A Positive COVID-19 Test Prompts Concern in Our Household

Last week, my husband, Jared, tested positive for COVID-19. He had been experiencing a tickle in his throat for the last couple days but didn’t have other symptoms.

Then he woke up with a persistent cough and decided to get tested. As we were driving to his dad’s clinic, he acknowledged feeling anxious, and said he was hoping for a negative test. 

Although he’s vaccinated, Jared worried about how COVID-19 might affect him. There are still so many unknowns about how bleeding disorders affect the body’s response to the disease. 

We found out from the test that Jared was positive and symptomatic, while one of our unvaccinated house helpers was positive and asymptomatic. I worried more about her well-being than I did about Jared’s, because he already had protection from the vaccine while she didn’t. (Thankfully, she has been fine so far, though she remains under observation.)

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I was also concerned about Cittie, our almost 3-year-old toddler. While the current understanding is that young children are not as badly affected by COVID-19 as adults are, I decided to err on the side of caution and isolate myself, Cittie, and her nanny in a different room to observe if she would develop symptoms.

So far, Cittie remains active, playful, and most importantly, symptom-free, although she is quite clueless about what’s going on around her. We did constantly tell her, “Daddy is sick, you can’t visit him now,” and she seemed to understand, although she still had the occasional urge to run to Daddy’s bedroom door.

Cittie has always been such a daddy’s girl. Every night prior to Jared getting COVID-19, she would snuggle next to him and fall asleep. This was a regular thing. Being apart for just two days was tough for both of them.

She now is allowed to snuggle up next to us again. Our doctors have cleared this because she has been exposed to Jared from day one. The fact that she shows no symptoms is a sign that her immune system is quite adept at fighting off the bug.

As I write this, the whole house is under quarantine. None of us will be able to leave for 10 more days to ensure that the virus has been neutralized.

Jared still has a cough, but his temperature is normal. He also isn’t experiencing any weakness or fatigue. Our doctors have assured us that he is unlikely to clot all over his body if his illness progresses to a more severe form of COVID-19, which it hasn’t, thanks to the vaccine.

If Jared hadn’t gotten the shot a few months ago, who knows what the extent of his struggle might look like?

Now, Jared happily says he is beating COVID-19. His symptoms remain mild, and there are no serious complications. There is no bleeding, or anything else remotely hemophilia-related.

While resting in bed, Jared still manages to crack jokes about his condition. His silly response to people who ask how he is?

“I’m staying positive.”

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