I saw a tweet online recently that said “Having not gotten covid yet feels like I’ve been hiding in the back of a 2+ year long middle school dodgeball game and the front lines have been THINNED.” (Thanks for summing it up, @ssactrub.)
I laughed because it was so accurate. Then I took a COVID-19 dodgeball to the face.
Last week, for the first time since the pandemic started, I got back my COVID-19 test results with big letters spelling “Positive” in red right at the top. And let me tell you, it’s a strange sensation. Especially when you were convinced you just had a cold.
I have been careful (and blessed and lucky) since the beginning of the pandemic and had so far successfully avoided having COVID-19, as far as I know. I got vaccinated as soon as I was able to and I’ve been doing my best to practice healthy habits and take immunity-boosting vitamins, and it all seemed to be working. Even when people around me tested positive for COVID, I managed to not get sick. I have been through the drive-thru testing swab line at the hospital a few times when I was exposed, and always had the results come back negative.
The only other time since the start of the pandemic I got sick was back at the end of the summer. I thought it was a cold but got tested just to be safe. But through some accident, the people who process the tests (not the people at the hospital) lost my test, so I never got those results. But I thought it was an unavoidable cold and I’d successfully dodged the COVID bullet once again. Now I’m not sure I did, because the symptoms were eerily similar to those I had this past week. But we’ll never know for sure about that time. I do know for a fact I had COVID-19 this time.
Two weeks ago now I spent a few hours with someone I knew was sick, convinced this friend just had a cold. I took the risk thinking I would be fine since I’d done so well at not getting sick previously. A few days later, I felt like I was getting a cold. I decided to work remotely and get tested, even though I was convinced it wasn’t actually COVID. As soon as I saw my test come back positive, I was happy I’d taken those precautions.
Thankfully my COVID experience was pretty mild and easy. I had a tiny bit of a sore throat the day I first thought I might be getting sick. Then I had three days of feeling like I had a mild cold with a runny nose and some general congestion. I also had a very low-grade fever at night. On my fourth day of being sick, I was absolutely exhausted. My whole body felt heavy, like I’d been completely drained of all energy. After that I had a bit of residual congestion and was more tired than normal, but otherwise felt alright. I never lost my sense of smell or taste or had any more serious symptoms.
I was one of the lucky ones. So many others aren’t, including those who suffer much more intensely and much longer, those who continue to deal with long-term side effects, and so many whose lives were taken too soon.
As much as we all want to believe we’re moving past the pandemic and COVID isn’t an issue anymore, the fact is it’s more of an issue than it’s ever been. With Omicron’s high transmission rates, COVID is spreading faster than ever and cases are spiking. Even though this variant is reportedly less severe, it’s still overrunning hospitals, and it can still spread easily from someone who feels like they have a mild cold to someone whose life could be endangered.
Now, I’m no expert (please listen to the actual experts), but I want to share a few thoughts and suggestions based on my recent experience with COVID.
If you’ve been around someone who is sick, if it’s possible, consider staying home for a few days to see if you develop symptoms. Or if you have to go out, please wear a mask. Data seems to indicate COVID-19 is most easily spread before symptoms develop, and then a few days after.
Basically, you’re most likely to spread it when you don’t even know you have it. This is why it’s actually still a good idea to wear masks in public in a general sense. But especially if there’s a chance you could be sick, please be extra careful.
If you get sick, isolate if possible and get tested, even if you’re convinced it’s just a cold — so was I, and I was wrong. I’m thankful I did isolate and get tested once I started feeling sick and didn’t expose anyone else. I’ve heard too many stories of people continuing to go about their daily lives with “just a cold” and spreading COVID. Remember, even if you’re ok, someone you spread it to might not be.
Lastly, please, if you can, get vaccinated. It is the best way to help stop COVID-19 from continuing to spread, and to lessen the symptoms if you do get it. Yes, I was a “breakthrough case,” so being vaccinated won’t guarantee that you won’t get COVID. But I also had very mild symptoms — and it’s hard to say if that would have been the case if I wasn’t vaccinated. I’m thankful I didn’t have to find out.
As we continue to fight this pandemic, and the dodgeball game keeps knocking more players down, whether you’ve had COVID-19 yet or not, please continue to take the situation seriously and take precautions so we can all get through it together.
Reader Comments(0)