As Grandpa Edmunds now sings it, ‘Ka, Ka, Ka Kai-Corona.” ?

Two weeks ago yesterday, Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 and the unprecedented chapter in Utah, and our country, really began to be written. 

Two weeks ago today, sweet Kai was also tested. His results came back two and a half days later as negative.

We were reluctant to tell this story to avoid unnecessary panic, or to be judged for our reactions, but here it is. I’ve written a longer piece, but no one wants to read that. 

Once Gobert was announced on Mar. 11, Heather and I did some calendar counting. Kai hung out with the Jazz in a small, intimate environment and then contracted a cough and shortness of breath within 14 days. Since we had been all over Primary Children’s, we called the state hotline and it was decided Kai needed to be tested and the three of us go into self isolation until the results came back. We were run all the way up to Primary’s Command Center and asked to not come back to the hospital and to move out of the Ronald McDonald House. Heather was given gloves and a mask as she carried all of her belongings out in one trip in the ultimate walk of shame.

This was the beginning of the adventure in Utah and no one knew yet how to react or what to do, but that it was important to take it seriously. As Primary’s put it, the State did not have their crap together. On Thursday, I took Kai to the Ogden Clinic and put Kai on my lap in our Jeep in the parking lot. As soon as two doctors came out the side doors in hazmat suits, Kai started crying uncontrollably – a rarity for him. I held his arms down as the team performed three nose swabs and a throat swab. As we drove home from the experience, Kai said, “I never want to go to the doctors again.” When Heather got home, he told her that some mean doctors put something in his nose.

Then, we simply waited. For nearly three days Heather and I were left to our thoughts and anxieties. While we were certain he didn’t have Corona (we don’t think Rudy had it at the point of their interaction) we would constantly talk ourselves into him having it and us spreading it. Who all did we interact with? Steve had Weber High that he infected. We had all of Primary Children’s that we infected. We had our families and their work that we infected. We had gone to two Jazz games, Disney on Ice, and been with friends, so we infected all that, too. And the dominoes just collapsed and accelerated. 

To us, that’s why social distancing is worth it. There’s a peace of mind that you are protecting your own and preventing the spread that can’t be overstated. The what ifs and the anxiety for those three days really weighed on us and caused some dark, low feelings – even with a minor chance that Kai even had the virus. It’s also why we are grateful we qualified for a test, so that when the negative diagnosis was announced we could be careful, but fully cross the bridge. 

We aren’t mad at Rudy or the Jazz. In fact, Kai asked to wear his Jazz jersey the day he was going to get tested. No one then knew what was happening or spreading, nor did Rudy just decide to spread it as a Patient Zero. BUT, we don’t have that luxury today– we know the costs of not staying home. We think everyone should decide what that looks like for them and act responsibly. We learned that living in the what ifs and thinking of all you could’ve affected isn’t a road for positive mental and emotional health. There are a lot of gray areas, but if you try your best to limit your contact with other people then we can flatten the curve and be over this sooner