January 14, 2022 Barrman Stays In Mexico

Barrman’s mind spun in confusion. How the hell did he contract the dreaded covid? In the back of his mind he knew it wasn’t all that surprising. But still what did he do to deserve it? Well, if he really thought about it the list was pretty long. Starting with the fact he should have stayed the hell away from the nightlife of Cabo San Lucas.

None of that mattered now. 

Now Barrman had to stay in Mexico and wait. His mind spun at the thought of getting covid in a foreign country. What if he got real sick? What about his family? When could he go home?

It was all so confusing.

And frustrating.

He felt fine, yet there he was with a viral infection that has killed millions. Good thing he was vaccinated. The vaccine had done its job. It had kept the worst of the illness at bay. 

Now it was the mental anguish he was dealing with. 

His wife and daughter were negative and they flew home to Canada. It was devastating to watch them go. His stomach churned and the palms of his hands sweated when he closed the door on them as they went into the airport. That was six days ago. He had a hard time sitting still, the only thing keeping him sane was the books he was reading, and the beach he could go lie on. The sun gave him a therapy that warmed his body and his soul. 

His mind kept spinning back to his family in Canada. They were positive now and forced to isolate. His daughter had her 16th birthday in isolation. He shared the moment on Zoom. But it wasn’t the same. 

It all felt so surreal.

He went back to the clinic where he got the positive test. They told him he could test again and if it was positive he could get a recovery letter and fly home with it. But everywhere he looked on the internet it told him that was for American travellers. It felt so strange, so wrong that Americans could take a test that cost twenty bucks and results come back in an hour, while Canadians had to take one that cost ninety US dollars and took hours longer. Americans could come home after five days with a letter from the hospital. But not Canadians, why the difference? There is so much confusion it made Barrman’s head spin.

And he wasn’t even showing symptoms.

So he went back to get another test after a week. He hoped beyond hope that it would be negative. He wanted to go home. He wanted to hold his wife and hug his kid. Somehow he knew he wasn’t going to get what he wanted.

The doctor at Saint Lukes told him he could get a recovery letter for Canada, he could go to the hospital and they would give him this magical letter to fly home. 

He paced the floor of his Airbnb and waited for the email. It showed up at 7:00 pm in his junk email folder. With dread he opened it up, he knew before he read the words. Covid19 test results – Positive.

Positive… now what? His flight home was booked for the next day. The last time he called the government number he got so much mixed up information even the lady on the other end of the line wasn’t sure what was going on. The guy at WestJet was much more helpful. After a short twenty-five minute wait on hold the voice on the other end of the line sounded pleasant, he sounded like he cared. When Barrman shared his story the guy sounded very sympathetic. 

Had he heard about at recovery letter for Canada? No, but hold on he would check.

The answer was the same. It didn’t matter what the hospital in San Jose Del Cabo said. There was no such thing as a recovery letter for Canada. The good news was the government had changed the rules and now as a vaccinated traveller he could fly back after eleven days since his positive test. 

No extra charge for the change of flights, he was booked to come home the next Tuesday. Exactly eleven days since his misadventure began. 

There was nothing for Barrman to do but enjoy the extra time given to him. He was done with the party scene of Mexico, but the beach was still there and he could make the most of it. 

It was a chance to relax and reflect. A chance to enjoy some alone time. When he got back to the cooler climes of Canada he would hug his family that much tighter and appreciate what he had.