Australian Pilg Part 8 - Battling Covid and Family Visit

We can now say we've had covid. In my case I still do based on the test I took yesterday and the lingering symptoms. I thought I was done with it last week but I had a slight relapse. That and congestion in my ears and sinuses leading to dizziness...

Thankfully John at least is done with it. He got a negative test yesterday. That is especially good so he can help his Mum today after her scheduled eye injection. Doug and Melissa usually help her with those but since they are also battling the tail end of covid it was especially good that John tested negative in time to help (he was still testing positive on Saturday). I wish I could help too since I know my way around Mum's kitchen better than John does but it can't be helped. 

Covid has definitely taken a big bite out of our time here considering how many people we were hoping to see still. It has also taken a bite out of my blogging energy. 

We have just over a month left here in Australia before we return to Dallas. Two of those weeks will be in Tasmania. I very much hope my ear congestion clears up before our October 7 flight to Tasmania. 

The big C hit John the week before last while we were visiting Doug and Melissa, John's brother and sister-in-law, and their daughter Judy in the Gippsland area. 

Apart from John being sick we had a nice time. I think I'm glad we didn't know what it was at the time. It seemed like ignorance was bliss. Melissa took him to her doctor. We wondered if he was having allergies. The doctor said it might be partly that but was likely also a virus. She suggested he wear a mask to reduce the chance of spreading it but she didn't test for any particular virus. She prescribed an inhaler to help with his chest congestion and he also took some  over the counter things that Melissa suggested. 

The rest of us felt fine and we even all went for a hike one day while we were there. John said it helped him feel better. 

Friday morning we left and drove back to Ringwood. John had a challenge to stay awake on the drive. I also felt unusually tired and sleepy on the drive but felt alright otherwise.  I took a nap after we got home. By dinner time though I could tell I had not dodged John's 'wog' after all. My nose was running like the proverbial tap. By the next day I felt really miserable with chills, sore throat, headache, body aches and a very runny nose.  I also had trouble eating. A lot of foods tasted weird and made me feel nauseas. My preferred foods were dried toast, plain rice crackers, and tea. What was really miserable was being too ill to read much or watch anything for a couple of days. We learned that Melissa and Judy were also sick. Sunday morning John said that Melissa had covid and he had tested himself after I was asleep and he also had it. I took a test and, yes I had it too. Thankfully Sunday was not as bad as Saturday but I was still quite miserable. 

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It has been about a week and a half since I got covid and I am still recovering. I am going to close this post with a few photos from our visit with Doug et al. Sorry to end so abruptly but I am feeling like I need to stop. My energy level for this is small.

Doug, Melissa and Judy waving goodbye as we left Friday morning

One of many fungi on the hike

John and I in front of an enormous tree on the hike

tiny wildflowers

The center of a magnolia flower in their back garden

Doug on the hike

Melissa photographing birds in their back garden.

This one and the next were of the glow from the late afternoon sun the day we arrived

I was hoping to include more photos but I want to get this posted. As it is I have weeks of things from our time in Melbourne I haven't posted about at all yet.