My mom is currently in a nursing home dementia unit. I got a call this AM, she has spiked a fever. Should I be concerned?

Hopefully not Sepsis

Of course, you are a little concerned. That's normal, even in the best of times. Just please try to keep your concern from going off into orbit. Quite frankly, there is NOTHING you can do. If she has been exposed to something, it's too late to do anything about it. And there's literally nothing YOU can do anyhow.

There are nurses at the nursing home and doctors and I'm sure they are doing their best and following a protocol to get to the bottom of this.

Take a deep breath, keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best!

She could. God willing, she won't.

There are all sorts of things which could cause your mother to run a fever (that's not an especially high fever, btw, but still a fever). Not necessarily an infection, but it could be an infection, yes.

Among the infections it could be is Covid-19. It is a dangerous disease, yes. According to the limited data so far available, among patients over 80 who are known to have contracted the disease, only 85% survive.

So IF your mother is suffering from an infection, and IF it turns out to be what we fear, I hope she will be among the very large majority who will be absolutely fine.

I am stressing this so forcefully because I believe we owe it to ourselves and those we look after to combat the panic we are all feeling. I sneezed the day before yesterday, and my mind flew instantly to the five frail elderly people I might have infected and been responsible for killing... for murdering, virtually...

It's April, spring is just under way, the willows are in bloom. I sneezed one sneeze. What I most needed to do was get a grip.

I'm assuming her facility is on lockdown so there's not much you can do except to stay in close contact with the medical team on her floor and the admin. A fever is a symptom, not an illness and could mean many different things. Please try to remember that covid does not have a 100% mortality rate. Most people with it recover, even elderly ones. Ask the admin what their protocol is going to be, what will trigger a trip to the hospital for her, if anything? Staying informed and keeping her situation up front in their priorities is what will help at this time.