Checking in

Hey all!

I’ve been inactive for the last while as I had caught COVID19 and was hit fairly hard with it.

Yes, I’ve had my first dose of the vaccine. Yes, I will still be going for my second dose when I’m able. No, it wasn’t fun or just like any other cold/flu.

My partner tested positive and we started isolating on the 8th July 2021, I then tested positive on the 14th of July and my boyfriend then tested positive on the 19th. So I’d been isolating from the 8th until the 23rd of July and have only just been getting the energy to actually get out of bed and do things (housework, walking the dog and walking for some light exercise).

Whilst I was sick I really struggled to focus and couldn’t sit on my computer for any real length of time. Even painting the miniatures I’d gotten took so much out of me. Going up and down the stairs to walk my dog still leaves me out of breath and exhausted. It has not been a fun experience at all.

On top of that, I lost £220 to an Airbnb booking that I had to cancel due to testing positive for COVID. Plus not being able to work/make content/be online meant that my income for this month has been close to non-existent which has been really stressful and not a fun thing to have to stress you out whilst you’re too sick to get out of bed.

I’m a little upset with the Airbnb host in all honesty. I didn’t expect a full refund but I had hoped they would be empathetic to the fact that it was COVID and there was nothing I could do about that. I had even tested on Monday and it had been negative so when it came back positive on Wednesday I immediately got in touch to let them know. They offered me £50 off my next booking…which is a nice gesture I suppose but it means I’ll have to give them more money. Considering they are getting to keep the payment for the booking and don’t actually have to do anything – there’s no cleaning or re-stocking needed since no one is staying – and there was always a chance that they might even find someone else that wanted to book the dates I had previously booked so they could potentially have made double the money. I know Airbnb is a soulless company and I shouldn’t expect anything but I guess I just hoped there would have been more empathy.

I was also told that I wasn’t eligible to get a COVID grant from my local council as I earn above the living wage. The problem with that is it’s based on my tax return which includes a bunch of COVID grants which really boosted my income…so yeah…not ideal.

I had also had to cancel a photoshoot due to self-isolating which was a real shame but at least with that I can reschedule and the photographer has been so understanding and sympathetic. It’s also given me more time to work on the outfits/looks for it which is nice.

But I have managed to paint a fair few miniatures over the time that I was sick and my Mum bought me new paint too which was really nice of her. Plus, some very wonderful friends and fans bought me some of the miniatures off of my wish list which was honestly so lovely to get in the mail. Just little things to show people care and want to put a smile on your face, it’s just so lovely.

And that is one positive thing to come from being sick. I felt so loved and cared for. Not just by friends and family but by fans or random people online. It really was such a lovely feeling whenever I managed to check my messages to see that there were people wishing me well.

Although I’m not back to 100% yet I am starting to try and be more active without pushing myself too hard. I’ll likely not be able to return to work properly until mid-August…which I’ll be honest is a terrifying thought when I look at my bank balance…but I know if I push myself too much then I’ll just make myself worse, so I’m going to try and take things easy.

I’m so grateful for everyone’s patience and well wishes, you’ve all been so lovely to me during this and I’m so glad that I’ve got such wonderful people in my life.

Fingers crossed I’ll be back to “normal” before too long and this will just have been a scary taste of how bad long-lasting illness can be. But please continue to take COVID seriously, use a home test before you go out anywhere and take care of your friends and loved ones.

I’ll do my best to get online more often but bear with me. Until next time.

Stay safe & be happy x