OUR COVID-19 EXPERIENCE
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Yup, you read that right…
I had COVID-19.
But first, I want to preface a few things before we dive into this blog post…
I was PRAYING that there would never be a need for me to write about my experience with COVID-19. Sure, no one asked me or is forcing me to write or even talk about this, but I was really hoping we’d get “lucky” and just not have to deal with it at all. No such luck there...
I spent my morning prior to writing this bawling my eyes out because what I thought was us coming to the end of our experience is actually just beginning… but I’ll touch on that more in a minute.
This is MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. What I am going through or went through might be completely different to someone else, and I don’t want to diminish the fact that this virus is VERY serious and should be taken seriously despite my own personal experience.
Y’all, this story is LONG. Like chapter-in-a-book long. But, I wanted to be as detailed as possible because I know that when I was going through it, I wanted to hear people’s experiences. I wanted to know if what I was going through was normal. And, most of all, I needed to remember that I wasn’t alone. So, if you want to read the WHOLE story, you’ve got it… otherwise, I’ve got some Q+A at the end to answer some of the questions we’ve been getting, so feel free to skip down to the bottom for the Cliff Notes version…
Despite doing everything we needed to do to keep this virus out of our home (and our bodies), we ended up being one of the statistics in the ever growing number of COVID-19 cases. Like most people, I was really hoping that we would be one of the “lucky ones” at this point that just avoided getting it altogether and got the vaccine and everything turned out just fine. But, that’s not our story, unfortunately.
My COVID experience starts about 3 weeks ago, in mid-November 2020. Actually, I can tell you the EXACT DATE our experience starts - Monday, November 16, 2020. A little TMI here, but I had just finished my period and woke up with a horrible headache. After going off birth control back in May, a headache during or after my period is pretty normal for me. Of course, in the past, when the virus was still pretty new, I had looked up headaches and COVID and saw that it *might* be one of the symptoms of the virus.
I was also getting lightheaded really easily too, but again, I had just finished my period, I already have low blood pressure and black out on occasion when I stand up (totally normal for me), so I really didn’t think much of it.
About the 4th day into the headache + dizziness, I started feeling really fatigued. The best way I can describe it is that I felt VERY similar to how I did when I was pregnant with both kids. I would wake up exhausted, despite getting the same amount of sleep I always do, and by the end of the day, I would just want to lay on the couch and fall asleep.
By Friday that week, I woke up with a very familiar pain in my hip. I went down to the basement to do my morning workout and my hip was killing me. I know this pain well, as it’s usually my sign that I’m getting sick. I don’t know why my body responds that way, but it’s always my left hip and it’s always the same pain // soreness.
You’d think by this point I’d be thinking something was up, but all I was thinking was, hey, I just finished my period, I’m probably a little anemic from that, and I’ve been increasing my mileage as I’ve been training for this half marathon. No big deal. It’s all completely normal.
That Friday night, I laid on the floor during Family Movie Night, just wishing my body would stop hurting. I was so achy and tired and just wanted to go to bed, because I was SURE that I would wake up the next morning less tired (sleeping in on a Saturday would help) and not sore.
WRONG. I got up and did my long run and took some Tylenol after because my body was still achy. But, I just ran 7 miles so of course I’m going to be sore!
Thank goodness for Tylenol because I felt SO much better on Sunday - almost back to my normal self. Maybe a little tired still, but meh, I’m chronically exhausted. (Side note: I say this but it’s not true… looking back on this experience, I am NOT always tired. Yes, I can fall asleep easily, but I wake up pretty rested most days.)
It’s now the following Monday - one week into this - and while I’m still tired, I’m not as dizzy, but I AM getting winded easily. My runs are sucking, but again, just thinking I’m probably anemic from my period.
That afternoon, as I’m sitting in line in my car, waiting to pick up the kids, I take a drink of my water that I mixed some berry flavored collagen in. Usually, it’s a super strong taste, and it just didn’t taste quite like it normally does. That’s when I start to freak out a little bit.
I take another sip.
