Three years since the pandemic started, it finally happened – I got Covid. And let me tell you, that sh!t sucks! But how did I get here? Honestly, I have no idea, and I don’t think it matters anymore. This past month – at the time I am typing this – has not been very kind to me health wise. First, I was diagnosed with a very painful and chronic skin condition which there is no cure for, got prescribed antibiotics for it, then I had a surgical procedure and was prescribed more meds. All these meds started wrecking havoc on my system, taking me on and off from work and off from the gym. It all culminated with Covid, which I did not know I had until I went to the clinic to have myself checked five days into the illness.
The Initial Symptoms
It all started with a nagging dry cough. I woke up on a Saturday morning, and I was coughing. The cough would come and go. Being proactive, I started taking cough drops. The weather is chillier, and there’s been a nasty cold going around. I did not want to get hit with that either. Being under the assumption that this was possibly the cold creeping on me, I started to fight it.
The day after, I coughed slightly more and it was getting irritating. But I still thought it would be better. The day went by fine, and I attended to my chores as usual. By the evening the cough was lesser, and almost nonexistent by the time I went to bed.
But I did not like the way I felt at all. As I was laying in bed, my upper body started to be achy. At this point, I started to wonder, “is it the flu, or is it Covid?”
I had never had Covid before, but I have had the flu and I know how it makes me feel. Interesting enough, I started wishing it would be Covid and not the flu as every time I have had the flu, it took me to the gates of hell and I almost never made it back each time. I know, it’s weird because Covid kills more than the flu, but at that exact point, it did feel like I would have better chances of survival and less time down with Covid than with the flu.
Anyways, I went to bed with my muscles aching, and I woke up in the worst shape I ever found myself in the following morning. I was shivering, sweating, and so weak it took all the energy that I had left to even leave the bed. It honestly felt like I got a beating overnight because my entire body was hurting that bad. I tried to get ready to go to work and realized that there was no way I would have made it. So, I picked up my work phone and sent out the email to my team to let them know I would be out of commission on that day.
The Physical and Emotional Rollercoaster of the Illness
After notifying my team, I crashed for the majority of the day. It was not even 6am yet when I was sending that email, and when I woke up, it was after 3pm. By the time I woke up, I still was very weak, was sweaty, but the body ache was gone. I was not coughing at that point anymore either. It was also feeling like the worst had passed, and I was getting better.
The next day, Tuesday, I was able to make it to work. No body ache, but still weak. But hey, I made it to work. So, things were definitely better, right? Once there, I noticed eye pains and sensitivity to light.
Because I was still sick, I just isolated myself at my desk. I was not sure what it was that I had but whatever it was I did not want to pass it around. So, I stayed in my corner where I would keep everything sanitized after I would sneeze and blow my nose, and cough. Oh yeah, the cough came back.
When I left at the end of my shift, I was so proud of myself for making it and I was very eager for the next day because it meant things were getting better. But who was I kidding? The next day, I managed to make it to work again, and it was within an hour after getting there that the madness started again. The lights were really irritating me, my head felt like it was going to explode, my eyes wanted to get out of their sockets. My entire body was aching again. Sitting was crushing my lower back. I wanted to scream and vomit at the same time. What was going on?
After getting approval from my manager, I left work and went straight to the clinic, where I told them my symptoms. A nurse came to my assistance and took some sample for covid and the flu testing. After about 20 minutes, she returned with the verdict: “you tested positive for Covid”.
Great… At that moment, it was weird to hear those words. I wear a mask daily, wash my hands and sanitize them and everything else all the time. I was careful. So, how did that happen? Then, I remembered that in the past three weeks I had also made a few round trips to the hospital and back and my immune system had already been compromised that it was no surprise that whatever that was in the air next would have gotten to me. And it did, didn’t it?
Navigating Through the Healthcare System: Testing, Treatment, and Recovery
I was positive for Covid, and before they let me go, the nurses said to stay hydrated and continue to take Advil, which I had been taking until then. That’s it? Just Advil? Well, before heading home, I stopped by the pharmacy, where I got a pack of Covid home tests and one of DayQuil Severe Cold & Flu. The last one was to help speed recovery, possibly. If the flu and covid have similar symptoms, then I needed the DayQuil.
I slept the rest of the day and the day after, Thursday, I woke up so energized, and I was even able to leave the room and walk in the entire apartment back and forth. It felt great. What I forgot to mention is that among my symptoms was also loss of appetite. It’s been gradual. So, a lot of the time, I would not be hungry and when I would force myself to eat something, I would go straight to the restroom: diarrhea. That went on for two days. How fun…
Thursday evening is when I lost the senses of smell and taste.
On Friday, I woke up feeling very weak and very tired again. I did not have chills anymore, or the body ache, however. So, I made sure to rest as much as possible. I had been on a medical leave since Wednesday. So, there was nowhere I had to go. Therefore, I rested. When I woke up later in the day, I made myself a bowl of fruit with a banana and some tangerine.
I could not taste them, but their texture and the fact that they were cold felt nice, especially since I also felt like I was burning from inside. So, that cold delicacy was soothing. And then I made myself a cup of tea. That was all I had that day.
Saturday came, and I felt like I would on a normal Saturday, minus the cold-like symptoms such as stuffy nose, painful sinuses, and a little bit of cough. My eyes are still very sensitive to light. So, it is a good thing that I have blackout curtains everywhere at home. I have been staying in the dark since I was ordered to stay home.
The road is still ongoing, but today, I am feeling much better. I intend to write another post, where I will give updates on my health at the time. For now, I am glad that the worse is behind me. I will continue to follow the guidelines and get myself back to full health. I will also continue to wear my mask. Just because I finally have had Covid does not mean I want to stop wearing a mask. I would wear one in Spring because of the allergies before the pandemic, and since the pandemic it has become a part of my daily attire outside the home. Plus, people are nasty, let’s be honest. To this day, there are still people who would cough or sneeze on your face. Hey, asshole, whatever you have, I don’t want it.
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