I have just recovered from the Coronavirus. My symptoms began mid March with low back pain and a slight fever. At first I thought that I couldn’t possibly have this television virus, but that feeling changed two days later when at 4 in the morning I awoke with a high temperature, bad body aches and complete dizziness. So, I did what anyone would do, and immediately posted on Facebook “Hey everyone, I have the Coronavirus!”. I blame the fever.
Over the next few days I tried my darndest to get tested. Most doctors told me I had the flu. When results came back negative for the flu they told me I just had a random virus that wasn’t COVID. I was confused as to why they wouldn’t just test me, but it turns out there weren’t enough to administer to everyone with symptoms at that time.
I got sicker and sicker. One of the strangest symptoms was this weird chest sensation. It was not unlike the feeling you get when the airplane lifts off the ground, and you feel that drop in your body and lightness in your head. I had that feeling for almost 8 days straight.
Finally I got an appointment to get tested! My husband and I drove to a clinic, called their front desk, and then waited in our car. After an hour a nurse came out and escorted me in. As I walked into the building I began to cry, and apologized to her and her staff for possibly making them all sick. She was very sweet, and took good care of me. Two days later I got the results. I wasn’t surprised that I was positive, but it still made me feel very sad. After receiving that news I made the dreaded calls to people I had been in contact with days before the symptoms began. I called my children’s school. I emailed the superintendent. I emailed teachers. I texted friends. I felt like a pariah.
These were the various symptoms I had at different stages of this illness:
- Fever (mostly low grade, but it did get up to 103ยบ F. at one point)
- Bad body aches (particularly in the legs and low back)
- Bad headache
- Dizziness
- Chest tightness with shortness of breath
- Foggy head– not able to think straight
- No sense of smell or taste
- Dry cough
- Weird sensation in my chest and head
- Slight memory loss
- Nose bleeds
- Constant ups and downs. I would feel decent one day and terrible the next.
The most difficult symptom came during week 4, and is one that I am still dealing with, albeit less frequently. It is a tightness in my chest that makes me feel like I can’t get enough air. When this happens I can’t sit for even a short amount of time, but lying on my stomach helps a lot. The good news is my oxygen levels are great (we have one of those finger oxygen saturation monitors at home). The biggest challenge for me, however, is to remain calm when my chest tightens up. Therefore, I have been meditating everyday, I do breathing exercises to open up my lungs, and I pop Xanax like it’s going out of style.
The rest of this post is made up of a collection of photos while in quarantine. Enjoy!
Here’s a photo of time spent with my family.
This is a photo of my daily 2pm ritual (establishing rituals while in quarantine has been important for my sanity).
I got so bored one afternoon that I decided to sketch a picture of a photo of Cam and me. I think I really captured my eyes. And Cam’s chin.
Unfortunately, being in isolation has triggered a lot of panic attacks and irrational thoughts. One afternoon I felt claustrophobic. For a few days I thought my fingers weren’t moving properly. Below is a photo of when I was convinced I was going bald in the back.
I FaceTimed a lot with my babies. Here is my chat with Cameron.
And here’s my chat with Wesley. He doesn’t really look like a chin wearing a police uniform. He usually looks like a real boy!
Here’s a photo of my first time outside during week four of quarantine. It was heaven.
I had quite a bit of time on my hands, so I ordered a lot of stuff from Amazon.com. One of the items I bought was a Jesus wig and beard. I thought it would be funny coming out of quarantine looking like the photo below.
I’m getting better. Most of my symptoms have gone. The symptoms that have remained are a diminished sense of smell and taste, some chest tightness, and occasional dizziness. I came out of quarantine at the 5 week mark. I asked my husband to film me hugging my babies for the first time (I didn’t wear the wig and beard after all). You can see that video here.
I feel so thankful.
I am thankful that my body got me through this sickness. I am thankful to my friends and family who reached out, cooked for us, called, sent gifts (pizzas, wine, yeast, flowers, pie, and a most cuddly Teddy Bear), texted, waved outside my window, put up signs of love and encouragement on my fence, and FaceTimed me. And I’m so thankful to be married to a man who took good care of our boys, cooked every meal, home-schooled, did the laundry, made me coffee, and helped me through this scary time. My heart is full. My heart is full. My heart is full.
To those of you reading this post I hope you, your family, and all of your friends stay healthy, and safe.
Now here’s a photo of a blackberry apricot pie I made in better days.
