COVID DIARIES
Thousands of Queenslanders have battled Covid this year. Here, four people share their experiences, their fears and their advice on how to best overcome the disease
I’M JUST MAKING THE MOST OF ANY OPPORTUNITY I CAN TO SEE MY FAMILY AND LIVE A NORMAL-ISH LIFE
MARNIE VAUGHN
34, advertising accounts manager, Teneriffe
Overall Covid-19 has really shaken our lives. We moved to Brisbane from Sydney about 2½ years ago for my partner Mark (Gibbons, 37) to start a new job as booking manager for a 4000-capacity live music venue in Fortitude Valley, and then I became a mum just as the pandemic hit.
Our son Alma was born as all mums’ groups were cancelled for six months and borders were closed, so our families were locked out of a big chunk of his life. All those visits and the live-in help that was meant to happen, couldn’t. It was a lot of work to build networks with other new mums, but I worked really hard at it and managed to make some great friends. It’s been a total rollercoaster and nightmare.
So, when the borders opened up, we made the most of the opportunity to see our family and friends interstate. Mark and I were both double-vaccinated when we went to NSW for Christmas, and when a group of about 15 friends – all vaccinated – shared a house in Noosa for four days in early January. We were prepared to run the risk. If we get it, we get it – and we got it.
On January 9, one of our friends was a confirmed case. All but one of us were vaccinated and about 80 per cent of us got sick. Thankfully, the unvaccinated new mum didn’t.
Mark and I were initially unsure of what we were feeling but when it hit, it hit and we knew it was Covid. Because we were vaccinated, I wasn’t expecting to get too sick and I wasn’t expecting Alma to get sick at all. Still, for him, it wasn’t any worse than what he brings home from daycare. We were all exhausted – Alma slept for four hours during the day and 13 hours at night, which meant Mark and I were able to rest.
Still when Alma was up, he had lots of energy and didn’t seem too bad, though there were lots of boogers. Mark and I had terrible headaches, sore eyes and couldn’t look at any screens. We just had to rest, take Panadol and Nurofen, and drink lots
of Hydralytes. Friends dropped off food and medicines, our lovely neighbour walked our border collie Blasko and cooked us meals.
The biggest worry was, who have I given it to? Who have I seen, who have I been with? There’s so much guilt attached, I guess, because before this wave, one case would shut down a city and really screw people. That fear is so embedded in us.
Even when we were allowed to come out of isolation, I didn’t know if I should. I’d just started a new job; it was week one and my first day out of isolation, they wanted me in the office for a meeting. I’d never met my colleagues before. It was quite confronting and awkward.
I’d love to feel invincible but I also know I could get a different strain. Still, we went out for dinner and to a pub last night. I’m not scared of Covid, and I’m not upset I caught it. Some people are being really careful, but I’m just making the most of any opportunity I can to see my family and live a normal-ish life. I’m taking an approach where my mental health is taking a priority over my physical health.
I was talking to my Nan, who’s just turned 97, about her thoughts and she said, “Marnie, I’ve been on this earth a long time and I’m ready to go; if this is the way it happens, this is the way it happens”.