Since I am now the recipient of three symptomatic COVID cases, I feel like now might be a good time to tell my story and maybe debunk some myths.
Two weeks before I was scheduled to get my first vaccine shot in February of 2021, I got diagnosed with COVID for the first time. Given that I was working from home and my husband got sick first, it seems very likely that he gave it to me despite the many cautions his workplace had put into place with masking and only keeping the office at 50% capacity at maximum. We did not travel for Thanksgiving or Christmas in 2020; we took every single precaution we could. He actually got told it was a sinus infection during his teletherapy appointment, and they didn't test him for COVID. He set up a test for himself at the first available time which was 48 hours later. Two days later, I got sick and saw a doctor via a teletherapy appointment. I vehemently denied having COVID every time my doctor told me that he thought I had COVID. I was a mere 14 days away from my vaccine appointment. The doctor set up a time for me to drive through and get a rapid fire test within an hour of the appointment. I barely made it home before I got a call that I had COVID. My husband's test came back positive within an hour of mine. Within a day, my mom who was living with us at the time also tested positive. Since she is in a more high risk group, I immediately ordered a pulse oxygen monitor and asked my friend what level required hospitalization. From a previous conversation with her, I knew people with severe COVID cases had a better chance of recovery if they were taken to the hospital sooner than later. My mom did have to be hospitalized. It is very hard to see a parent sick and struggling with breathing, and given that my dad passed away from lung cancer, I knew it would be hard. Oddly, both my husband and I were given inhalers and medication, but my mom who was higher risk and saw the same exact doctors wasn't prescribed anything. In terms of my own case, I had a pounding headache, fever, aches, chills, and a cough that rattled my entire body. To be honest, I think the concern for my mom resulted in some adrenaline boosts that kept me from feeling every symptom severely all of the time. It wasn't really until I emerged from the cocoon of the master bedroom that I realized just how sick I was. A short walk within the walls of my house left me out of breath and dizzy, When I resumed working after a week off with COVID, I felt exhausted all of the time. Given that I was still working at home, I had the luxury of listening to my body when it needed a break from the amount of effort I was putting into talking and dealing with COVID brain. In full disclosure, I sometimes actually napped under the desk in our office during my lunch or planning. I didn't even have it in me to walk the 15 feet from the master bedroom to the office. Once I got both vaccines, I joined a gym because I desperately missed swimming and I chose a gym specifically for its outdoor pool. Despite having COVID and getting vaccinated, I still was very cautious. I had COVID in January of 2021. I joined a gym in June of 2021. For someone who is a strong swimmer, I suddenly understood how people drowned. After only 25 to 50 meters of swimming, I had a difficult time catching my breath. It took a significant part of that summer to regain the stamina that once came easily to me.
I never entertained the notion of not getting the booster shot. To paraphrase Taylor Swift, I had seen this film before and didn't like the ending. In January or 2022, I got COVID once again. The effectiveness of the fall booster had worn off to a degree which made me a little more susceptible than in the immediate month or two following the booster shot. I was once again pissed because I followed the damn rules. From the start of the pandemic, I understood the assignment. I wouldn't recommend any of my COVID cases, but in hindsight, that variant/ case of COVID was by far the kindest to me. I once again got a headache so bad that I couldn't even sleep. The fatigue and aches still stuck around, but that case did not last as long as its predecessor. While I struggled with ongoing headaches, I felt strong enough to resume teaching as soon as my quarantine period ended. I still masked while teaching. I am generally not risk averse except when it comes to my health. Eight months of strep taught me that there are long term and severe consequences in trying to power through being sick. I will always have to cope with long term strep did to my body. Once bitten, twice shy. Again, I kept my mask on and did as much as I could to live my life but in the most cautious way possible.
As soon as my approximately 90 days of some immunity built up from my last case of COVID ended, I got COVID for the third time. Ironically, I had just talked to a colleague about going for a second booster maybe a week prior to my third round of COVID. As you could probably guess, hearing that I had COVID for the third time shocked me. It also shocked many of the nurses at my doctor's office. Several of the nurses had COVID twice already, but they had yet to see someone who was moving toward BINGO as quickly as I am. I know there are other cases of people who have had symptomatic COVID three times, but from what I can gather online, there are not many people who fall into that category. COVID took the boxing gloves off for the third round. When I looked at the symptoms for COVID, I went through about 80% of them. If I can figure out how to upload audio here, I will. I recorded my voice six days into having COVID. Someone told me I sounded like Samara from The Ring. Another person told me I sounded like Drew Barrymore in that opening scene of Scream where her mom picks up the phone and she is barely alive. Honestly, they are both fair comparisons. Even worse, my voice was on the mend at six days. The first five were far worse on my throat. It is hard to put my body through this again; it's even harder knowing the long term ramifications that seem to be headed my way. This scenario is one of the few occasions where ignorance is bliss. In addition to feeling just drained, I now get the opportunity to worry about how long the symptoms will last this time. I have anxiety already, and COVID is not doing my anxiety any favors.
In each of my cases, the same three symptoms appeared right at the start. First, I never sneeze more than once at a time normally unless you put a cat right under my nose. Every time that I have had COVID, I have sneezed multiple times in quick succession. Second, everything ached almost immediately. It even hurt my skin to touch the bed or covers at the start of COVID. Third, I got a headache that was bad enough that I couldn't sleep, but I also couldn't handle light or watching something.
I don't have a strong immune system. I am the owner of two separate autoimmune diseases. Every member of my immediate family has an autoimmune disease, but none of us have the same one. An autoimmune disease is essentially when your body can't tell the difference between healthy cell and foreign cells, so sometimes my body decides to fight itself just for fun. You most likely know a lot of people with an autoimmune disease. I would compare many but not all of the autoimmune diseases to a vintage car. From the outside, everything looks normal and great. It's not until the hood is popped or a part breaks that the autoimmune disease becomes very apparent. There are some autoimmune diseases that cause people to get COVID easier than the average person. There are others that seems to make the symptoms worse. It takes years to do thorough medical studies, so I doubt there will be a clear answer for awhile, especially given that the virus keeps mutating. I would say that in my particular case, at least one of those autoimmune diseases is welcoming COVID with open arms, but that is a hypothetical guess based on my experience.
I'm not writing this essay to blame someone. I'm writing it in hopes of dispelling rumors of COVID, so here we go.
1) COVID still does very much exist.
2) You can have COVID more than once.
3) A vaccine is only one safeguard against COVID.
4) Masking protects you to an extent but certainly helps other people.
Do I want to go back into quarantine or stop people from living their lives? Absolutely not. I think the following precautions are reasonable. If you know you have COVID even if it's asymptomatic, tell the people who have been close contacts about it. To be honest, that part is just polite, yet I know a remarkably high number of people who decided not to tell their close contacts. If you know you have been around someone with COVID, take a test. Take multiple tests. The tests are not painful in the slightest and they are fairly easy to come by at this point. Use common sense about wearing a mask. I know people hate them, but a little ear irritation now and then is far better than COVID. I don't wear a mask if I'm doing something outdoors. I don't wear a mask indoors if I know I'm either distanced well enough from strangers or I'm with family or friends who are equally cautious. I'm certain that someone reading this will be angered by my remarks, but I'm not interested in hearing about it because I'm asking for common sense. I'm not asking for an organ. Hell, I'm not even asking you to get vaccinated. I'm asking you to use common sense at this point because here is another sad reality.
I may be on round three of COVID, but I'm still alive. Over six million people passed away due to COVID before they could get it a second or third time.
Be safe. Be healthy. Be kind.