I am sitting on the bed propped up with pillows. I’m showered and dressed, but I am somewhat surprised I got that far considering how I feel. Yesterday, we both tested negative, but the virus is not over for us by far.
By the way, the letter “L” on my keyboard isn’t working, and each time I type a word with an “L,” I have to bang the key as hard as possible. It has been a task these past many days since we tested positive, and our strength was severely impacted. I’ve tried using words that don’t contain an “L,” but thinking of those words is more of an effort than banging on the key. It’s having other issues as well. Once we get to the US, I will be getting a new aptop, (oops, laptop).
I purchased this HP Chromebook from Amazon India when we were in Udaipur, India in 2020, while on a private tour staying in a hotel. It arrived in one day, so I didn’t complain when everything wasn’t perfect, although it was supposedly new. I’ve been doing workarounds for the past two-plus years, and I am ready to start anew,
So, yesterday afternoon, the PCR tests were negative, although we both have many lingering symptoms, mainly weakness, a lack of energy, and a relentless cough. Yesterday afternoon, I noticed an irritation in my eyes which, as a contact lens wearer, can happen when the pollen count is high, which right now in London is at its highest.
My eyes have never been so red, swollen, and oozing. I took out my contacts, used Visine, and applied warm compresses throughout the evening, including every few hours during the night. I’ve been taking Benadryl, but I’d never experienced anything like this. At one point, I read that Covid can cause eye irritation, and it was impossible not to attribute it to that. This morning, it was a little better but still scary-looking. I look like a zombie. Hopefully, by tomorrow when we leave the UK, it will be better.
We made a plan to get out of here tomorrow. Today, we’ll take the final two PCR tests we have left to use for flying. The US requires negative tests to enter the country, regardless of where we are coming from. We chose an oddball airline, Iceland Air, to get us to Minnesota. It was the only airline that could get us there in the shortest time…11 hours and, at the best price we found of US $1470 for the two of us.
Tom did extensive research and found this flight which flies to Reykjavik, Iceland, where we’ll transfer to another flight heading to Minneapolis. Many flight options consisted of 30 to 40 hours of travel time, priced at US $4800 for two! This peculiar route saves us hours on layovers since Minnesota is so far north near Canada.
The only tricky part of this route will be when we reach Iceland, we’ll have to collect our bags and go through immigration and security to make the next flight 90 minutes later. This was a risky decision, but we preferred the risk of spending 30 to 40 hours getting to the US, considering our present condition.
If all goes as planned, we’ll arrive in Minneapolis by about 6:30 pm, get our rental car, and head to our hotel. We can’t wait until all of this is over, and we’re situated in the hotel with a kitchen where we can make breakfast and keep our ice tea cold. We won’t miss a night’s sleep, which was essential to us.
Since we’ve been in a hotel room the past ten days, with no fridge, we relied on hotel food and Deliveroo, which delivered peri-peri chicken and broccoli to me the past few nights, while Tom walked the short distance to a McDonald’s to get some things for himself. It will be great to have more options and be able to eat healthier meals.
We’ll be back with a post before we leave for the airport tomorrow and then, yeah, from our hotel in Minnesota on Monday.
Be well.
Photo from one year ago today, April 30, 2021:
