts 2 hours later then physical school would. There's been several studies how getting up early for school is a bad thing for teens, and I now have some anecdotal evidence I could add to support that.

5) There's been growing political noise about "opening up the country" by Easter so as not to tank the economy, which makes no sense to me from what I am reading abroad about containing the virus and dampening the curve. The scariest comment I saw about that was that those at high risk are the least productive and most expensive to maintain members of society, as if rationalizing moving away from policies protecting the people was a reasonable move. Another was that grandparents should be willing to accept risks to preserve the economy of the country for their grandchildren.

6) Anyway, so far we don't believe we're infected.

1) My province (British Columbia) keeps on reporting numbers while only testing people in high-risk settings. I understand why (they really, really don't have enough tests to go around), but I guarantee you that the numbers being reported are vastly under the truth. I'm sure that Quebec, for example, looks terrible because it's closer to the truth (still under, though).

2) The hoarders are doing serious harm. If people could go to their usual store and get everything they need, they wouldn't have to risk more exposures by going to 2-5 different stores looking for stuff (and often not finding it anyway). Also, they make for bigger, crazier line-ups. There's still little-to-no disruption to supply chains, as far as I know, so it's pretty pointless.

3) I'm sorry to hear that. In spite of being sick, I don't sleep well either. I get insomnia when I'm worried about work.

4) I've heard that. I believe it. Teenagers especially were never meant to wake up early.

5) That's just terrible. That's borderline eugenics-talk. Shudder.

6) Good. You stay that way!

 

[FitzTheRuke]

There's no specific treatment for covid anyway, so knowing is of limited use... except for your peace of mind.

You're absolutely right, but the more I talk to doctors (I finally spoke to my family physician by phone, he's a smart guy) the more I'm not sure it matters if you know for sure or not. We all need to act as if we already have it, and could spread it around if we don't keep our distance. We're gonna have to do this for a few months, regardless of whether we've knowingly had it or not.

As a Torontonian who spent the weekend in hospital for emergency surgery, I can assure you that the shutdown is not the worst of two evils.

I agree. My small business is in shambles, and I still think that we're better off looking to our health first and the economy later.

1) Hey man, wishing the best for you (and all of us, really, during this bizarre time).
2) I am in my 40s and live in a suburb of Montreal. Quebec has seen a huge rise in reported cases, but that seems to be because of better testing.
3) Last night, I felt just slightly warm in the forehead and, frankly, it freaked us out. Don't have a fever this morning, thank goodness.
4) I am a college prof, and have been playing RPGs since I was 12. Mostly D&D, though DC Heroes, Marvel Super Heroes, Robotech, Top Secret, Shadowrun, and others have all made appearances. Now, we are playing 13th Age and loving it. We use Maptool and Skype.

1) Thanks! I agree. We all need some love (at a respectful distance).

2) I absolutely agree. Quebec has been testing more, so it's no surprise that they've found more cases.

3) There's a lot going around, so who knows, but keep an eye on it and drink a lot of water.

4) I've played 13th Age. It's got a lot going for it.

1) I think we're all being a little paranoid over every symptom right now.
2)I've been thinking a lot about how people in say 1600 or 1700 must have felt when someone, anyone, anywhere near them had an infectious disease.

1) Absolutely. Might even be good for us, apart from the stress. (Which is terrible)

2) I imagine people generally suffered from terrible PTSD. They also probably got pretty callous about death in general. As a father, I can't imagine needing to have 7 kids just so 2 of them could reach adulthood.

 

[The Green Hermit]

We've been cringing at every little sniffle here, too. Plus, they talk about isolating from other family members, but if we've all been locked up in the same house for weeks anyways, is it really going to change anything?

 

[FitzTheRuke]

We've been cringing at every little sniffle here, too. Plus, they talk about isolating from other family members, but if we've all been locked up in the same house for weeks anyways, is it really going to change anything?

I know! There's only so isolated I can get from three other people in a 2 bedroom condo!

 

[The Green Hermit]

I know! There's only so isolated I can get from three other people in a 2 bedroom condo!

We are lucky enough to have a big house, but my son doesn't have an attached bathroom to his room and neither kid would have tv access. We would probably halt the No Tech In Your Bedroom rule, but they would still be bouncing off the walls -- as much as a sick person can bounce, anyway.

 

[Umbran]

You're absolutely right, but the more I talk to doctors (I finally spoke to my family physician by phone, he's a smart guy) the more I'm not sure it matters if you know for sure or not. We all need to act as if we already have it, and could spread it around if we don't keep our distance. We're gonna have to do this for a few months, regardless of whether we've knowingly had it or not.

In the sense of "flatten the curve" yes, totally. However, when you are lying there and having difficulty breathing, there's a difference between "this is bronchitis, and I will survive this" and "I may need to be on a ventilator in a few days.." Anxiety is a thing.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Anxiety is a thing.

Oh, I know! It's terrible - I've twice considered calling 911. I've heard that you can go downhill very quickly and I've had a few times where I've worried like I might be getting to that point. I feel very lucky that the worst stuff passed before I had to go there.

Which brings me to...

UPDATE: Wednesday March 25 (Day 10) - I'm glad to report that I might be finally past the worst of it. I had a terrible fever in the night (maybe the worst I've had, though they blend together) - but it broke by morning. Aside from a cough and a sore neck, my energy level has stayed pretty good today (compared to any previous evening), and I really feel like I might be done! Knock on wood.

Thanks, everyone, for the emotional support. It's really helped.