The Angel of COVID Arrived at Our Family’s Door (and Happy New Year!)

First things first: Happy New Year!

I hope 2022 is a fantastic year for you and your loved ones. (I’m optimistic — especially given that 2020 and 2021 weren’t exactly stellar.) I wish you happiness, health, and prosperity. And great travels. Thank you for reading Eye of the Flyer, providing comments, offering suggestions, and participating.

Our 2022 arrived the same way 2021 went out: sort of disappointing.

We were supposed to spend a long holiday weekend with my parents, as well as most of their kids and grandkids (we’re a blended family). A new family member, Noah, officially joined the family when he married Monica last night. (That’s not the disappointing part, trust me.) A Malibu beach house was rented. Parties were planned.

But then I had an itchy throat Tuesday. And I suddenly became exhausted that afternoon. I wanted to make sure I didn’t have COVID — especially before getting together with family and going to a big wedding. But same or next-day COVID test appointments are darn near impossible to get here in Los Angeles. Then our daughter came home from school. She complained of a sore throat and had a runny nose from hell.

Her symptoms were worse the following day. Plus, she had a fever of 100.9 (Fahrenheit, of course).

Our pediatrician’s office was able to see us late that morning. The doctor said our little girl looked like she had a sinus infection. But he exercised extra caution and gave her a COVID-19 test. (Holding a screaming child’s head with one hand and her arms with your other arm is miserable.)

We received a phone call two hours later: our daughter tested positive for COVID. Given the amount of snot on the cotton swab, I guess that was a reasonably accurate test result.

So we called everyone with whom we were in physical contact for the past week. Then called and texted my family to tell them we’d miss out on the family reunion this week. Then we phoned to bride to explain why we’d miss her wedding. None of that was pleasant.

My wife and I assumed we, too, contracted COVID. Both of us received the Moderna vaccine, plus a booster in November. (Full disclosure: I own stock in Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson&Johnson). We decided to get tested at some point during the next few days. But priority number one is our daughter.

Two hours later, I rattled the dinner table because my arms and legs shook so hard from the chills — even though I wore a winter jacket on top of a sweatshirt on top of a t-shirt.

A few days later, our daughter still has a runny nose. But in between snuggles and cuddles, she’s jumping on a trampoline, (loudly) singing songs, and playing on her tablet. My wife’s throat hurts a bit and she’s a little sore: effects she felt after getting her Moderna shots. I’m getting more energy and have a bit of a sore throat. Definitely on the upswing but eager to get some more rest.

So getting a COVID test seems like a formality now. We’re certain we have the ‘VID.

We’re glad we received the vaccine (or, perhaps, therapeutic is a better term). This experience felt like the flu — and that’s never fun. Experiencing worse symptoms wouldn’t have been fun.

We found it ironic that we traveled a bunch last year and never contracted COVID. But the Angel of COVID somehow found us in our hometown during the week or so. That’s probably something to do with the Omicron variant.

If you can, I encourage you to get the COVID-19 vaccination. I think it makes things less severe when Omicron bites you in the butt. Which it eventually will.