A thread for everyone in the shielded category

[TooMuchBloodyChoice]

How are you holding up?

We’ve got two shielded people in our house. Worried about when we’ll get ‘our normal’ back. Not too worried about when schools go back but am sick of the threads on here insinuating that it’s all the pesky ill people’s fault for having lockdown/not going back to normal yet!

I don’t think society appreciates that those shielding are a mixed bag of ages from 0-80+

Most shielded people I know have complex health issues but are most certainly not at deaths door, so to speak.

How are you feeling at other people’s push to end lockdown? Are you equally keen to get back to normal - or are you worried about the potential consequences of the end of lockdown?

I’ll go first! We have a teenager and a 45 year old both shielded due to health issues. The teen was gearing up for choosing options and getting ready for year 10 next year.

Our shielded adult worked full time, mixed with the general public on a daily basis. We have our own business but currently looking at whether it’s sustainable in the current climate, especially if we can’t get back to work anytime soon.

Not sure if/when we will get back to those jobs.

We had a rough year last year due to both having health issues so we were in the middle of planning a big holiday. Obviously currently on hold.

We’re also hoping that the vaccine appears soon. Not sure if we will get back to daily life until then, and obviously we are about 4 weeks into a 12 week lockdown. Missing friends and family (like everyone) and unsure if the 12 weeks will be it, or whether our lot will be in for a much longer lockdown.

There have been a few up and downs. Anxiety through the roof due to the thought of catching it and potential consequences. But for today, we are ok, safe and able to get one of those much coveted delivery slots which we are so grateful for.

How are the rest of you? Please be as specific or vague as you like, but I think knowing that this is affecting normal people of every age is a real eye opener.

I also hope you are all ok!

I am shielded due to cancer treatment and asthma. Due to the side effects from the cancer treatment I hadn’t actually been out since Christmas other than to the hospital for chemo/check ups and for short walks round our communal gardens, so in some ways it’s not much of a change, other than that I can’t now go in the gardens. We do have a balcony though, so I get a bit of fresh air that way.

Despite meeting three separate criteria for being on the extremely vulnerable list (chemo, immunotherapy and severe asthma) it took me until yesterday to get priority for deliveries from any supermarket. Turns out my GP practice hadn’t correctly coded my records for it despite previously telling me they had.

My real worry is that I was originally supposed to be having surgery last week followed by radiotherapy a few weeks later, but all that’s now been indefinitely postponed due to the risk I catch the virus while I’m in the hospital. They said I’d only be a priority for surgery now if I have a relapse. I’ve already been off work since October so I’m worried about how much longer it’ll be before I can go back given how much treatment I still need to have.

What has been good is having DP at home with me as he’s been WFH since February now, and he does a super job of looking after me.

I’ve been speaking to friends and family regularly but they do tend to forget we can’t go outside at all and keep telling me how nice it is in their gardens and when they go for walks etc!

Overall I’m getting on ok but trying not to focus too much on the news as it just makes all my existing worries worse! Even if they end lockdown for the majority next month it’s surely unlikely they’ll want to let us shielded ones out until there’s a viable vaccine, which could be months yet?

Shielding as my partner has a chronic heart condition.

It's gonna be a long slog. We got a letter yesterday saying that they recommend we shield for at least 10 weeks from yesterday's date.

It's going to be very hard for my partner to get back on the tube. Regardless of when the lockdown is lifted, we are both very anxious about being around so many people in such an enclosed space.

We are still getting out for the occasional walk. We have a golf course at the end of our road where we walk for an hour 2 or 3 times a week. We have to get out for our own mental health.

We figure that is safer than being in our own tiny back garden where both our neighbours are having regular guests over for bbqs.

Have a 15 year old in the shielding group, should have done his gcses this year and hoping that he can start college in September.
He originally got missed off the shielding list his gp said most likely because he's a child, has shared care (multiple consultants and gp) and his medication is prescribed by the hospital not gp.
The hardest thing for him has been not even going for a bike ride.
We finally got onto a supermarket vulnerable list (was difficult because I couldn't set up an account in his name because he's to young but they wouldn't accept that being at the same address counts I'm disabled but not shielding they used that status in the end but took me several days to sort and I'm a long term customer). Now the difficulty is getting a slot (currently managing every 10 days ish but lots of late night nights to get one) - this is a constant worry.
I'm worrying about getting some bloods done and also a procedure I do at home every six weeks potentially means a hospital visit if his body doesn't cooperate.
I'm also worried about his siblings having to go back to school and bringing it home.
Also he was due for a small operation and some changes to medication in hospital which had been scheduled for the week after exams which has now been postponed.
I've also had an operation postponed which is causing my health to deteriorate which as a single parent isn't easy.
Overall we're coping well just the 4 of us together 24/7. It's hard keeping upbeat for the children and functioning when I'm not getting the rest I got during the day because they were at school however it's lovely to spend lots of time together. Usually in the school holidays they go to my parents one night a week so I can rest obviously not even getting that at the moment.

We are shielded because our 5 year old has a liver transplant
I've no idea what is going to happen as we have a 4 year old who is supposed to be starting school in September and a 17 year old who is starting his second year of his college course then too.
I am a carer for my son so don't have to work and my husband works from home so that is good, but what do I do with my 17 year old?
The 17 year old has Aspergers and left school before GCSEs so only got English and maths at college. He cannot leave his course as he is so underqualified.

I'm shielded due to having chemotherapy and another drug alongside it. Both have now finished so I'm waiting for my immune system to recover.

I've been in a position to be able to work from home. I got banned from going into work 2 weeks before lockdown, due to the risk of COVID-19. It would be nice to be able to join DP with exercising outside but I've had many trips to hospital so I haven't got cabin fever yet.

It will be interesting to see what happens if lockdown ends before the shielded 12 weeks is up. I know I'm not allowed back in work until the beginning of June, which was supposed to be when my chemo ended, when I have another occupational health appointment