Covid-19 has impacted me personally. My readers may have wondered why I haven’t been posting to my blog. I haven’t written since last month because my husband and I became sick from Covid-19. Michigan’s infection cases have risen due to the variants and other factors, and it spread to my husband’s work. Fortunately due to the mask mandate, we had a mild illness that lasted two weeks. However, it was two weeks that I would have gladly traded in for the vaccine that I had previously scheduled. During the past several days, I decided to share my experience so you may learn from it. I want to caution my readers that if their case is more severe, you should go to your local ER. Otherwise, the purpose of this post is to inform and advise you should you get sick from this terrible virus.
How did I know that we had Covid-19?
For the past year, we have been very careful. We masked up and social distanced. But seriously, I thought my husband had his yearly congested cold. It was mid-March and he had a severe cough. He stayed home from work that Friday and I bought chicken noodle soup and herbal teas to nurse him back to health. When he returned to work on Monday, he texted me early that morning that other workers tested for Covid-19. He needed to get a Covid-19 test. The next question caused me to pause, “Do you want to get tested too?” At first, I resisted. I had allergies and it was Spring, so I told him no. Soon afterword, I changed my mind. Shortly after we got our test, I had chills. Could this be Covid-19? The results came the next day. It was Covid-19.
CDC: Covid-19 symptoms and information
Preparing to fight Covid-19
I had read extensively about Covid-19, and I was nervous. Common sense told me to treat my symptoms as I would for any other illness. Over the first week, my symptoms changed in variation daily. Sometimes I experienced chills and fatigue, while other days I had diarrhea or sinus headache. We ate normally, stayed hydrated, and supplemented with vitamins C and Echinacea, anything that could help us fight the virus. I took whatever medication that seemed appropriate for the symptom. I tried meridian exercises to help move any blockage in my body. Yet, this was not like any cold or flu that I ever had. Usually, I know what symptoms I will experience and how I will manage through it. But, I felt like it was attacking my weakest points. Then, I reached my turning point.
Covid-19 Fever and Fear
At the second week, I was severely fatigued. Strangely, I experienced a couple days with no taste or smell. Moreover, I couldn’t eat and began to cough and choke on phlegm. How I soothed myself in the first week wasn’t working anymore. I needed to rest and let my body do the fighting against the virus. As a result, my temperature soared and I was very weak and confused. This was very scary. At this point, I did not know how to control my Covid-19 symptoms. I was resting, but it wasn’t a healing rest. Somehow, I managed to remember my thermometer and found that I was at 101.8 degrees. I was frightened. At that moment, my daughter sent me pictures of my grandchildren. I began to cry. What if I needed to go to the hospital? I took Tylenol and was able to bring my temperature down to 100.4.
Getting back to Normal
Over the course of two days, I had a low-grade temperature. This was followed by three days of my usual 97.4 temperature. Meanwhile, my husband had hardly experienced my wide range of Covid-19 symptoms. He had mostly low-grade temperatures, severe coughing, and one sweat-soaked night. As I entered my worst phase of the Covid-19 illness, he was getting fidgety with boredom. Nonetheless, he took care of me as I got better before he ended his quarantine and returned to work.
My observations from this experience
My own experience, as well as the stories of other family who had Covid-19, convinces me that we all experience the virus differently in accordance to our own weakness. It is possible to survive this illness, but you need to listen closely to your body. I have read what the science says about the virus and I agree. Most importantly, in case of shortness of breath, blueish lips or face, persistent chest pain, and/or new confusion or inability to wake or stay awake, go to the ER of your local hospital. There are now treatments that can help, such as monoclonal antibodies. We were very lucky that we didn’t experience severe symptoms and need to go to the hospital. I urge everyone to stay safe out there. As soon as possible, we plan to make a vaccine appointment and I strongly suggest that you do as well.
