So, it finally happened. I got COVID. I honestly thought I would have gotten it sooner, being a member of the frontline nursing staff. So many of my coworkers and patients I have taken care of have had COVID, so many exposures to the virus. I should probably preface this by letting you know that when I am very stressed of very worried I tend to feel as though I have a sore throat. But, on to my story.
Leading up to getting sick, I had a very stressful week. I had to take my dog into the emergency vet clinic in town. She was having gastrointestinal issues. Her bowels were making almost nonstop loud gurgling noises. She was also having liquid stools and then no bowel movement for 12 or more hours, loss of appetite, and a decrease in activity. I chatted with a virtual veterinary technician and the possibilities were: bowel obstruction, intestinal parasites, bloat, gastritis, colitis, pancreatitis, and gastrointestinal upset. I really did not want to take the chance of it being one of the more major possibilities. Long story short, she is doing just fine. We have not figured out just what it was yet, but we will be keeping an eye on her.
Then the next day my husband stated in the morning before heading to work that he had a “tickle” in this throat. I had him swab himself before leaving and it was negative. He was later sent home due to further symptoms developing, runny nose and a mild cough. He continued to test negative.
I went to work as I was also testing negative and not symptomatic. Work went as usual. After a while I was feeling that sore throat I mentioned earlier. I could swallow normally and it did not hurt to eat so I thought the stress and worry was catching up to me. I worked the rest of my shift and came home. Once home I decided to test again and it was still coming back negative.
At about 1 a.m. I started to shiver and then the body aches started. I felt a little more of a sore throat a while after. Then feeling a tightness in my chest that made me cough. I did not take my temperature at that time so I do not know if I spiked a fever yet. I tested again and still came back negative. It was also the same symptoms I had when I received my first COVID vaccine. I proceeded to go to sleep after telling my husband to keep his distance from me. Waking up in the morning more symptoms began. I felt very congested and my nose started to run. My cough was very infrequent, dry, and unproductive. I tested myself again after 10 a.m. and it finally showed a positive result. I called in to work and was booked off for the next 5 days.
Day 0:
– Fever (38.8°C)
– Scratchy throat
– Congestion
– Mild runny nose
– Fatigue
– Burning in chest
– Worsening body aches
Day 1:
– Fever broke in the night
– Worsening runny nose
– Congestion
– Worsening sore throat
– Lessening body aches
– Fatigue
Day 2:
– Persisting sore throat
– Worsening congestion (right ear plugged)
– Runny nose
– Occasional dulled senses of smell and taste
– Spiking fever on an off
– Very restless
– Fatigue
– Diarrhea
– Cough
Day 3:
– Sore throat
– Congestion
– Runny nose
– Cough
– Fatigue
– Diarrhea
– Fluctuating sense of taste and smell
– Occasional fever
Day 4:
– Same as Day 3
– Shortness of breath
Day 5:
– Same as Day 4 except no fever
By day 6 I was back to work. It was tough. I still had a cough, runny nose and congestion. Walking up and down the halls left me winded. It took well over a week for the congestion and and runny nose to clear up. The occasional cough, fatigue, and shortness of breath lasted another week or more after the congestion let up. And, throughout being sick I did not eat much. I was not able to eat a full meal for a couple weeks. I had my husband pick up meal replacement drinks. Through all of that and my being sick and afterwards, my husband continued to test negative.
More recently, I have been trying to get back in shape as my diet had gotten out of control and in combination with lack of exercise outside of work, I have put on some weight. I decided to finally do something about it and so I started with taking my little doggo out on a some walks. On the first walk, it was in area with lots of hills, elevation changes, and stairs. I cannot tell if the shortness of breath I was experiencing on some of these hills and my short attempts at jogging were due to my lack of fitness or the after effects of COVID. Going forward, I hope it will work itself out.
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