And another…
I can taste it, I’m sure. But, just to be sure, I start searching in the back seat for something - ANYTHING - to smell. Can I smell? I don’t know at this point…
I find a pack of Spearmint TicTacs and immediately open them up and take a sniff…
Phew! I can smell that! I’m fine. Everything’s fine.
That night, as Matt is helping MacKenna with some of her homework, they get out some of those Mr. Sketch smelly markers for her to draw with. I’m sitting on the couch, watching TV with Miles, when Matt goes, “Um, I can’t smell this marker…”
Oh, sh*t.
I immediately go over and sniff it. I can’t smell it either. Oh my God…
I run to the cabinet and search through my essential oils, looking for the peppermint oil. I open it and sniff it. Phew. I can smell it.
But, Matt says he can’t.
We both immediately go into panic mode. What do we do? Do we go get tested? Can Matt call in sick tomorrow with it being the day before a break? WHAT DO WE DO?!
We finally decide that after dinner, I’ll drive up to the urgent care center that has testing and get a test. Except, they’re out of tests for the day and will be taking tests again tomorrow at 8AM…
At this point, we’re just wanting to get tested to make sure we can still celebrate Thanksgiving like we had planned. We honestly haven’t had a normal Thanksgiving in 3 years since my brother was living out in California, but this is their first year they’d be home and we were looking forward to spending the holiday with them. If I went on Monday night, I’d at least have the results by Wednesday.
No dice. Every urgent care that didn’t require an appointment was no longer testing. They let me know that I could go stand in line at 7:15AM the next day to get a test, but with the kids’ school and the hubby working, that just wasn’t possible.
On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, without a test in hand, I knew that we were most likely going to have to cancel our Thanksgiving plans. I sadly call my mom to let her know, disappointed that our first family Thanksgiving in 3 years still isn’t going to happen.
At this point, Matt can no longer taste OR smell, and I’ve gotten increasingly better, so we decide that he drew the short straw and is the one to get tested. He leaves the house at 7:15AM the day before Thanksgiving to go stand in line to get tested.
Y’all, it took him THREE HOURS to finally get a test. And wouldn’t have the results until Friday at the earliest.
So, we were officially quarantined for Thanksgiving. Thank goodness for my amazing family who cooked a Thanksgiving meal for us (Matt cooked for us too) and dropped it safely by our house. It was definitely NOT the Thanksgiving we wanted or were hoping for, but it was a Thanksgiving after all.
Matt’s test came on Friday afternoon.
POSITIVE.
I immediately made an appointment at CVS to go get tested myself and plan to call the pediatrician first thing Monday morning (a good 2 weeks after my symptoms started) to see if I can get the kids tested.
Much to my surprise, my test at CVS was in the drive thru and self-administered. I immediately regret that decision, but am hoping for the best. In the meantime, we are trying as much as possible to stay away from the kids and wearing masks 24/7 while in the house.
My test comes back Monday morning…
NEGATIVE. Sh*t.
At this point, I know there is absolutely NO WAY that I didn’t have the virus. After talking to several people who have had the virus, I KNOW my symptoms are 100% COVID. But, until I have a positive test, Matt now has to stay away from me AND the kids. He quarantines himself in the basement until further notice, and I make an appointment for another test the next day.
Y’all, at this point, I’m in full blown “I can’t do this” mode. My husband is quarantined in the basement. I’m trying to run my business AND help the kids with their schoolwork. Our internet is pissed that so many people are home and I can’t get on to get MacKenna’s assignments. I just want this to be OVER.
On Tuesday afternoon, a full 2 weeks after my symptoms started, I went to another place for my 2nd COVID test. If you are local, I cannot recommend Compass Health enough. I got in the very next day and the Nurse Practitioner who I talked to was so nice and explained to me my options as far as testing. I explained my symptoms, my negative test, my husband’s symptoms, etc. She told me that there are 2 different tests that you can get - one that tests for an active virus (which is what I had at CVS) and one that tests for the proteins (antigens - NOT antibodies) of the virus so it can tell me if I had it recently. She said based on my symptoms and getting an antigen test, she’d be surprised if it came back negative.
Sure enough, it came back positive - and it only took me 10 minutes of waiting to get my results.
The great part about that positive test? Matt no longer had to be quarantined to the basement.
