AWOL - Dealing with the Enemy!

It feels kind of strange sitting at my desk after being AWOL for nearly a week.

absent without official leave but without intent to desert.
"we not only dealt with the enemy but with servicemen who had gone AWOL"

^Source

But...while I am the one who went AWOL, I was also having to deal with the enemy!

2022 literally started with a bang in our midst, I was happily blogging away on my brightly lit new gaming keyboard, hit the publish button just in time to see in the year 2022 full of new opportunities!

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Goodbye 2021 & Hello 2022!

The fireworks in our valley did not disappoint this year as we watched the sky light up with stunning explosions all around, with only one or two of the awful loud bombs that used to turn our tranquil neighbourhood into a warzone.

^Source
The guests and their children in our bnb cottage had loads of fun with us watching from our balcony and we all shouted Happy New Year from atop; no more hugging our favourite guests as the sneaky little Omicron virus has been having fun replicating to its heart content over the festive season.

Thankfully it has not been as cruel as its ancestors!

“After all, as viruses couldn’t live without a host, a dead host is a dead end for viruses. So, what’s the point of killing the host quicker?”

^Source

I was quite amused when my son explained to me that a virus does not want to kill its host as its job is to replicate, not die!
He went on to explain the family tree of this virus! Well...well...well...it was too much for this old Silver.

South Africa's curfew was lifted on 31 December 2021 as hospitalizations plunged to a mere 1.7% during the second week of Omicron infections.
^Source

Most cases were found in Kwazulu Natal and Gauteng so we knew we had to take extra precautions as many of KZN's tourists originate from Gauteng.

Hubby and I had been feeling slightly off-colour, a little sore throat at night, and REALLY tired, but I put it down to the busy-ness and reflux from eating all the wrong kinds of food!

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1 January 2022

Our local medical centre was closed and only due to open on 3 January, but we had a Covid test done and both tested positive!

We had a telephonic consult with my nephew who specializes in ER, and he prescribed meds and tons of vitamins which are the standard treatment for Covid patients, but we had to wait till the following day for the pharmacy to open.

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2 January 2022

He further advised that there was no need to close down the bnb due to Omicron, as long as we avoid entering the units but wear our protective gear if the need arises and do not have any contact whatsoever with guests.
We did the same when seeing to the needs of Mom who is cloistered in her bedroom 99% of the time, but we were still concerned as we initially did not realize that our slightly off-color feeling in fact was something more serious, especially if it spread to Mom!

Thankfully our five-star staff member returned on 2 January, so we have been able to self-isolate at home and he took over our duties.
Self-isolating is worse than lockdown but thankfully we have excellent home deliveries for just about everything we need!

Thanks to the vaccine, we only experienced mild symptoms; extreme fatigue at night, a burning throat and slight coughing, no fever, etc.

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Earlier that day Mom Lily had her breakfast as usual but about an hour later, we heard a noise coming from her bedroom.
She had fallen out of her chair and was lying on the floor; legs stiffened and in a weird position. She appeared to be fine afterward, but as the day wore on, the Mom I knew started fading away; she choked on her food, could not swallow and eventually could not comprehend what was happening around her.

A call to my brother led to my nephew fast-tracking her admittance to the ER where he works.
He was on leave at the time, but his friends said they'd never seen anyone jump out the pool so fast. He started making phone calls to arrange the ambulance and admittance, and got into his scrubs to be at the hospital when his Ouma arrives! We were beside ourselves, thought that she'd perhaps hit her head in the fall and that there was internal bleeding or that she suffered a mild stroke due to the shock of the fall! She could not even remember falling!
Mom was really bewildered as we obviously could not go with her, but understood when I explained that she needed to go to the hospital and that her Matthew would be there.

Ultrasound, MRI, blood tests and an EEG were done. They discovered there was inflammation around her brain tumour which I briefly touched on when Mom celebrated her 90th birthday. The swelling caused a seizure as the tumour is located next to the brain stem.
Mom also tested positive for Covid but as it is Omicron, the specialists were not concerned at all, much to our surprise, considering her age!

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3 January 2022

Mom Lily is almost looking her old self again, trying to smile with her Mat next to her.
I managed to video-call her, and she complained about the food and wanted to come home; I knew right away the spunky little old gal was back!

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4 January 2022

Happily back at home, safely tucked into her own bed after having her favourite meal!

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The road ahead looks quite perilous, but we've been assured Mom will regain the strength in her legs once the inflammation settles and her body adjusts to the anticonvulsants.

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I hope all my Hive friends understand the reason for me going AWOL. I missed seeing you all, but was exhausted physically and mentally by the drama of the first couple of days of 2022!

They say every cloud has a silver lining, and we're assured that we will all have super-immunity once we're clear as we've had our two vax shots in 2020!
Some consolation and hope for the future in that regards at least!

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