Shielding chat continues - thread 2

[AuntieSocia1]

Shiny new thread for anyone shielding.

You can vent/moan/cry/chat/lurk whatever you need.

I guess this is coming down to what individual conditions we have and beginning to assess personal risk and also taking in to account where we live - how busy it is etc? Which is of course linked to the problem of lumping us all in together in the first place?

My GP said to me last week (and again today) that he thinks I'm fine to go for walks just sanitise my hands if I touch anything and avoid people as much as possible. He also said don't panic if I do briefly come within 2m of someone as the risk of catching it like that are teeny. He also said today to remember that even if I do catch it as a high risk person the chances are I will still be fine and I think I needed that reminder.

I am going out tomorrow for a blood test but that’s all. The Covid threat level is still 4.

A scientist who worked in the field told me that if you are close enough to someone to smell cigarette smoke if they smoking, then you are close enough to breathe in the covid virus if they are infected. He said that the 2m rule is based on big droplets only, which tend to fall to the ground quickly and don’t cause much disease. The main risk comes from aerosolised droplets which can travel a long way and get deep into your lungs.

Mightily pissed off with media descriptions of shielded group today.

Jezza Vine had a phone in with people who were NOT shieldies saying "well I'm overweight so I should be on the list" and "My son has LD and is non verbal so he should be on the list" Shieldies were referred to on several occasions as "disabled" and there was a quote from a disabled organisation wanting support for 14m disabled people. It may very well be very difficult for other groups, but these are a different issue.The lack of understanding of the very specific conditions that are on the list was amazing...and not explained by JV - missed opportunity.

(And then he asked one woman how she would feel when she went to the shops!!)

And now on BBC News channel the description is "shielded patients".

Grrrr….

I've just had a bit of a shock - I was in the garden when a delivery driver appeared in the open gateway. He must have been at least 3-4 metres away from me but it's probably the closest I've been to someone outside the family since the end of March. Usually deliveries are left by the front door but this wasn't from somewhere we'd ordered from before so I suppose he didn't know. However, I'm a bit annoyed about it now because he would have walked past the front door to get to the garden, and we have a sign up explaining that we're shielding and asking for deliveries to be left there. And he didn't know that I was going to be 3-4 metres away until he was already standing there (he couldn't see over the wall, and neither could I) - I could easily have been heading his way to get to the garden tap, for example, or to the back door. I'm sure there's no harm done but still, it feels a bit inconsiderate.

@Egghead68 that's interesting about the cigarette smoke, though I have a good sense of smell and notice cigarettes from several gardens away so I hope it's not true in my case!

@FuzzyPuffling I share your frustration with the language used by the media Shielders who aren't elderly seem to be very much overlooked.

And yes to whoever said (sorry, I can't see now) that it's really a choice to shield, and even less so when you're shielding a child - yes, absolutely. Not many parents are going to completely disregard this kind of advice when their children have a serious medical condition.

Lots of stuff in the shielding FB groups about people receiving calls from employers/friends saying oh you can come back to work/visit the grandkids/etc etc etc

I rang the gp today about pain management and all she suggested was cocadamol. I'm already taking that, but rationing it as I don't want t9 end up dependent. I just need something to take the edge off at night. Grand total of 3 hours last night. So she prescribed movicol and said to take cocodamol more often. Then suggested I talk to the consultant.

I emailed him and he replied almost immediately (bloody hell!). Nothing happening with surgery. His operations aren't starting back until June 29th. I looked at private options, but the hospitals are all being used for Covid overflow or cancer patients. He also said an operation is unlikely while I'm on the shielding list as too much Covid in the hospital here. Catch 22. I need the operation for the biopsy part of it to make sure it's not cancer but can't have it in case I get Covid. Aaargh.

I feel like I am actually going to break down with this no sleep/pain thing. And the bloody hot flushes are doing their insane summer thing now. Moment I put my head down for a nap: boom! Head is on fire! I wish it was winter still. Can't believe it was freezing and needed the heating and fire going when this all started. I almost feel like giving up, saying Sod it, and going back to work, but I can't as occupational health have also advised me to stay home.

Sorry. That was more of a rant than I intended.

Fuzzy, it's not fun being in the group of shieldies that are disabled either y'know - when all over the place people keep insisting that shielded people aren't all disabled (like to be so is a bad thing and they are worth more as proper members of society, or something)

It's like "people are equating furloughed workers with benefit claimants, how dare they". Has a touch of condescending about it.

Of course I could just be tetchy, in which case ignore me!

Babyshark, some people who are not me might recommend weed.

To go back to my post above, it's like an automatic defensiveness to not be seen as that worthless other group, iyswim?

Sorry beyond I didn't mean to suggest in any way that there is a hierarchy of shielding. I think I was just irritated that in a radio feature on shielding, they couldn't find someone qualified to talk about shielding.

Certainly no offence meant to you, or anyone disabled at all.

