She’s not invincible! Coronavirus strikes

So beginning of March all face to face networking ground to a halt and zoom took over. Then 23rd march we all went into lockdown and we furloughed four of our team. Many of our clients stopped trading and the phone calls dried up – sound familiar? Well The Networking Queen decided to go back into nursing, it wasn’t all plain sailing though. Four weeks in and Coronavirus struck!
I was definitely not a classic case of coronavirus and in fact was convinced it was hayfever. I had no temperature and no cough, I did have a very sore chest, headaches, felt that my hair and nails ached and I was just generally feeling a bit unwell – that was Thursday 23^rd April when I came home early from nursing. Friday I felt fine but decided to register online for a Covid19 test and was able to get this done first thing Saturday morning. The tests are not pleasant as the swab has to be wiped over the back of the throat and then inserted deep into each nostril in turn and “twizzled” for 15 to 20 seconds. The test site was run like a military operation, hats off to the organisers.
Sunday I felt great and took Rosie for a short walk, it was when I came back that I flagged, I managed to get her in the bath before going to bed around 2pm and that is pretty much where I stayed until Thursday! I am incredibly grateful to my nursing colleagues, especially Tina Young and Sally Jackson, they sent me breathing exercises and tips to stay as well as I possibly could.
The next week I managed to shower on alternate days, ate whenever I had the energy to come downstairs to let Rosie out and I drank gallons of squash. Fortunately all the tips and breathing exercises paid off and although my oxygen levels did dip to 88% at one point, by sitting and doing the exercises and sleeping on my stomach, I was able to get them back to 95% fairly quickly.
So here I am three weeks down the line, I finally have the cough, still get shattered easily, lost my taste and most of it has come back. The Covid19 virus is extremely unpleasant, but it has taught me so much.
I am stronger than I thought, I have the most amazing Mum and close friends who have been there on WhatsApp video and messages throughout. Many of my friends have come through networking, they are not just business acquaintances.
When we will get back to face to face networking events remains an unknown, we can still network online over zoom or teams, we can still have 1-2-1s in the same way. When we reach out and help someone personally, it is the start of a relationship, and who knows where that might take you?
Don’t give up on networking because of lockdown, instead make the most of lockdown to increase your networking and build new realtionships, support each other and stay safe. The one thing you don’t want right now is the Covid19 virus, in fact if I could find the receipt, I would send it back!