Quarantine Blues

Week number 2 of quarantine is almost over, and I will be glad when the 3rd is over. It is quite difficult to be back home, and yet not to get the usual hugs from my children and son and daughter in laws, and friends as they welcome you back after 3 months away. Alabama seems to have their act together in checking the post Ebola exposure doctor; in that they require me to check my temperature twice a day, with one of them being directly observed by a health department employee. At least they come out to the house every day to accomplish that, and so I am not forced to travel. I can't really say the same about the Atlanta airport--they seemed to be sort of making up their approach as they went along. It was quite an adventure getting through airport in Atlanta. I figured with the CDC there, they would have the procedure down as to what they do with people coming from West Africa, and maybe they do, although if they do, they hide it quite well. I waited in incredibly long lines just to get the privilege of filling out your custom forms, and getting pictures taken, and then we still had to fill out the regular form and get a picture taken at the custom desk. Of course, that is the same for everyone, but I think they could have it much more efficient and streamlined. ( I spent about an hour in line, and I had a connecting flight 3 hours after touchdown. So anyway, I had on my form that I had been to Sierra Leone as well as Holland. The customs officer asked, "You came from Holland?" I figured that I would only answer questions that were asked, so I said yes. Then he asked, "what was the purpose?" and I replied, "for vacation." So everything was fine, until he said at the very end of the interview, "did you visit any other countries?", and I replied Sierra Leone for 3 months. I wasn't trying to be smart or hide anything, as my form clearly stated where I had been. But, suddenly, I was public pariah number 1. He handed me a mask, told me to put it on, and called for "special transport." So I was stuck there in the line, with a mask on, and I am sure that everyone behind me in the line was saying "what did this poor fellow do?" But, unfortunately, special transport never showed up. So he called for someone else to come, and they took me to a side room where there were returning CDC workers, all with masks on as well. So, I thought to myself, "At least I have company." And then they took my temperature, and asked all the appropriate questions. But saying that you had been working in an Ebola Treatment Center was not the right answer. That landed me in a separate room, more private, and then a doctor and a helper came in, and again took my temperature, and asked me all the same questions. Except that they very busily wrote down all the answers. So that took quite a while. The doctor explained that I was only the 2nd person that had worked at an ETC to come through Atlanta? Hard to believe, but maybe true. She then consulted someone else on the phone, and they decided that I could go on. But then it was on to another room, where they gave me a cell phone so they could call me (I get to keep the cell phone, but it is not a smart phone, sigh!), and a packet. Only then, I was allowed to leave to go to my next flight. But as I got to the carousel to pick up my baggage, my investigators came running and made me come back. Apparently someone had decided I shouldn't fly, but then as I waited there in limbo, they must have been overruled, and they let me go back again and get my luggage. By this time, I had used about 2 1/2 hours of my 3 hours layover, and I still had to go through security again. So there were a few tense moments, as they picked my backpack to do an intense search on. So I ran through the airport, taking the train between terminals, getting to my flight as the last people were boarding, and I slipped on. So, for 1 more week, (I have already served 1 week in Holland and 1 here in quarantine) I will be taking my temperature twice a day, morning and evening, and the evening one will be personally observed by a nurse who comes out to the house...so I should be well taken care of. I am allowed to travel, but only in private car--no public transportation....which works out well here, since there is not a whole lot! Glad to be back though, and look forward to getting out of quarantine and getting back to normal! I will be doing work here but personal things like taxes, sending out wedding invitations, :) etc. It is so nice and warm here, and green! And such a nice time to get back...And purple martins galore, and the bluebirds are nesting, so it is quite nice. I quite see why people hide symptoms! If you say something, you get a penalty. I woke up one morning this week with some hiccups that lasted for 10 minutes or so, but then went away. So when the nurse that comes out to check me once a day came, he asked if I had any symptoms. I told him about the hiccups, and later in the day he called me back to tell me that I need to self-isolate for the rest of the weekend, even though they vanished and I have absolutely no other symptoms. Next time if I have hiccups, you won't hear it from me.