“Home, Piglet, we’re going home because that’s the best thing to do right now.”
— Winnie the Pooh
“Coronavirus has proved that everything around us is so temporary. Things our lives revolved around…it has taught us in the end it’s your own home and family that keeps you safe.”
— Anonymous
The Coronavirus came on the scene locally 880 days ago, give or take a day. We learned to adapt and find new ways of living and surviving.
Like many when the vaccines came out, we sat in our cars in long lines and let the National Guard pop us with needles through the car window. Then came boosters from our pharmacies and clinics. We’ve been fairly active — though not very social — during these 880 days. We eat healthy, exercise and take our vitamins. We get regular check ups and go to the dentist. So, I’m wondering how it is I have COVID? If you have not had COVID maybe you’d like to follow my journey. If you’ve had COVID, maybe your experience was different than mine.
Day 0 as the CDC determines started with rain. By noon I was extremely tired and took a nap. I slept until 5 p.m. My throat was slightly sore. I had a dry cough. Conditions worsened; I went to bed. It might be sinus or COVID. Surely not COVID. We made a plan: If I wasn’t better by morning, I’d take a COVID home test.
Day 1 — Temp. 100.3 — Sam read the home test instructions aloud but something went wrong. We looked again; we started on the wrong side with Step 4. We tried again. I was positive. We called the clinic where the NP covered and shielded met me at the car with a test kit. Yes, I was positive. She offered Paxlovid but we settled on an over-the-counter protocol.
Day 2 — Temp. 98.6 — Dry cough, aches and pains in joints and extreme fatigue. The fatigue bothered me the most. I stripped the bed sheets after a night of hacking coughs and explosive sneezing and started the wash. I wasn’t sure I had strength to remake the bed. Coughing and sneezing subsided. At bedtime I took Ibuprofen and Nyquil. Coughing attacks started in the night around 3 a.m. More Nyquil.
Day 3 — Temp. 99.1 — Sam said it was Saturday. “Are you sure?” I asked. Time and space were getting fuzzy. Intermittent coughing spells, chills, and seasons of dozing off. By afternoon I felt better and walked to the mailbox and back. The CDC said I’d be better by day 5.
Day 4 — Temp 98.5 — Symptoms subsided except the lingering fatigue, occasional cough, snuffy head. Following supper, I felt normal.
Day 5 — Temp 98.2 — Fatigue returned. Intermittent cough. Stuffy head. Malaise.
The “average” body temperature was established in 1851 at 98.6 by German physician Carl Reinhold. Today researchers put lower numbers to current temperatures that can vary by gender, size, age, time of day and other factors. Thermometers have advanced, metabolic rates have slowed, and modern medicine’s elimination of some previously deadly diseases changed our average. Normal can be between 97F to 99F. Over 100 degrees Fahrenheit is an indication of fever while below 94 indicates hypothermia. Each person is unique. Best we learn to know and trust our bodies. Research by Kate Thayer Chicago Tribune.
Shannon Bardwell is a writer living quietly in the Prairie. Email reaches her at [email protected].
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