Well we’re now in week 4 of the apocalypse lockdown. I’m still a little discombobulated about it all really, I think that’s the first time I’ve used that term and it fit so aptly.
I feel slightly overwhelmed by it all. Like it’s a dream. I mean who saw this coming? I’ve never seen anything like it in my lifetime, nor have my parents.
It’s all really very weird.
I for one appreciate the change of tack from the government’s original plan of herd immunity. I wasn’t a fan. I also appreciate that without herd immunity we’re screwed.
A vaccine is our best hope, but that’s a way off yet. So the second best plan is mass testing and wait it out at home, hoping for the best.
There are so many people who have shown me such kindness through this time, I won’t ever forget their kind deeds, like my friend Kathy who bought me a big bottle of anti bac gel, or the Easter egg Melanie and Blubelle left on the drive way for me, or the little fairy cakes Leonie left on my doorstep or the coaster she sent me in the post with a motivational message on it.
Nor will I forget the hot cross buns my friend Sian offered to give me as I couldn’t get hold of any, or the offer to get shopping for me, my lovely next door neighbours have offered multiple times. Also a friend in the village, Tina, offered to get shopping for me, as her husband is now working in a supermarket till this blows over and they can restart their business again. (Tina and her daughter have gone above and beyond the call of duty and are also volunteering for the NHS which is fantastic! I am blown away by people’s offers to help others, their sheer bravery is incredible, especially as I am cowardly sitting at home doing nothing practical to help apart from what has been asked of us all).
I can’t accept help though on principle really, even though I am so grateful for the kind offers, there is no other reason but fear that I won’t leave my house, so if I run out of something it’s tough luck.
I could be out there helping others, but I’m not brave enough to, I’ve seen the insides of hospitals too much and it’s made me incredibly fearful.
I also know on a very level headed note, that more than 90 odd percent of people are recovering just fine from coronavirus. I know that, the facts and figures are there. I simply don’t want to find out if I’m on the unlucky side of the numbers, and I will do everything I can to avoid it.
Add to that, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I was found to be a silent spreader. Not all social distancing is about not catching it, some of it is motivated by the fact we don’t want to pass it on to loved ones, or anyone else for that matter.
Being a good person is about accepting what we can do to help stop the spread, no matter how difficult it is.
Things I have learned in Lockdown;
Well firstly it would appear that on the whole people don’t wash their hands enough, or rather they didn’t till it was a government policy.
Secondly I eat wayyyyyyy too much.
Thirdly, I must be the only person on the planet that hasn’t baked banana bread, I have a difficult relationship with bananas and see no reason to ruin a perfectly fine cake with them. :)
And fourthly, my natural roots have revealed a shocking secret!! Firstly my natural hair colour is boring, dull mouse…and I have discovered…a grey hair!! Hahahahaha
Just the one so far, but let’s face it, there’s more on the way!
It’s quite unruly too, it bounces up out of control, away from the others. It must know it’s an unwelcome visitor. Hahahahaha
I did laugh when I saw it, my dad went grey very late in life, much to my mums chagrin! Like he was doing it to spite her, and her prematurely greying head! Hahahahaha
I’m 47 in a few weeks, I’ve had a good run with no greys so far.
Of course the darker your natural hair the more grey shows up, my Ben used to have grey hairs appear when he was a tiny child because his hair is so dark.
I shall wear my silver with pride, much like I’m wearing my root growth with pride too!
I’ve made so many discoveries during this period. I’ve learnt I enjoy prolonged periods in my fleecy dressing gown, even when it’s quite warm out I still find the cosy-ness comforting.
It’s a time for finding joy in things I used to hate. I’m enjoying gardening? I’m not sure enjoying is the right term, but it’s helping occupy me, so I’m enjoying that.
I have no idea what I’m doing but I thought what the hell, go for it anyway, what’s the worst that could happen?
The veggie patch has been shingled to make it a little more controllable. I find it a bit overwhelming if the weeds are taller than me. ;)
Chris made that little crazy paving patio area with slabs we found in the garden. Making things with free stuff we already own, yes please!
I don’t often get to see this magnolia tree in flower as I’m usually in Spain.
