Oh no, I got that 'Rona!!!

My Experience with COVID-19

Wow! The past 3 weeks have been a whirlwind. Brent was tested for COVID-19 on July 6^th because he was showing some symptoms that were consistent with the virus (sore throat, loss of taste and smell, and fatigue).  We quarantined until we got his results back on the 8^th…NEGATIVE.  Whew, we dodged a bullet! We had a girls’ day tubing trip to Helen scheduled for that Friday so since Brent was negative we were excited to get to go.  It was HOT, but lots of fun memories were made with some of our best friends.  I woke up Saturday morning feeling especially tired, like couldn’t hold my eyes open (which is super weird because I’m an early riser).  My entire body just felt heavy and I felt kind of foggy headed.  I didn’t feel sick, just weird.  Throughout the day my nose started to feel stuffy, but I thought it was maybe just allergies. I already decided not to go to church on Sunday just to be extra cautious, but Sunday just seemed to add more noticeable symptoms as the day progressed. Sunday night brought a low grade fever, chills, body aches, sore throat (more like esophagus area), coughing, and headache. 

When I woke up Monday morning, I felt TERRRIBLE, kind of like I had the flu.  Brent went into work because he had to be out the previous week per company policy. I didn’t feel like moving, much less trying to figure out what to do, which turned out to be like a dog chasing its tail. The medical office at his work said that they weren’t testing spouses of employees so I called my doctor.  My doctor said that I would have to go to Spartanburg to get tested, and I didn’t think I could make that drive safely. She recommended I use my Prisma mychart account to get an order for drive thru testing.  I had to set up an account to do a virtual visit which took what seemed like hours to get a log in to even do the visit.  It finally came through and I was able to complete the bazillion questions only to say that I would get an email once a doctor reviewed my answers.  Right after I completed the visit the nurse from the medical facility at Brent’s work called to let me know that they would in fact be able to administer a test, but I had to get there ASAP.  Thank goodness I wouldn’t have to wait in a drive-thru line to get my brain swabbed!

I rolled my 1,000 pound body out of the bed, brushed my teeth and drove my weary self to Duncan. My brain was so foggy, I had to use the GPS to figure out how to get on the interstate. My eyes were so heavy the whole way.  Dr. L called me as I was getting off the exit to ask about my symptoms. Her first words were, “I don’t like the way you sound.” She said that they were going to test me for everything just to be sure (strep throat, Flu, and COVID-19).  She also said that she was going to have to send Brent home too until my test results came back. I was thankful for that because I was pretty certain that I couldn’t make it home safely if I had to drive at this point. 

The nurse came out to my car with all tests in hand apologizing for all the torture that I was about to endure.  I thought the flu swab was uncomfortable, but I was not prepared for the torture of the Corona swab.  I think she touched the back of my skull with that swab.  I don’t ever want to endure that ever again. I knew it didn’t feel like strep throat so when the flu came back negative, I was pretty certain that I had the Corona Virus.

On the drive home I got an email with orders to get tested from Prisma (didn’t need that now) and also a prescription for Benzonatate (for cough-which has been my saving grace) that was being sent to the pharmacy. I also got a call from Dr. L saying that my strep throat and flu tests were both negative.  I knew right then. Now our family would have to quarantine again until my results came in. Good thing Brent went to the grocery store Sunday!  I crawled into the bed as soon as we got home and slept.  Little did I know that I wouldn’t leave my room for eight days, and to put that in perspective, nor would I have a desire to venture outside of these four walls. 

Brent moved to the playroom Monday night so that I could self-isolate and not spread my potential germs.  I enjoy being alone and need my alone time each day, EXCEPT when I’m sick. Isolation when I am sick makes me needy and all kinds of a sappy mess. Now pair that with me likely having a novel virus that can have so many different outcomes with various ages left to my own pessimistic thoughts, and you get a big ole pile of mush just needing a hug and company.

My sense of taste and smell began to diminish on Monday and completely disappear by Tuesday. That is by far the most bizarre thing I’ve ever experienced, to sniff something fragrant and smell absolutely NOTHING and to eat something and only be able to taste whether it’s sweet or not.  I will say that I kind of enjoy not being able to smell things because I get grossed out a lot by smells. If you know me well, you know that smells can instantly change my mood. Is there anyone else who gets enraged by someone’s stinky gas? It would be perfectly fine if my sense of smell doesn’t fully return.  My taste though, I don’t think I’m ready to part fully with it.  Another thing that came with Tuesday was a worse cough that only continued to get progressively worse each day. We got the call Tuesday afternoon that I was indeed positive for COVID-19. Suspicion confirmed.  Ugh!