@Fuzzy - I noticed that the local news reports about/interviews with shielders last week were with people who self described as 'voluntarily shielding', which was a bit.. odd.

I am tired and puffy eyed - the party outside my bedroom window went on til 4am
Still not attempted a park walk; I might see what it's like in an hour or so.

Just got a phone call from the shielding helpline , was momentarily pleased at their thought, but it turned out it was just to see if I still needed food boxes!

@BeyondDreamsOfBeyondFourWalls

I’ll put my hands up. I’ve been strident across a number of threads, in reaction (mainly) to thoughtless comments which appear to assume that we’re all decrepit/terminal/old. But I’m pretty sure I’ve also had a sound off about assuming shieldies are disabled, because of course many are not.

But I simply did not think about those who are when I was writing. And I’m really sorry for making things harder for you. It was careless of me, and I will pay more attention in future.

We are all shielding ‘together‘, even though what led to that letter can vary enormously, as can the particular challenges of the restrictions

when all over the place people keep insisting that shielded people aren't all disabled (like to be so is a bad thing and they are worth more as proper members of society, or something)

I am one of those people. I'm both disabled and shielding. I think it's really iimportant those two things dont get confused. You can be both, you can be either, you can be neither.

I'm disabled but that's not why I'm shielding.

Disabled people who are not shielding have lost a lot of access to provision. Theres some doubt as to whether those shielding will be protected under existing disability law. It's an incredibly important distinction.

I'm shielding due to severe asthma. I've been on Xolair injections fortnightly for five years and they've made the world of a difference. Ironically the only time I'm "allowed" to leave the house is to go to our local hospital every other week for them! But my asthma has never been better controlled so as uncomfortable as I feel I will continue.

A belated thanks for the roll call @AuntieSocia1

@BanKittenHeels I read your other thread in horror. I'm so sorry you had all that rubbish. People seem to lack imagination or maybe just plain old humanity sometimes and say some really ridiculous things. I hope you feel welcome here

Just wanted to say that it's so lovely to be on a thread where people are so thoughtful. The whole disabled≠shielded thing has caused all sorts of problems (I am both, but, like Meth not shielding because of my disability). It's so good to see it being discussed here with kindness and respect. You're a lovely bunch.

@BeyondDreamsOfBeyondFourWalls Funnily enough, my son has been told to leave his accommodation at college as someone searched his room and found his stash. He's pleaded his case to stay as he has nowhere to go so they're letting him stay for 14 days to isolate then has to come home. I had to email them to let them know I'm shielding.

Bit embarrassing as I used to teach there

I'll have to get him to get me some for a try.

People have been congratulating me on “shielding being over”.

I too am both disabled and shielding but not shielding because of my disability directly.

Everything seems a mess really, i don't really trust that its safe for us, i dont quite know how it can be right now so im going with what my GP has said today

Please tell me I’m not the only one to be nervous about what these next few weeks will bring.

Just wondering what the next announcement on the 15th June will state for us shielders.

My boss won’t get it, he didn’t get it before lockdown, he certainly won’t be bothered about me, just whether I’m coming back.

I really wish I could find something else.

Doesn’t help that dp, who had to go back to work a couple of weeks ago, his Union have stated that there has been up to 10 staff tested positive for Covid! I might know more later when he gets home. There are at least 3,500 staff there though, just to put it into perspective. Still, I’d like to know more details if possible!

@Flossie44 we have 2 DC on the shielding list too 👋

It is so hard knowing what to do! Within 10 minutes of the announcement I had lots of messages saying ‘how wonderful, really important for all your health, great that they can get out and do some of their physio’ and another lot saying it still think you should keep them at home, people are still dying, the world is full of idiots’.....

I have no idea what to do for the best. I have fought and fought for them to have a good quality of life. They have already spent nearly half of their short lives in intensive care and it feels very cruel to keep them shut in again when they are perfectly healthy but if course I am terrified they are going to die if they catch this.....

Sorry everyone in a bit of a spin!

DC are also disabled and have significant developmental delays but that isn’t why they are shielding either!

It comes back to that thing that people only understand and care about what they can see. In the current climate that is probably quite beneficial for us that DC are very visibly different and have lots of medical equipment so I think people are more likely to realise they are vulnerable and stay away....

@lucytrainsdragons how worrying about your dp’s work.

Re 15 June they have hinted they are going to extend shielding indefinitely/for months with regular reviews and a gradual releasing of restrictions. They indicated that they are going to try to personalise it more too rather than apply blanket restrictions and I guess some people might be taken out altogether.

My understanding is that, if you are employed, your boss cannot require you to come into work. I don’t think they have said what financial help will be available if you can’t work from home or whether you have any rights to keep your job.

It is very worrying but I can’t be bothered to worry about it. I think I’ve got learned helplessness. I just sit here hermit-like and watch as my business folds and my health deteriorates.

I’ve no clue whether I should even be shielding any more as Asthma U.K. seem to change the criteria every few weeks.