I just wondered your thoughts about how to handle students coming home for Christmas?
My 18 year old daughter is away at Uni and I’m worried about her coming back into the house as her halls have been rife with Covid for weeks. I’ve had CML for 14 years and although in remission with a pcr/abl of of 0.03 I’m still on daily meds and have been shielding since March.
Given the Governments plan to test the kids before they come back do you think we will be ok to hug or do you think we should still be keeping 2 metres away for 14 days given these tests can give a false negative if the disease isn’t developed enough to be picked up at the time the test is taken ?
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Hi @AdeB, what a worry and dilemma. I have found it is not easy to stay 2 metres away at all times in a domestic situation, I think we need traffic lights and roundabouts in our flat.
I expect there are others on our forum with similar concerns and I await others thoughts.
take care.
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Hi Ade,
This is a really tricky one. I too have CML, in remission for 12 years, but still on daily medication and like you have been shielding since March. I am in a much easier situation than you as my children are in their 20s and 30s and have their own homes. I have not wanted them to come into the house at all since March and we have done all our socialising in the garden and on Zoom. They are doing Christmas together this year without my husband and I and there is talk of Boxing Day in the garden, depending on the weather! Is there a relative your daughter could spend Christmas with this year? I am hopeful that next Christmas things will be back to some sort of normality and see this Christmas as a one off when arrangements need to be different. This is my own personal opinion and have not been advised by any medical practitioner and I admit I am of a cautious disposition. Whatever you decide to do I hope you experience some enjoyment this Christmas.
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Hi Darish, thanks for your reply. We’ve been the same, no one in the house and just met an odd family member in the garden at a safe distance. I think I will wait and see what the new rules are once national lockdown has been lifted and what we are allowed to do over xmas then speak to my medical team. I love Christmas so finding the idea of being apart difficult but have to do the right thing and be safe. x
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Hi @AdeB @Darish @Erica
I hope you’re all well? Thank you so much for starting this topic, we can only imagine- there’ll be many parents who can really relate to this and have similar concerns.
We are of course keeping an close eye on the situation, and any new updates from the government for guidance on this, we will be sure to share with you all. But we really encourage people to have a read through our webpages here: https://bloodcancer.org.uk/support-for-you/coronavirus-covid-19/looking-after-yourself-staying-home-shielding/ we talk through our tips and advice based on current government guidance, and what people can do to keep themselves as safe as possible. This includes for advice relating to others you’re living with and people outside your household. And we of course also really encourage people to talk things through with their treatment team for tailored advice more specific to their personal circumstance.
@AdeB and how has your daughter been at university? are they aware of the situation? Hope they’ve been supportive too.
Su
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Hi Su,
Thanks for the link I will give that a read. My daughter has been ok so far thank you. Everyone in her flat tested positive except her though so not sure what to make of that! The Uni dont know about my health issues, not too sure what they could do to be honest. ordinarily i live a normal life now as my disease is under control. may need to talk to them depending on how the situation unfolds over the next few weeks though. she was at home all during the first lockdown and was still going to her job in a bar and we were as careful as possible so it is possible to manage her coming home but ideally i would love a cuddle but not sure if i trust the test she can have before she comes home so may have to just keep our distance and just be happy shes home!
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Hi AdeB
I have some similar challenges. I have MDS and have also shielded since March. My youngest son returned to school in August and since then we have had to minimise contact with him saying at least 2 metres away from him and wearing gloves when handling his dishes or washing. We’re lucky that we live in a relatively large house so he has a separate bathroom as well. There have been quite a few cases of COVID in his school but they have managed it very effectively and avoid it spreading within the school.
While it is tough having to keep our distance from our son, he understands that it’s what we have to do while this virus is circulating. Fortunately the news on the vaccines is proving to be really positive so hopefully once the vaccination programme rolls out we can all get back to some normality.
All the best,
Peter
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That’s a difficult one @AdeB. I work at a university and I mostly feel confident that the control measures in place are good enough but there’s always a doubt. I haven’t broached the subject of Christmas yet with family as I know that my sister will want to appear welcoming but going through chemo I’m not sure that it’s good idea whatever gets announced this week. I think if your daughter has had a negative test it might be alright but I’m certainly not an expert on such things and wouldn’t like to the make the call for you. I guess you need to weigh up the different factors and make your own decision and I know it won’t be the same for you if your daughter can’t be with you. Let us know what you decide.
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This is certainly a tricky one @AdeB. My son is away at uni living in a shared house. (My husband has non-hodgkins Lymphoma). In the first lockdown, my son moved in with my sister and stayed there for the whole 6 months so he could work, as John and I were shielding. Callum is planning to come to our house for a day as soon as he gets a positive result from the test they are offering at uni. We will trust that the result is correct. We are going to have a christmas dinner on that day, then Callum will go and stay at my sisters again for a week or so, so that he can go out and visit all his frieinds (if its allowed). Callum has decided to go back to uni for christmas to spend it with his girlfriend as they live in the same house. I don’t think he’d be doing that if it wasn’t for Covid so its a bit upsetting. This will be mine and Johns first Christmas together without the children (my older son, Aiden, sadly died 5 years a go) so it’ll be a bit strange. I guess each person must make the decisions that they think are right for them but its so worrying and so depressing. It’ll be interesting to see if those who are “shielding” get a mention in the new rules that the government are releasing this week. I hope so. Best of luck with whatever you decide.
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Hi @Mandypandy, it sounds as if Christmas will be a very difficult time for you on so many levels.
We will have to resort to remote communications and it will be a very different time for us all.
We will all be supporting each other on this forum over Christmas. The Support line will be printing their holiday opening hours later on and there will be some help lines available as well.
Thank you @Erica. Yes Christmas has always been difficult for us since my eldest son died. It is his birthday this Friday so all in all, its a very difficult time of year. This year will definitely be different. It is a huge comfort to know Bloodcancer UK is there, and that we can all support each other on here. Thankyou xx
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