Now we all have to quarantine for 14 days, and I know that I have unknowingly exposed several people I love to the virus, unfortunately, including my friend who is a diabetic and MY PARENTS who have many underlying health conditions. I sent messages to all my close contacts and apologized for possibly exposing them.  I was unable to report to work for my assigned summer work days, and I sure hate not fulfilling commitments.  Thankfully, Brent’s employer gave him the go-ahead to work from home so that he didn’t have to take leave.

The next few days consisted of lots of staring off into space, sleeping, bad TV, and coughing.  All my meals were delivered in bed by either my masked husband or children who looked like the cutest little bandits.  Bathing was like running a marathon and left me with labored breathing and dizziness. My biggest fear was that I would have to go to the hospital and be separated from my family. I wanted to do everything I could to not have that happen.  Friday night was especially scary for me.  I had taken a bath and a coughing episode hit me and my arms, legs, and face started feeling tingly and numb. That of course got me all worked up and made breathing more difficult. I was able to get up and call for Brent and lay down to try to calm my breathing, but I was SCARED! Why was my body going tingly? I was so scared we were going to have to call an ambulance so I focused on breathing in and out and fought back the tears.  Finally my breathing was less labored so Brent left out to get a pulse oximeter from CVS to make sure I was okay because I made it very clear that I wasn’t going to the hospital unless it was absolutely necessary.  Thankfully, when he got back my breathing had improved a lot and my oxygen levels were at a satisfactory level. Thank you, Jesus!

Saturday through Monday would yield some improvement and backsliding of symptoms. I still had absolutely no energy to even desire to get up and go further than the bathroom. My blood pressure was staying low and leaving me feeling dizzy. When I woke up Tuesday, I felt better in general, and I wanted to get out of the room. I managed to sit downstairs with the family (everyone masked up, of course) for about 30 minutes max.  On Wednesday I actually ate breakfast lunch and dinner downstairs and did some online school supply shopping (because my girls are planners and that’s what they wanted to do together). I was completely exhausted after lunch though so I laid and stared into space for quite some time.

Now it’s Thursday, and I feel about the same as yesterday still really tired, but I can slightly smell some things sometimes and have some faint taste coming back. My headache comes and goes, I still have some lingering congestion, and the coughing spells are quite intense.  Regaining some strength and a desire to get up is making me feel slightly human again. I can see the light.  COVID-19 has not been kind to my body, but I’m so thankful that my body has been able to fight it off because there are so many around me who have suffered great loss due to this STUPID virus. This week I had two of my precious former students (who are very special to our family), and close high school friend, lose their father and brother to the virus.  I was so sad that I couldn’t’ visit and serve their family during this time. I didn’t have the energy to even type them a message to express my sympathy until today.  I also had a middle school friend lose her father to COVID-19 this week as well. CORONA, you SUCK! No one likes you so I think you should just leave!

The reason I tell you my story is because many of my friends have simply been curious because they haven’t known anyone close to them or their age who has experienced it.  I also want you to know that the virus is real, and you can be impacted by it too, whether directly or indirectly.  You will likely be impacted whether you are infected yourself or you have to cover someone’s shift at work because they’re out on quarantine.  The symptoms vary from person to person, the severity seems to differ among its hosts, and even more puzzling is that way it picks and chooses who it will impact the greatest or not all.

I know that I have been so confused and have felt incapable of making wise decisions for my family since mid-March. We stayed in and limited our interactions with others. We wore masks in the stores, but we failed to do so in church and during interactions with our close friends. Is that where we picked it up? Who knows, but I do know that we will be more cautious, not because I’m scared (well, if I’m honest I sort of am because I don’t want to do this again), but we will take our mask-wearing more seriously in the places we feel safest.  Will it prevent illness? I have no idea, but I don’t want to look at another loss of a loved one and think that I could have done more on my part to decrease the chance of someone else losing their life because I’m uncomfortable in a mask. As a Christ-follower I have a deep conviction to care for those around me, this will simply be just another way that I choose to “do unto others.”  I don’t have the brains to come up with a cure or vaccine, but I do have the ability to answer the call to be uncomfortable to further His Kingdom by living like Jesus, loving people.

***I’m not a debater, nor am I judging anyone for his choices. We all have our own convictions, I just wanted to share my heart & experience. ***