Like so many who have not been able to hug and kiss loved ones due to the COVID restrictions, I have not seen my parents. The last time I hugged them was when they were leaving to fly back home to France, where they live in the fall of 2019. We had planned to see them in 2020, but COVID travel restrictions put a stop to that. On May 2nd we celebrated my mum's birthday and May 3rd my twin brother and I shared our birthday via Facetime. As those around me started to talk of the upcoming. As those around me started talking about the upcoming Mother’s Day celebrations, I felt terribly homesick and needed to see my parents. I booked a flight that night for a trip over the Memorial Day weekend to surprise them.
The next 3 weeks were very stressful as Europe was still on strict COVID protocol with minimal international travel, and even up until the day I was leaving I was not sure it I was going to be allowed in. Even up until the day I was leaving, I was not sure I would be allowed in. I had to complete paperwork for COVID tracing, have a negative COVID test, be vaccinated, and show proof of my final destination to be able to get a QR code allocated to me to allow me to get on the plane. As I stood in line at JFK to check-in, fellow US and EU passengers were being turned away if their QR code was rejected.
I was planning on traveling out using my Swedish passport and was coming back to the US on my US passport. With my fingers crossed and holding my breath the air hostess and I managed to tweak a few answers to get my QR code. I was flying on Iberia to Spain but crossing the border to France, so that added to the confusion. We did it, I was on my way! I kept my fingers crossed the whole way. I tried to relax on the flight but was still very nervous as I had to make a connecting flight in Madrid to San Sebastian and then drive to France across the border. I kept my fingers crossed the whole flight. My prayers were answered, and my brother, who knew I was coming, was able to cross in to Spain and was there to pick me up. With our negative COVID tests in hand we drove back to surprise my parents who had no idea I was 45 minutes away.
Their reaction was priceless. My dad was shocked and speechless. My mum was crying and had to hold herself up as she was overwhelmed by emotions. Crying with joy we all hugged and held each other in a long and tight, well overdue embrace. My mum got a migraine, so she had to go and lie down for a few hours, but once the shock wore off, we “played hard catching up”.
Frances COVID restrictions were lifted to allow outdoor dining the week I arrived. Unknown to me Sunday was also Mother’s Day! France had had weeks of rain, but the day I came, it stopped raining, and it felt like I had found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. We had 4 days of beautiful sunshine and clear blue skies. We talked nonstop and laughed a lot. We went for walks in the woods and along the beach. I ate my mums cooking and had a bottle or two of champagne and wine. I made every second count.
I flew back on Monday full of love, hugs, and kisses. As the rain clouds in New Jersey started to lift on Tuesday Morning, I learned that Spain and France were shutting down travel at their borders as the Indian variant was becoming a problem in Europe. Miracles do happen, and mine was spending the perfect 96 hours with my parents
and brother. My sister was not able to travel to see me as she lives in England, so we are planning to all hopefully get together in 2022.
Summer is Right Around the Corner!
Summer is finally in full swing! The weather is warmer, life is moving back to normal in NJ, and many of us are planning out our summers. With 60% of the adult population in NJ having received at least one COVID-19 vaccine and capacity restrictions being lifted, life is finally starting to feel normal for the majority of adults in NJ. While life is slowly resuming back to normal for most of us, COVID long haulers are still having trouble resuming life as we knew it before COVID-19.
If you aren't familiar with what a COVID long hauler is, a long hauler is someone who is someone who is experiencing long-term symptoms of COVD-19 but no longer tests positive. The long-term effects can last from weeks to months and don’t seem to affect anyone in particular. From patients who have had mild cases to those who have been hospitalized, there hasn’t been a pattern established to determine who becomes a long hauler or not.
Some of the long term long term symptoms are:
Fatigue
Shortness of breath
Muscle pain
Joint pain
Headaches
There have been findings that physical therapy can help with these long-term side effects of COVID-19. There are ways to help alleviate these symptoms and here at Forward Motion Physical Therapy, we want to help those who need help managing these symptoms.
If you or someone you know is dealing with long-hauler symptoms and aren’t sure if physical therapy will help you, come in for a complimentary, 30-minute physical therapy session to see if physical therapy is right for you. Call us at 973-400-3730 to schedule your appointment today.
Upcoming Workshops:
If you or someone you know is suffering from pain, attend one of our upcoming workshops to learn more about what could be causing your pain and how to heal naturally.
June Workshops:
Rotator Cuff and Shoulder Pain Workshop on June 22, 2021 @ 6:00 PM in Pequannock
Hip Pain Workshop on June 29, 2021 @ 7:00 PM in Clifton
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