Being in the garden is lovely. I’m very lucky to have it. I won’t moan about it ever again (such a lie…as soon as there’s something better to do…anything at all to do, I’ll be off!) hahahahaha
I had a weird day last Tuesday, I felt off, something felt very odd, definitely felt a bit meh. I think it was because I’d had such a lovely 4 day long weekend with Chris I felt a bit anticlimactic.
Chris is working longer hours ironically enough, they’ve had to furlough a lot of people to get through this time so the remaining workers are doing more than ever. Chris is now working from home in a garden lodge, (way too grand a description…fancy garden shed is more appropriate). I don’t see him from 7am - 7pm and he’s only in the back garden! Hahahahaha.
So I think Tuesday I was just a bit deflated and in the miseries because he was working again (which by the way I’m very thankful for, that bit wasn’t what got to me. I’m very grateful he’s still working, it’s just I love spending time with him, even after 3 weeks of lockdown). By Wednesday I felt really off, I can’t be doing with that, I’m very lucky, I don’t have depression and therefore I was just wallowing rather than having an actual mental health issue, so I picked myself up, showered and washed my hair, put my face on and dressed myself in a pretty frock…one of the very few that actually still fits.
Dress from Tesco, Shoes from Burberry (about 20 years ago, which I’d say makes them vintage right about now, just like me!) hahahahaha
I decided that I needed a bit of a change of scenery. Having not left the property for a couple of weeks.
Pepper and I had a very rebalancing walk. Diving into hedgerow at the sight of other humans, but other than that it was just what we (I) needed.
The following day I decided on a new plan. I got dressed in active wear (had to blow the cobwebs off them first). My aim was to dress for the day I want and I wanted to get active and mood boosting.
Top & Shorts from Primark, Shoes from Nike.
I hit just over 8500 steps, as opposed to the six I had done the day before. Hahahahaha, I lie yet again, there’s more than 6 involved in walking to the fridge and back! Hahahahaha
I felt a bit better, and I got loads done. It helped. Dressing for the occasion helps a lot.
Then a new day brought a new plan, less active this time but worthwhile nonetheless.
A baking session. I had really fancied pineapple upside down cake a few weeks back, total classic, anyway I can’t get hold of tinned pineapple on online shopping.
So I improvised, needs must and all that. I did have tinned peaches. Soooooooo…here it is…
I couldn’t wait to have some after dinner, (but I actually did wait for once. I once baked a cake and ate the whole thing before Chris and the boys got home, my over eating isn’t just a lockdown hobby) served with lashings of custard. Comfort food at its finest.
Talking of comfort food, I find all food comforting which is why I’ve put on so much weight. I don’t think I’m alone in this, I think a fair few of us have gained quite a bit of lockdown pounds.
Anyway I was talking to someone on the phone the other day from my stoma supply company, we got chatting and she said that a few of her friends were still maintaining their Slimming World and Weight Watchers programs!! I couldn’t believe it! Oh how we laughed at their folly!
Who are these disciplined, mythical creatures that aren’t ramming 3 bags or crisps and 5 iced buns a day in!!?
The reason I was phoning them was because I’m getting through 2 large colostomy bags a day, what goes in must come out!
I am very grateful that my prescription was agreed by my GP and more bags have arrived. Being able to change my bag has really calmed me down. I was getting a bit antsy that they wouldn’t arrive in time.
I can now relax in the knowledge that I have enough bags to cope with my extra output.
I’m trying to do things for free around the place. I don’t have the budget to buy frivolous things, but I needed some extra plant pots. So I scoured our garden for anything I could use.
I came up trumps, I would say it’s amazing what you can find in this garden but if you saw it you’d understand there’s an awful lot of tat laying around. I saved the watering can and the coal scuttle from the skip. I’d thrown them in there the day before but Chris pointed out we could make use of them. The old tin bath used to be for my miniature ducks, I gave up on out side animals years ago. At one point I had 14 chickens, 27 ducks (I “accidentally” let them breed), and 3 rabbits.
Chris drilled holes in the bath, scuttle and watering can and hey presto - free plant pots!
Look at me now! Corona has changed me from wasteful spendthrift to recycling queen! Hahahahaha
Saturday brought cloudy skies but it was still worth being outside in the garden.
I pulled some pond weed out of the pond and a little while later I found this little fella on the path, I must have hoiked him out with the weed.
There was a time I’d have run for the hills away from him, but maybe it was my very thick gardening gloves or the dullness of lockdown but I thought he was quite sweet.
