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Living with COVID-19 is not easy. It all started a week ago when this fully vaccinated columnist woke at 4:30 a.m. feeling like utter crap. She felt like she was in the Antarctic on an ice cube wearing summertime gear. No matter how much she tried she could not get warm. Her head felt like she had been kicked by 20 mules at once.
She used one of her FDA emergency use home tests and within a minute (the direction said to wait 20 minutes) it popped positive for COVID. By 10 a.m. the nausea portion began to kick into high gear and her sense of smell and taste was way off. The water she drank tasted like poop on a stick and sweet-smelling things had more of a mineral scent.
The Coca-Cola she drank — to help stave off the COVID migraine thumping along — had no flavor. She drank a ginger ale and Sprite to help settle her stomach. The only way she could tell it was a soda was the fact there were carbonation bubbles.
She called the doctor to see what they wanted her to do about her testing positive for COVID-19 and to ask what she could do about the massive migraine. The doctor called her back to see what her symptoms were and to check on this columnist’s lungs due to her having asthma.
This columnist informed her doctor of all her symptoms to which the physician stated that they were worried she may contract a sinus infection on top of COVID-19; so they placed her on antibiotics as a precaution. Then the physician told this author they had a sinus migraine from COVID and suggested taking Robitussin-DM, Tylenol, and ibuprofen. The doctor also stated to make sure to drink plenty of fluids and suggested using Vick’s vapor rub to help with some of the sinus symptoms.
This author developed a fever, cough, sinus pressure, severe nausea, and complete loss of smell and tastebuds. Before the first day was over her asthmatic lungs were extremely wheezy and she had muscle and joint pain.
All she wanted to do was curl up and sleep but having a nursing 11-month-old baby girl made that very difficult. The child developed a low-grade fever and a small cough. She even vomited a few times. This columnist was able to keep them both hydrated, rested, and soon both of their fevers dropped. Though the mother still had major COVID-19 symptoms, the child seemed to feel better within a day — two at the latest.
By day two the father tested positive for COVID. He was feeling ill during the same time period as the child. COVID-19 did not seem to keep them down for long. This author, however, had major symptoms for four days. By day five she was feeling a bit better.
It has been over a week now and this author is still testing positive for COVID-19. Most of her symptoms have cleared up, however, she is still experiencing shortness of breath and some slight sinus pressure.
In June 2021, this columnist received her second dose of the COVID vaccine. The vaccines have been proven to be remarkably effective in fighting the virus.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shared data in February 2022 stating that those who were vaccinated were five times less likely to be hospitalized with Covid-19 and 10 times less likely to die. Their data further showed that those who receive a booster had even lower risks from the virus.
Some COVID treatments have held up against the Omicron variant. Hundreds of thousands of antivirals are sent out each week by the federal government.
Living with COVID-19 is not easy. Some people are fortunate to only experience mild to no symptoms but some have severe — even deadly — ones. The best way to stay safe is to continue to wear face masks and practice social distancing while in high-traffic areas and in communities that have high contraction numbers.
Opinion News by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
Personal Experience: From April 13, 2022, to present
CNN: Covid-19 still isn’t like the flu; by Deidre McPhillips
CDC: About COVID-19 Vaccines
First Inline Image Courtesy of Sheena Robertson – Used With Permission
Second Inline Image Courtesy of Sheena Robertson – Used With Permission
Top and Featured Images Courtesy of Nenad Stojkovic’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
