First what you're really here for --- We have a start date! Actually, we've had it for awhile, but life took over (as usual) and I haven't gotten around to posting on Facebook or here on the blog. Cody and I will move to Atlanta (with John's assistance) on January 19th. Cody's first day of treatment at Marcus will be January 20th. We were able to book the AirBNB I was hoping to get, thanks to the financial help of my parents. Once I booked it, I was able to get the address and confirmed that, yes, it is only about 10 minutes from the Marcus Center! We are hoping that the photos on the website were not glamorized too much and the apartment is a safe and comfortable place for Cody and I to stay and for our family to visit. We have booked the apartment through March 19th (Dr. Fauci's birthday... the cat, that is). I have prepared 9 weeks of lesson plans for a substitute to implement and I have met with Cody's teacher to get the preliminary information I need for his school work while we're gone.
In the meantime, we have had a wild month since the last time I updated. December started great. The boys are at such fun ages and were super excited about Christmas. I loved decorating our "new" house (again) for the holidays. Cody and Cole both participated in great Christmas programs at their schools and had fun with their classes before getting out for Christmas break. We made plans for John's brother's family to come down and visit us in Cairo before Christmas, then have my parents down on Christmas morning before heading to their house for Christmas dinner. I made the meal plans, did the shopping, bought the gifts, and had almost everything wrapped. Then, I tested positive for Covid the Monday we got out for Christmas break. I went home and fell apart. John took the boys to be tested and they were negative. I then isolated in my room for the next 8 days (10 days after my Covid symptoms started). I am so glad that my illness was extremely mild. I give credit to my triple dose of Moderna! For the most part, I was no longer symptomatic by the time I had the Covid test. I had a fever, felt "off," and started coughing Saturday night. My at-home Covid test was negative. I felt extremely tired, "off," and had chest congestion on Sunday, so Monday morning I went to the doctor. John's family was scheduled to arrive the next day. Monday I felt much better than I had all weekend and continued to feel fine for the rest of my isolation. I also had the antibody infusion, but since I was already feeling ok, I can't say for sure if that helped me recover as quickly as I did. What was way worse than my Covid symptoms was the disappointment I felt (and continue to feel) for "missing" Christmas. This probably sounds dumb, but one of the hardest parts was not being able to prepare any of the food I had planned to make. John is not much of a cook, so figuring out meals he could make or I could come out and make for just myself while masked was a challenge. What John did excel at was single parenting the boys for their quarantine! I was never within 6 feet of the boys, so he did all the bathing, feeding, playing, answering endless Cole questions, etc while I sat in my room and watched tv and put puzzles together. Had our roles been reversed, I may have been able to handle the cooking situation better but I would never would have handled Cody and Cole with as much patience as John! John and the boys tested out of quarantine on their 7th day after their last exposure to me (Monday AM). Immediately after, the CDC made the decision to shorten quarantine time for those exposed without symptoms! Perfect timing! Ha! Once we were all finished with isolation and quarantine, we had a happy reunion and went to St. Simons Island for a few days with my family.
We appreciate all the kind comments we received from the last post. I may post a little more in the way of a Facebook status for those who aren't interested in taking the time to read this blog. Understandable! Please continue to pray for us as we prepare for our time away. I don't think Cody has quite grasped what it will be like to be separated from his bestie, Cole, for 2 months. Cole is the more sensitive one, as I mentioned in the last post, so he is already feeling sad about the separation. My anxiety is in overdrive when I think about all the things that need to go right - no one get sick or have any emergencies between now and the end of treatment in March! I am feeling high anxiety today about getting all my leave sorted out and figuring out how to cover my leave with a combination of sick days, John's sick days he can give to me, a request to the sick leave bank that may or may not work... or if I'll need to have a couple weeks of unpaid leave. To say I am thankful to have the means to go forward with this without knowing all of these answers is an understatement. I am extremely lucky to have a supportive family and husband- both physically and financially. We need this to happen so we will make it happen. But I know there are families out there that need this treatment who simply cannot make it happen. Thank you for supporting us in the next step of our journey with Cody!
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