I interrupt the regularly scheduled blog this month to bring you my first bout of Covid-19. I could add, that I know of. As in, maybe I had such a mild case I didn’t know it. As in, had I tested when I had a few sniffles, maybe that was Covid. Five years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, I am here to say, in my experience, there is no not noticing this virus.
Days 1 – 4
My case of Covid roared in with a sore throat to rival strep. Scratchy raw like sandpaper. With a night so restless, so filled with chills and fevers, it was as if I’d never slept. Perhaps I hadn’t. The day brought body aches and fatigue. Headaches that pierced both sides of my head. Nausea. An occasional raspy cough.
For me, the virus was a whole body assault.
My smell and taste? Unaffected. I would trade all my other symptoms for those two in a flash.
Days 4 – 6
While Paxlovid did help knock down my fever, relieve the severe headaches, and most importantly, lower my elevated heart rate, my other symptoms persisted, and in some cases increased. The cough, while still occasional, grew in harshness. Fatigue hung on my body like a hundred weighted blankets. My respiratory rate at night remained high.
(Paxlovid is no longer free as it was when first available, so if you have a high deductible health insurance plan like us, the cost will be obscene, thanks to a health care system that puts profits over the well-being of people.)
Six days in, my smell did become affected. The smell of cheese: parmesan, feta, jack brought on a swift gag reflex.
If I move too quickly or for longer than ten-fifteen minutes, I feel nauseous and need to sit down.
On the other hand, I am not completely down for the count, as others have been. I can get out of bed. Warm up a can of soup. Do a load of laundry. I can pick away at writing projects at a slug’s pace, and that distraction from my bodily ills is helpful, though the brain fog soon sets in and it’s time for the next nap.
Days 6 – 8
The doctor said due to an immune response kicking in, days 6, 7, 8 of Covid can be the worst. This is when symptoms can escalate and send people to the hospital. Considering how bad my symptoms were, I’m grateful that I was able to take Paxlovid and avoid further complications.
If you’re still with me, thanks for reading so far. There’s enough misery in the world today without my heaping on with my private pain. So I hesitated to share that the day I woke to my new Covid reality, was also the day the roofers arrived. Four and a half days of pounding and power tools. I wore my noise cancelling headphones and slept whenever the roofers took breaks.
I would be remiss to not also mention that the weather this week was gorgeous spring/summer weather. Splashes of sunshine across vibrant greens dotted with yellow and white blooms. Squirrels chasing each other up the cedars. Birds flitting everywhere. A junco couple hopping among the roofing debris, past the roaring compressor, beaks full of nesting material, their nest in the camellia two feet from the hubbub. Despite impediments, life will find a way forward.
Days 8 – ?
To be continued.
P.S. I know the Covid experience varies widely from no symptoms to mild symptoms to hospitalization to death. If you’re so inclined, I’d love to hear about your experience, especially how you cared for yourself as you were recovering.
I am glad that you are feeling better.
My experience with having COVID once (after several vaccinations) was different than yours Laura.
I thought that I had a horrible cold because I had a sore throat, cough and congestion. I didn’t have a fever, but I tested because I knew that I had been exposed. I was in bed for two weeks and felt weak as a kitten.
How can anyone deny that COVID exists?
So grateful you are on the mend my daughter. Love and Hugs, Mom