However, what we didn’t know is that because we didn’t completely isolate him upon getting his test results back is that our kids’ quarantine wouldn’t even begin until after his quarantine ended. His quarantine ended Sunday, December 6th, so if you’re reading this on the day this is published, today is only Day 2 of the kids’ quarantine.
Honestly, finding that news out yesterday has been the hardest thing for me. Not because I can’t handle helping them with school and running my business (we did this back in the Spring, remember?!). But, because they’re missing out on so much school. They’re missing out on gymnastics and soccer. But, most of all, they’re missing out on spending the holiday season with their friends, their school, and their family. I’m just heartbroken for them and wish that it could be different (especially when we originally were told they could go back to school on the 10th).
Some questions you might be wondering… or if you’re looking for the Cliff Notes version...
>> How did you know you had it?
Honestly, I didn’t. My symptoms were mild. They were NOTHING that I expected, and nothing I would’ve ever gone to see a doctor about unless they had lasted for several more weeks. I thought my symptoms were related to my menstrual cycle.
>> What were your symptoms?
Fatigue, a headache that lasted days, dizziness, out of breath going up stairs, some body aches (but no fever)... again, these are things I experience after a period or because I’m a runner. It was nothing out of the ordinary. It felt very similar to how I did when I was pregnant with both kids.
>> How are you feeling?
This is the #1 question Matt + I have both gotten. We actually both feel fine. My sinus infection that I had a few months ago was worse than this.
>> Do you know where you got it from?
Nope. And we’ll never know. We’ve done everything we’re supposed to do - we’ve worn masks everywhere, we have our “bubble” of people we spend time with, etc. We can make assumptions as to where we got it, but we’ll never know for sure… and that’s OK. The good news is that we’re pretty positive that we did NOT get it from the kids’ (or Matt’s) school.
>> Why did you end up getting tested?
I probably wouldn’t have gotten tested, but Matt ended up losing his sense of taste and smell, so we knew we needed to get tested. Matt ended up testing positive first, and then I went and got tested after we got his results. My first test actually came back negative, but that’s because it was almost 2 weeks after my symptoms started. I got retested the day after I got my negative test results and it came back positive.
>> How did you know it was a false negative?
It actually wasn’t a false negative… there are 2 types of tests you can take. One tests for an active virus and the other tests for the proteins (antigens) of the virus. My first test was only looking for an active virus and since it was almost 2 weeks after my symptoms started, it came back negative. The second test tested for the antigens of the virus, so even though I was no longer contagious, it at least was able to tell me I had it at one point.
>> Did the kids get tested?
We called our pediatrician and they told us that as long as they weren’t having symptoms, they didn’t need to be tested. They haven’t had any symptoms at all, so we feel like we’re in the clear there!
>> How long are you quarantined?
Matt was quarantined through December 6 and I just went with his because it made sense for us (even though I didn’t need to since I was past my 14 day window). The kids, however, technically didn’t start their quarantine until AFTER Matt’s was over. So, they’re quarantined until December 20th - and I’m so sad for them about it. It was so different in the spring when it was EVERYONE… now, when it’s just your kids and you know they’re missing 3 weeks of school (they’ll be off for 5 and a half weeks of school since this butts up with their Christmas break) and 3 weeks away from anyone but us, it’s really hard. I spent most of today crying because I just felt so so bad for them.
>> How is virtual schooling going?
So far, I have zero complaints. The school has been AWESOME and so understanding. Their teachers have sent work for them and we (I’ve) only had one melt down when the internet wasn’t working. It’s not going to be easy by myself the next 2 weeks, but we will manage.
Again, I do NOT want to downplay the seriousness of this virus. Matt and I are both healthy individuals with no underlying health issues, which I believe played into how our experience turned out - mild symptoms + (hopefully) no long lasting effects.
However… we both know people who have been very much affected by this virus. Who have been hospitalized. Who have been on ventilators. Who have died from the virus. We do not take this matter lightly, but I do want to be open and honest about what we went through
If you’ve gone through it or are going through it - or even if you haven’t had to have this experience yet, I hope this helps you understand what it’s like to go through it.