I’m not a fan of wet things, or even dry things that look wet. I don’t like frogs and toads and I’m terrified of snakes and crocs.
But Isaac seemed different, yes, I named my newt Issac. I told Chris his name and he said “oh is that after someone you know?”
I said, well yes, Issac Newton...he thought I was very smart!! Hahahahaha
Such a culture vulture! Hahahahaha, actually we’ve been watching a documentary about King Henry VIII, so now I’m proper smart! Hahahahaha
Terrible man, awful, not sure that was ever in doubt but the series has confirmed it! Hahahahaha I had always assumed he went through wives in quick succession, but he was married to the first one for 24 years, before he created a church, with himself as the head, for the sole purpose of inventing divorce.
The rest of the wives were in quick succession. Interesting stuff. :)
The weekend went on a blur of gardening and sunbathing.
We were very excited to find that 1 stalk of asparagus had grown, it’s a bit slow this year for some reason. Anyway we weren’t going to let that go to waste.
So I built a meal round it.
I’m a bit weird (you may have noticed, it’s not like I hide it or anything), my germ phobia is quite deep rooted. I’ve had it for years. I think it stems from working in children’s nurseries and as a children’s Nanny many years ago where I would go down with everything going round. If there was a bug to be had I’d end up with it, no question.
So I’ve been phobic since I was a teen.
It has led me to do and not do all sorts of things, but one thing it has made me bad at is good housekeeping. For example I will buy meat, I will freeze meat, but I’m too worried about germs to defrost and cook the meat.
So I store it in my freezer for a couple of years and then throw it away. Shameful, wasteful and idiotic.
Well there’s a new me in town people!! Lockdown me is a new woman! I’ve eaten food past it’s use by, I’ve made cakes out of stale bread…and to complete the trifecta - I’ve successfully frozen meat, defrosted it and cooked it!! This is a first! Just call me Martha! I’m giving Ms.Stewart a run for her money. Hahahahaha.
Chris and I have food deliveries from Gousto every week, it’s a ingenious service that sends you all the ingredients and recipe cards and you just follow the instructions for exciting, restaurant quality meals at home.
We have 4-5 Gousto meals a week, which means we need to find food for the rest of the time.
So I bought boneless chicken thighs from Waitrose and put them in the freezer, because, well firstly I only eat chicken and fish, and secondly they are the most versatile.
We needed a meal to go with our one stick of asparagus.
So I whipped up a roast dinner.
From field (well, veg patch) to plate in under an hour.
First crop of garden grown rhubarb too.
We shared it, and it was delicious! :)
We also picked our first crop of rhubarb from the garden too. Ignore the fact it looks like cat vomit. It was delicious. Rhubarb and custard is a British classic.
I’m pretty impressed with myself which is nice but sad in equal measure. It’s literally taken a pandemic for me to enjoy gardening and managing to use a freezer successfully. Oi yoi yoi! Hahahahaha
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My mum is a brilliant seamstress, she can make anything really (well, arthritis permitting), she’s currently making scrubs for Queens Hospital in Romford, really proud of her for that. I wish I could help in some practical way like that but sewing skipped a generation sadly.
Before she tackled the scrubs she had time to make face masks for Chris and I. I am very grateful to her for that.
I can’t make my own, although I suppose at a push I could use a scarf or a T shirt or something. But I’m glad I have face masks.
The UK government don’t want to issue a face masks rule as they are worried it will take PPE away from front line staff that need it, which is a fair point as they don’t have the stuff they need as it is. I didn’t want to buy any from Amazon as they were all coming from China.
So I’m very thankful to my mum for making us some.
Wearing a mask will not prevent you catching coronavirus. Used badly, ie keep touching the mask you will increase your risk of harm.
Worn correctly, with no touching, it will mean the person wearing it will not spread the virus. So if you think about it. That works in everyone’s favour.
Wearing it to prevent spread is as useful as any tool to stop the infection from travelling further, especially as people can be symptomless but still contagious.
I don’t need it yet, but when lockdown is fazed out I will be definitely wearing mine.
I don’t want to be a catcher or a spreader.
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I received a message from my lovely dentist today.
They really are doing everything they can to help people.
They are vital workers as toothache is an absolute horror and they really understand that.
