“It’s crazy that none of us have gotten it yet,” Lisa says to the family as we sit around the living room waiting for dinner. My dad, mom, brother, and sister-in-law all shake their head in agreement. COVID has been circling the neighborhood for years but hasn’t knocked on our door, until now.
Four days later…
Tao is being fussier than usual. In between screams and gasps for breath, he makes a faint but familiar sound.
“Did you hear that? That’s new, right?” Lisa asks.
We move closer to him, hovering over his bassinet. He makes the sound again.
“There!” Lisa turns her head towards me as she says. “Was that a cough?”
“Yea, I think so.”
It’s usually exciting when Tao does something new, but not this time. Someone at that family dinner (will go unnamed because they feel bad enough as it is) tested positive for COVID yesterday, putting us on high alert. We quickly learn how to use the rectal thermometer and check his temperature. He starts off at 99.6, high but nothing to panic about. A few hours later, that little screen comes out of him reading 100.5.
”That’s not good,” Lisa says holding the thermometer into the light.
Up until that point, I was doing my best to stay relaxed and not jump to conclusion. But I knew that anything over 100.4 can be dangerous for a newborn, so him crossing that line flipped a switch. I crossed the line from “let’s wait and see” mode to “it’s time to get moving”.
I calmly asked Lisa to call the nurse advice line as I started packing what we would need for a trip to the ER. By the time the nurse picked up, I had the car ready and was mentally prepared to go. It felt like the labor night all over again.
When times are difficult, people need a leader who can take action in a manner that doesn’t add additional stress to the situation. But that doesn’t mean you should pretend everything is okay when it isn’t. People won’t trust you if they feel like you are covering the truth and lying to yourself and others. Instead, start by acknowledging the situation and checking in on people. Then, clarify what needs to get done and focus on taking the first steps towards that goal. In the process, make sure to pause and check the temperature of your people and yourself.
Tao’s temperature evened out at around 100 so the nurse advised us to monitor him over night and visit the pediatric doctor in the morning. We learned how to count his breathes to make sure he is breathing normally. 60 inhales in a minute. Anything higher means he’s working too hard.
“Let’s count one more time and then try to get some sleep,” I say. Lisa nods and starts the clock.
“I got 56,” she say.
“Same.”
The next day COVID finally made its way to our door. Tao tested positive and a few days later we did as well. All of our symptoms were pretty mild so the thing I found myself most worried about was telling the family member who passed it to us. I know it’s going to break their heart.