Yet Another Variant

My friend who is a medical doctor and has a PhD in Public Health had warned me there would be many coronavirus variants. My mom’s nursing home sent out a notice just before Mother’s Day that she had to be in isolation for a few days–there had been new cases on her floor. I had already gone out to dim sum with her and taken her to Victoria Park. I did say I was going to see her the next day. I wasn’t worried about catching the virus–I’d caught COVID only a month ago. I decided to stop by briefly on Sunday, for fifteen minutes, to drop off a bouquet and some food. She was glad to see me. One of the other residents at the nursing home saw me and asked why I was there. Busted. I tried to make myself look smaller, and said: I’m only here briefly….

The next few days I stuck to the rules. I ordered delivery for her on Monday and gave her a call. She sounded ok. Tuesday, I ordered delivery for her but couldn’t get anyone at the nursing home to pick up the phone. I called ten times. Wednesday I sent a WhatsApp message to see if her floor had reopened. There was no response, so I showed up late afternoon with some takeout. My mom was lying in bed, listless. As I approached, I could tell she needed a diaper change. I got a staff member to help her and took her out to dinner and to the park. I had the feeling if I hadn’t stopped by, she might’ve stayed in bed for a long time. On Thursday, I took her out in the morning and brought her back too late. She missed the van that drove her to day care, so I took public transportation with her instead. She didn’t seem happy to be in day care. Today, I arrived early afternoon to take her to her dietitian’s appointment. She would not budge. I had to cancel the appointment. She didn’t even want to go out to eat. I wondered if I was seeing the cumulative effects of isolation. After a great deal of back and forth, I got her some beef noodles, which she devoured. She promised we would go out for pizza tomorrow. We shall see….