Despite being in isolation and taking all the preventive care measures, only going once a week grocery shopping, wearing a mask and frequent hand washing, we still got sick. And let me tell you, this virus is no joke. I have not felt that sick ever.
We believe it all started with Elliot, a couple of days after school let out (March 13th) when he began to complain about a headache, sore throat and a slight temperature. The weird thing was the symptoms were on one day and off the next and it took close to two weeks to disappear completely. First we thought, he had strep throat again, but it didn't smell like it and in between he felt better.
A week later (March 22nd) Derrick had a sore throat and felt a bit warm and at night, snored severely (more than usual) and some slight coughing. But he still was able to work and we thought it must be allergies. It never got bad enough to warrant a doctor visit even though his breathing at night got heavier and allergy meds didn't work. And he had also some days he felt better and then it got worse again with the sore throat and overall well-being. This lasted exactly 3 weeks and then he was finally feeling like himself again. Interestingly, a few weeks later we found out that Elliot's classmate and his mother had, during the exact same time frame, the same symptoms as my son and husband and while the boy was swabbed for strep and flu, both tests came back negative. Coincidence???
Meanwhile, I felt great and continued with my running protocol as I was supposed to run my first half marathon on April 4th. As you all know, all the races got canceled/ postponed but I still continued to train. That is until from literally one day to another (5 miles on Sunday, April 5th) I started having pain in my lungs and couldn't go on a run (April 7th). The pain in my lungs got progressively worse and so did my breathing. Everytime I walked or moved, it got harder and harder to breathe. Until Easter Sunday, I was laying in bed at night and could not find any possible way to get better airflow or rest. It was one awful night and since the next morning, my breathing or dizziness wasn't any better, we decided it is time to go see a doctor (April 13th).
We called the Covid-19 hotline as no one in my doctor's was able to help me and where told to go to the hospital. Derrick dropped me off and I was right away led to a triage room. Everyone was suited up in PPE and I had to keep my mask on the entire time too.
There were blood draws, nasal swabs, a chest xray and I received some oxygen. After three hours, I was told that I most likely had Covid-19 but that they are not allowed to test for it (the doctor was as outraged about this as it sounds) as my flu and strep tests came back negative and the X-ray did not show any fluids on my lungs. I was prescribed an inhaler and told if it gets worse to come back and then get admitted. At that point, all I wanted is to go home, shower and rest.
I was tired, exhausted and every time I moved/ inhaled, my lungs were either tremendously painful or I couldn't get a deep enough breath in. Talking was a pain and so was anything else. Obviously, I wasn't able to work. But in order to qualify for Covid leave I needed a positive test result. So in the afternoon, I went to a drive-by testing station. Let me tell you, these deep nasal swabs are anything but pleasant. I really didn't care about the test results as it really didn't help with my symptoms and at that point, we ruled out allergies, flu, bronchitis or anything else while the symptoms aligned with Covid-19: pain on the lungs, extreme shortness of breath, hardly any taste, coughing, and dizziness. The only thing I didn't had was a temperature higher than 99.4F.
The test result came back 3 days later: NEGATIVE (really???) but I was told that I should come in for another one if I still have symptoms as 15% of all tests are false negative. I didn't go back as I was physically not able too but my company still provided me with Covid leave as they accepted the doctor's note. If you are keeping track, this completes week one of symptoms and it pretty much took 26 days till all my symptoms disappeared and I started to regain my strength. The weird thing is, one day I felt a bit better breathing-wise but my lungs hurt more and I was thinking now I'm getting finally better just so the next day it got worse again. It was a constant up and down and very depressing as it lasted so long.
For two weeks, I pretty much sat or laid on my couch or soaked up some vitamin C in the afternoon sun and did nothing. No reading, tv and of course, no housework or cooking. So thankful to our friends and church community to provide us with some meals in these trying times. I'm also very thankful for all the prayers and well wishes I received daily from family and friends near and afar. And of course to my husband to nurture me back to health.
Overall, it was a long and strenuous process to get back on my feet and the worst I have felt in forever. And this comes from a person who was in top condition with no underlying health issues. While some people think, the social distancing guidelines and stay-at-home orders were unnecessary, I don't think though as I or anyone else for that matter I could have came in contact with could have easily ended up in the hospital on a respirator. As of today, there are close to 3.1MM confirmed cases globally and 218K deaths with the numbers drastically increasing.
Even though I'm almost symptom free now, we are still staying in quarantine and only go out if needed and only the adults. There is nowhere we need to go nor is there anything for the children to attend currently. And when the restrictions lift, we still will be cautious. It may be different for people who didn't get sick and feel stir-crazy being cooped up at home, but having been directly affected by the virus, we know how much devastation it can cause.
A week later (March 22nd) Derrick had a sore throat and felt a bit warm and at night, snored severely (more than usual) and some slight coughing. But he still was able to work and we thought it must be allergies. It never got bad enough to warrant a doctor visit even though his breathing at night got heavier and allergy meds didn't work. And he had also some days he felt better and then it got worse again with the sore throat and overall well-being. This lasted exactly 3 weeks and then he was finally feeling like himself again. Interestingly, a few weeks later we found out that Elliot's classmate and his mother had, during the exact same time frame, the same symptoms as my son and husband and while the boy was swabbed for strep and flu, both tests came back negative. Coincidence???
Meanwhile, I felt great and continued with my running protocol as I was supposed to run my first half marathon on April 4th. As you all know, all the races got canceled/ postponed but I still continued to train. That is until from literally one day to another (5 miles on Sunday, April 5th) I started having pain in my lungs and couldn't go on a run (April 7th). The pain in my lungs got progressively worse and so did my breathing. Everytime I walked or moved, it got harder and harder to breathe. Until Easter Sunday, I was laying in bed at night and could not find any possible way to get better airflow or rest. It was one awful night and since the next morning, my breathing or dizziness wasn't any better, we decided it is time to go see a doctor (April 13th).
We called the Covid-19 hotline as no one in my doctor's was able to help me and where told to go to the hospital. Derrick dropped me off and I was right away led to a triage room. Everyone was suited up in PPE and I had to keep my mask on the entire time too.
I was tired, exhausted and every time I moved/ inhaled, my lungs were either tremendously painful or I couldn't get a deep enough breath in. Talking was a pain and so was anything else. Obviously, I wasn't able to work. But in order to qualify for Covid leave I needed a positive test result. So in the afternoon, I went to a drive-by testing station. Let me tell you, these deep nasal swabs are anything but pleasant. I really didn't care about the test results as it really didn't help with my symptoms and at that point, we ruled out allergies, flu, bronchitis or anything else while the symptoms aligned with Covid-19: pain on the lungs, extreme shortness of breath, hardly any taste, coughing, and dizziness. The only thing I didn't had was a temperature higher than 99.4F.
Even though I'm almost symptom free now, we are still staying in quarantine and only go out if needed and only the adults. There is nowhere we need to go nor is there anything for the children to attend currently. And when the restrictions lift, we still will be cautious. It may be different for people who didn't get sick and feel stir-crazy being cooped up at home, but having been directly affected by the virus, we know how much devastation it can cause.
Stay safe everyone!
