My bout with COVID

So, after 9 months, COVID finally caught me.
And if it can catch me, the guy that washes his hands 28059730 times a day (even before the pandemic) and rarely goes anywhere other than home and work, then it can catch anyone.

I have had great outpouring of love while in quarantine. A number of people have called, texted, Facbooked, Tweeted, and Snapchatted to ask how I’m feeling.

Another thing most people want to know is how COVID felt, what were my symptoms, etc.

Well, since I have the platform, I figured I’d do a day-by-day breakdown of how things happened for me.

So here goes:

Day 1 – Saturday, Nov. 28

• I woke up with a slight headache, some congestion, and a sore throat. I didn’t think anything of it because I’m good to wake up like that at least a few times a year. Especially when the weather changes from warm to really cold.Well as the day went on, I began to get chills. Bad chills. Like I couldn’t get warm at all. And that was under a heavy blanket, flannel pajamas, and a hoody. Took my temperature and I didn’t have a fever. I still didn’t feel all that bad, was just kind of bleh. At this point, I could still smell and taste.

  As I got ready for bed, the body aches started and that kept me up for most of the night. But during the night I remember that I had bought some extra strength cold and flu medicine when the outbreak first started. I took some of that and my headache and congestion went away and I was finally able to sleep.

Day 2 – Sunday, Nov. 29

• I wake up with no headache or congestion, but my throat is killing me. It was on fire. I coughed once and felt like fire was going to come out.  Once again, this is nothing alarming, because when you talk for a living, your throat gets sore quite often. The day goes on and I notice that I can’t smell or taste anything.The body aches began to get worse. I felt like I’d been in a car wreck. In my back mostly. I felt like an old man trying to get up off the couch.

  I also developed a weak, dry cough. Occasionally there would be some green phlegm to go with it, but for the most part, It was just a dry cough a couple of times a day.

  And today a new symptom appeared. One that I had not heard from throughout the duration of the pandemic. My skin felt like it was very badly sunburned. It was weird because it wasn’t hot to touch, but it burned. The worst part was taking a shower. When the hot water hit my skin, it felt like it does after you take a shower after a week of laying on the beach. It didn’t really hurt. It was just annoying more than anything. But I powered on.

  Also, the chills were there, but they weren’t as bad as Saturday. I did clock a temperature of 99.9, but that’s as high as it ever got. I

Day 3 – Monday, Nov. 30

• I woke up today much like the day before. My throat was sore, the body aches were still there, there was still an occasional cough, and my skin still felt sunburned.I made my appointment to get tested today and it ended up being positive. So I got my meds called in and then came home to quarantine.

Day 4 – Tuesday, Dec. 1

• Pretty much the same symptoms s as Monday, but the body aches were pretty much gone. I never realized how bad that soreness was until I got up off of the couch once and it didn’t hurt like I’d done a 4 hour lower body gym workout.My throat was still sore and it probably didn’t help that I was recording and doing my radio show from home. But I drank enough water to keep hydrated because there was no way I was going to just sit at home and NOT be on the radio.

  The fatigue set in on this day. I would just get randomly tired at points throughout the day and would have to lie down to rest.

Day 5, Wednesday, Dec 2. – Day 9, Sunday, Dec. 6

• The symptoms for these days pretty much just amount to the random bouts of fatigue and still not being able to smell or taste.At one point, I was getting up to get dressed to take a drive just to get out of the house, and after I got dressed, a wave of fatigue hit me hard and I had to sit down. Eventually, I was able to get up and take a drive around town and that was fun. It did me good to get out.

Day 10 – Monday, Dec. 7 

• My smell and taste is starting to comeback and I’m not getting as tired when I get up to do thing. I do still have the occasional dry cough, but that’s about it.

 

All in all, my bout with COVID was very mild.
I was fortunate enough to not have any fever, trouble breathing, or any digestive issues.

The worst part for me were the body aches. That was something I’d never really experienced before because I’ve never had the flu. But those aches were no joke.

However, I can see just how bad this virus could be for those that are older or who don’t have a healthy immune system.

So, my advice is to continue to do what you can to make sure you don’t get this virus. Wear your mask and stay away from large crowds.

Also, you definitely don’t want to be stuck in your house for 10 days….alone.
Trust me.

I can keep myself entertained very well. I mean, I pretty much talk to myself every morning for  3 hours.

But even as entertaining as I am, I was sick of me after about 3 days.

Thanks for all of you who called to check on me or dropped off care packages/groceries on the front porch.