It's no secret that I deal with anxiety. It doesn't take much to trigger intrusive thoughts...and I've been triggered more than usual during the pandemic. Even after I got vaccinated, I didn't feel comfortable going out into the world. I especially didn't want to send my son back to school. Yes, he wears a mask in class...but there is still the risk of him being exposed to another person with COVID. That means anytime I hear him sneeze or cough, I go into a state of panic. My mind immediately assumes it's Covid. It happened this week. I got an email from Donato's teacher saying she noticed he coughed a couple of times in class. I started watching him like a hawk as soon as he came home. I noticed a runny nose later in the afternoon and my anxiety slowly started to creep in. Instead of rushing him to the doctor, I grabbed one of the COVID home test kits I had purchased a few weeks ago. There are a couple of brands out there and they have a pretty good accuracy rate, so I thought it was a good start.
I swabbed Donato's nostrils...followed the instructions...and waited 15-minutes for the results. Two tests come in each box. Thankfully, it came back NEGATIVE. I'm keeping him home from school so he can rest...and of course, if his symptoms get worse, I'll take him to the doctor. It's sad that a sniffle can trigger such anxiety...but I'm happy to have those test kits just in case I need a bit of reassurance.
Photo: Chilli Amar