MY PERSONAL BATTLE WITH COVID-19
Fall of 2022. Just three 3 years after the coronavirus pandemic shocked the world and it finally reaches my body. After my 3rd booster shot, I believe it will protect me from the contagious disease but it’s still making its way to me. Everybody has a different experience with coronavirus. And let me tell you my story.
Enjoying the fall season and how it started
Image for representation only. Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash
It was at the peak of the autumn foliage season when everybody is outdoors enjoying the beauty of colored leaves. Like everybody else, I was mostly outdoors to catch the changing of the season.
I was attending a school PTA meeting and observing how my daughter performed in her class in high school. The school was very cautious in receiving guests like recording the body temperature for 2 days. It was not crowded, so I thought it was very safe to attend. And the meeting ended successfully.
Photo by Edgar Soto on Unsplash
The next day, my daughter developed a fever of around 38C with headaches, so I let her get rested at home instead of going to school. The whole day I had her temperature measured and it was an on-and-off fever with accompanying colds. Because she “looked healthy”, I didn’t bring her to the doctor to test for coronavirus. I just let her take paracetamol and over-the-counter medicines. It really doesn’t work and the fever lasts for about 2 and a half days. After 4 days at home, her overall health condition improved and she went back to school.
Lunch with friends and early symptoms
When my daughter went to school, I had a quick lunch date with two friends and we decided to have it at the forest restaurant with fantastic views of autumn foliage. I trusted my friend’s health status having free from fever and other respiratory infections. When we reached the restaurant, we were lucky enough to get the best outdoor seating, and I could say Covid-free area. And the day went by smoothly bringing happy memories of friendship.
After two days, I began to feel cold, some joint pains in the knees, and overall fatigue. It was Wednesday and as I remembered, my husband complained of fatigue and fever-like symptoms the day before. We doubted that we might catch Covid but still didn’t take it seriously. I was able to do grocery shopping that day just like normal days. The coldness that I felt made me go straight to have a hot bath that night.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
In the early morning hours of Thursday which I think is Day 2 of having the virus, I felt shivers all over my body and my feet were ice-cold. I decided to go to the toilet to urinate, hoping it might relieve me. After that, I went back to bed and hide under the futon covers, and an hour later, I was drenched in sweat.
When it was breakfast time, I feel very weak to prepare meals because of the fever and I thought it would just go away. At some point, my body temperature goes back to normal, and then it rose to 38C again. I decided to go straight to the clinic to have a swab test. And alas, I learned that I have coronavirus! It was unbelievable.
Image for representation only. Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash
I keep on thinking about where I got the virus. It might be from my daughter or my friends. After contacting my friends if they experienced flu-like symptoms and fever, they answered they don’t have it and just feel healthy. Again, I don’t have a concrete idea where I got the virus.
Quarantine and treatment
Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay
The doctor didn’t prescribe any medicine but advised me to self-quarantine for seven days. Surprisingly though, my husband who is beside me at that time didn’t catch the virus in spite of the cold-like symptoms that he experienced.
I went home and immediately self-quarantined and started my journey of battling Covid. I am living the new normal—eating, sleeping, scrolling my phone, and reaching out to friends and family for comfort. It was a break from my daily routine. I stayed away physically from family members as I could, to keep them safe and healthy. When everybody sleeps at night, I woke up to brush my teeth and use the toilet. I had a sleepless first night of quarantine.
Day 3 was a day of fever, dry cough, sore throat, and fatigue. I was lying the whole day long and just woke up to eat my meals. As long as I slept enough, I feel energized and went on to do simple tasks like sewing. The only medicine I took is paracetamol every six hours and a healthy, balanced meal of fruits, vegetables, rice, and fish.
Unexpected symptoms
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Day 4 and 5 was a relief and I don’t have a fever this time. I was thankful for that. But surprisingly when evening comes, I realized my nose was stuck and I couldn’t taste anything! I heard from the news that most people infected with coronavirus just lose their sense of taste! And for me, I lost it after 4 days. I couldn’t tell if the food I’m eating is salty, sweet, or perhaps spicy! All I know is the texture of the food only. Up to this moment of writing, I still couldn’t revive my sense of taste. Maybe after a few days??
Conclusion
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
I’m still on the 4the day of the quarantine, and although I feel healthy, it’s not yet time to go out and mingle with the rest of the family. I realized that Covid symptoms differ for every person and all I can say is that it’s like having regular flu for me. Others will say they’ve got brain fog and memory problems while I don’t have those. And unfortunately, some end up being hospitalized and having serious lung problems.
We may not avoid Covid and the virus is invisible to the naked eye. The best thing for us to do is seek medical help when we don’t feel good. Let’s learn to live the new normal and be living in the present moment.
