Something happened last night that, I think, takes precedence over my own sickness. You hear stories of mothers lifting cars to save their children that are trapped underneath. Wicket’s health took precedence over my own last night.
Let me begin this by assuring you that he is completely fine. I did not know it last night, of course, so I was worried sick. As you know, I have anxiety, so my first guess was that he was dying.
His grease gland is overactive. I found this out by posting in the guinea pig Facebook groups that I am a member of. All I had to do was put olive oil on the gland, where the grease was amassing, wait 30 minutes and wash it off.
Adding to my stress and anxiety, I knew that guinea pigs cannot stay wet; they can catch pneumonia that way. So, he sat on my lap for an hour and a half, in a little towel burrito so I could dry him.
Wicket is wrapped in a towel burrito as I dry him and keep him warm.
Casey Masterson | The Montclarion
I moved his cage to the hallway for the night, just in case, because I sleep with the fan on. It proved to be a good move, because he is completely dry today. Unfortunately, he has to stay out in the hallway because I cannot figure out how to move him back into my room.
I moved Wicket’s cage (miraculously) to the hallway for his safety.
Casey Masterson | The Montclarion
I do have some good news and bad news today in relation to myself. I will give the bad news first, so you can be cheered up later.
My symptoms are still here. My sore throat is back with a vengeance and my head hurts. My fever is still bouncing around, but it is bouncing between 98.7 and 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit today.
My breathing seems a bit better, possibly due to the fact that I have had some time to calm down.
I am happy to report that the good news definitely out weights the bad. I got my soup delivered to me this morning, along with a belated birthday gift from my friend, Emma. It is a “Shining” shirt.
My mom sent me potato soup to make me feel better. Thank you, Mom!
Casey Masterson | The Montclarion
I think the happiest news I could have received came from my roommates. All of them tested negative. This is the biggest sigh of relief for me.
They still need to remain in quarantine, just in case. I was able to get my senior film major roommate, Jo-El Gordon, to give me a statement about what on-campus quarantine is like.
“Technically, my quarantine has been going on for three days, but it honestly feels like four. It was very jarring, watching all my friends leave, because it immediately felt like I was back in [the] March lockdown,” Gordon said. “My only saving grace is that I’ve had virtually no time to realize that I was alone, as I’ve had to catch up on a lot of homework since time waits for no one.”
Jo-El Gordon is in quarantine because he was in contact with me. Luckily, he tested negative.
Photo courtesy of Jo-El Gordon
Something else that makes me smile is the Montclair State University staff. Victoria, the nurse who I mentioned yesterday, called me back, on her day off, to see how I was feeling.
I also got an email from Joseph Brennan, the vice president of communications and marketing at Montclair State. He reached out to me personally about liking my blog, and he wished me well.
Mr. Brennan, if you are reading this, thank you!
Mr. Brennan wrote me such a nice email that I knew I had to share it.
Casey Masterson | The Montclarion
Today is going to be boring. I have a meeting with the Montclarion at 8:00 p.m. Until then, I barely have anything to do.
I have to read a bit for my German class “auf Deutsch,” I have a book that I can read, I have been wanting to watch “The Evil Dead 2” and I have a short story idea in mind. I will tell you more about it soon, when it is more concrete.
I promise you all that I will also get some rest today. I also promise that I will eat a lot of potato soup. That stuff is so good.
Until tomorrow, everyone. Stay cool.
