COVID-19 Chronicles: Four Weeks of Coronavirus

TEST RESULTS NEGATIVE!!!

Today, four-week anniversary of crawling into bed sick with COVID-19, got the test results saying all three of us had cleared it!

(Self, hubby, friend who drove us)

Also last day of antibiotics from secondary bacterial infection in my lungs

Still a little vertigo but otherwise, no more fire in my chest, don’t feel like an invalid for the first time all month

Thought I would share what it’s been like and what I would have done differently if I had it all to do over again, which, sadly, I might

Infection week: had no idea I was exposed, day 5 had to lie on floor with heart palpitations after 20-minute bike ride, told myself I was “just out of shape”

2nd asymptomatic week: “just tired and stressed out,” day 5: “allergy attack” with very itchy eyes, sneezing fits, feeling sick, “wrong symptoms,” “just being paranoid;” day 6 felt fine, went to grocery store; day 7, found out I had been exposed, went for a run, heart palpitations

WEEK ONE: stood up from dining table and started rolling sweat, extreme vertigo even in my sleep, malaise, sleeping all day, shaky, dizzy, hand tremors, chills, the rigors, constant sneezing fits, too tired to read or watch TV, so weak I could barely walk to bathroom, lost senses of taste and smell, then my hubby started coughing and I knew I gave him coronavirus

WEEK TWO: so weak I could barely sit up, most symptoms reduced but started having trouble breathing, gulping air, then a few days of constant racing heartbeat, resting 90 bpm (50% higher than normal), spike to 120 just from walking across the room, this was the week I thought I would die a few times, had a few paranormal experiences, one day of stomach pain, also very worried my hubby would get worse, call this week 20-40%

WEEK THREE: feeling back up to 50-60%, still confused, having trouble tracking conversation or following plot of shows, some neurological symptoms, exhausted after talking for 5 minutes, this is the week I felt illness level of flu or bad cold

WEEK FOUR: got sense of taste and smell back, felt like I was back to 70%, almost immediately wound up coughing all night, doctor sent me in for chest x-ray, “peribronchial thickening,” diagnosed bacterial infection in lungs, five days of azithromycin, burning feeling in lungs, chest pains, waking up all night for days, thought I would die again, got COVID test, results back: negative.

Total: 44 days since exposure, that is over 6 weeks

Assuming I had to go through all this and couldn’t just wish it away, what would I have done differently?

I would have taken the 1200 dose of Mucinex DM instead of the 600

I would have re-ordered Mucinex, Tylenol, and my vitamins a week sooner

I would have drunk 25% more fluids, especially hot tea

I would have listened to music when I realized I couldn’t read - too out of it to realize that was an option

I would have put on some nature-cams when I realized I couldn’t watch TV or movies

I would have paced myself and told myself “six weeks” instead of “five days” which was then stretched to “two weeks” - would have been much better for my morale to feel like I was “winning” rather than “taking too long to get well”

I would have quit pushing myself to get up and do things, hard things like microwaving a bowl of oatmeal

I would have set alarms for when to take my pills - the three worst days of symptoms I had were when I waited an hour and everything wore off, amateur mistake

I would have quit gaslighting myself, second-guessing myself, talking myself out of body

This is all based on the information I had at the time. If I *knew* then what I know now, meaning in some cases access to research that didn’t exist yet, I would have:

Spent time in prone position starting from day one

Probably gone to urgent care in the 2nd week, realizing I could just get oxygen mask or nebulizer for a few hours, not necessarily admitted to hospital, not automatically put on ventilator

Tried to get community COVID test sooner since doctor didn’t really believe me the first week

Looking back, I think I had a mild-to-moderate case

I did not have fever, sore throat, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea, felt like I might faint but never did, most of my worst symptoms only lasted for a few hours at a time, I was able to sleep roughly 7 hours a night and sometimes get an hour nap, did not really get a cough, that didn’t show up until the secondary infection

In other words, my experience was... well, it was scary and awful... and I did think I would die a few times... but reading other people’s moderate or severe cases made me cry

On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being ‘asymptomatic’ and 10 being ‘dead’

Let’s see:

1 no symptoms
2 not totally sure I had it
...
7 in hospital
8 on ventilator
9 coma
10 death

...I give my experience a 5

I did feel constantly sick for a month, but I did not feel constant pain, did not pass out, did not have to crawl on the floor, kept my appetite, for those things I am grateful

Actually gained 6 lbs, mixed feelings about that

Also, my parents and brothers are fine and my hubby made it out okay, out of my cluster of 12 who got sick, none of us were hospitalized, none of us died, to my knowledge I only spread it to one person (WRONG PERSON) but we got a happy ending

Speaking of happy endings, I looked into donating convalescent plasma, you have to feel healthy that day and be symptom-free for 28 days, obviously they don’t want blood with antibiotics or secondary bacteria in it

So maybe around Memorial Day my hubby and I can go in together, incidentally that will be the 15-year anniversary of the day we met, best friends

He was a saint during this, I told him he got promoted to Husband Level 3, he said, “Is that so”

Next steps, we are both going to assume we can get this again, just like the common cold, masks everywhere, I also wear safety glasses like at the dentist

I have not believed the 6-foot rule all month, I think 12 feet, will be aiming for 15 for my own safety, no offense but now that I know I’m not contagious I’m more worried for myself

The only infectious thing about us should be our smiles and our laughs

Love to all, thank you for your prayers, be well