Four Weeks

 

Time marches on...

It's been four weeks since the diagnosis of shingles in my left eye.  It's been four weeks of being first, incredibly sick, then dealing with multiple medications, strict scheduling, and feeling frustrated because shingles just seemed like the cherry on top of the pain pie.

But four weeks on and I can see actual progress.  And for that I am grateful.

But - four weeks of hoping, holding on, losing hope (at times), watching the march of the sun heading northwards, and hoping some more.

The pandemic front continues in spite of the fact that we are sick of it.  The isolation.  The cancellations.  The postponements.  

Given my compromised immune system (shingles tend to appear when one's immune system is weakened and mine very obviously is) I have to risk assess now more than ever as politicians begin dismantling the pandemic mitigations.

I am scheduled to teach level one master weaving at Olds in June.  Given my personal health issues, we have talked about how we can make this happen.

First off, Doug has offered to drive me.  Given my back and the uncertainty of my being able to drive myself on a road trip of about 11 hours each way, this means I don't have to worry about arriving so stove up I can't walk.  He will also do the hardest work of packing up the van, unloading it when we get there and run errands in the town should we need anything.  Masked, of course.

I will be requesting that we be housed in one of the condos so that we can make our own meals, not eat in the dining hall or going out to restaurants.

We will bring a filter that will run in the classroom.  This will help keep the room safe for everyone.  Most of the rooms have windows to the outside, but not all.

And I will be wearing a mask and requesting my students do the same.  This is not school policy, but I hope that the people attending will respect my health status and help to protect me.  We will provide masks for the students if they don't have their own.

In the meantime, with the lifting of covid mitigations, we will see if the class can go ahead or not.  We could just as easily be in the middle of a 6th wave.

In the meantime, the sun is shining again today and 'false' spring continues.  At least for a few more days.  We'll see if it turns into a far-too-early spring.