They are restricted by what they can do. But they have put a great post on their Instagram about treating toothache at home, which is very helpful.
Take a look at their Instagram for tips.
The practice has sent out a letter to all their patients too, which I have attached on here. I for one am very grateful to Dr.Kunal and all the team.
Some are going on the front line at Urgent Dental Centres, and some are off to Nightingale.
Stay safe all, I wish you all the best. xxx
COVID-19 Update
Hello to all of our lovely patients,
We hope you and your families are all staying safe and well in these unprecedented times.
We wanted to update you on our current situation at our practice - Braintree Dental Studio.
As you are aware, stringent measures have been put in place to prevent sustained transmission of COVID-19. As part of this, the provision of all routine, non-urgent care including orthodontics has been stopped until further notice following government guidance from England’s Chief Dental Officerand Public Health England.
We promise, this does not stop our duty of care to our patients. Recently BBC News has released an article about dental practices being forced to close their doors during the COVID-19 outbreak. I’m sure you were as shocked as I was. There was the impression that patients were left to manage their dental pain by themselves. This is not the case with us!
It is our aim to diagnose the pain as best as possible with the limited information following a telephone or video consultation and give advice, pain relief and antibiotics where indicated.
We are as frustrated about the current situation as the patients suffering in pain. We avoid prescribing antibiotics as much as possible and prefer to treat the condition actively. But the reality is we are told we cannot see patients face to face due to the great risk of transmission of COVID-19 and the reduced availability of the correct PPE (Personal Protective Equipment): fit tested FFP3 (filtered face piece) masks. We have stopped all aerosol generating procedures as the use of suction, sprays and drills in the mouth create the ideal environment for spread of the coronavirus.
Since the guidance has been imposed we have set up a telephone triage service during our normal NHS opening hours. We are finding that some practices in the area are not providing a telephone triage service. However, we are taking calls from all patients regardless if they are registered with us or not. We have given NHS 111 our number as a point of contact to reduce the strain on the emergency 111 helpline and the wider NHS, which is doing an outstanding job. We believe no patient should be managing pain by themselves and feel as if they cannot receive professional advice. We have worked with our neighbouring Tesco Pharmacy to develop a system where they can receive our prescriptions electronically and patients can collect them instantly.
In emergency scenarios, where treatment is absolutely necessary and cannot be delayed, we are referring patients to Urgent Dental Centres where treatment can be carried out. These urgent dental centres have the appropriate PPE and can carry out aerosol generating procedures. Our dentists and dental nurses have volunteered to work in these Urgent Dental Centres and Nightingale Hospital and are starting this week. We are SO PROUD of our team!
There have been reports of the public carrying out their own DIY dentistry on themselves and their children, with many asking how to remove their kid’s teeth. We urge you to not carry out any treatment on yourself as this could be detrimental if complications arise with the need to attend hospital. We advise you to contact our practice immediately for professional advice.
You may be aware that The Sunday Times has shown that millions of patients face being left without a dentist as one in five practices is on the brink of collapse this month without urgent financial support for small businesses. We have been forced to furlough some staff and there is no predictable outcome for any of us at this stage. We are formulating plans tirelessly, lead by our principal Dr Anup Ladva, so we can stay open and do what we love – look after all our patients and provide them with our Braintree Dental Studio experience.
It is inevitable when lockdown starts to relax we will have to maintain some form of social distancing, a significant level of social distancing probably indefinitely until we have a vaccine available. The coronavirus will have a massive impact on the way we continue to practice dentistry but only time will tell.
We will have exciting offers for treatment including Invisalign and Implant Essentials range so watch this space!
These are difficult times for everyone and we would love to hear your reviews (Google or via our website) on your past experiences with us. This will greatly help some patients who have been thinking about having dental work carried out to get an improved healthier smile.
Please do not hesitate to contact us – we will always be here for you. We appreciate all your continued support and our upmost priority is the safety of our patients and their loved ones.
Please keep up to date with the latest news on our social media:
Instagram:@dentalstudioessex
Facebook: Braintree Dental Studio
Please rest assured we are doing everything to still be here when this all goes away in whatever form needed.
As a final note, nobody is going to close us down or bring us to collapse not even Carol Baskin!
Best wishes & Stay Safe, Stay Home and Stay Smiling!
Dr Kunal Shah and All the team at Braintree Dental Studio