I promised awhile back I would come back to to share my COVID-19 story, and how it still affects me today. This could take awhile.
In the Beginning: Burning Eyes, Scratchy Throat
First off, you may wonder “how do you know you even had it?” And that’s part of the frustration. I don’t know. But I do. COVID-19 wasn’t supposed to be in the United States back around November 2019-February 2020. Medical experts (ha) hadn’t confirmed any cases in the USA before then, but there was no way to really check. It was just flu season, right? Or seasonal allergies, or just a cold, nothing more.
Except, it seems it wasn’t.
The symptoms started just after a post-Christmas gathering. (This was late December 2019.)
My mom had symptoms first, within a couple days of said gathering. I was about a week behind her. Just after 2020 rolled in, I developed a series of maladies I’ve never had at the same time with any flu or virus. My eyes burned to the point I couldn’t keep them open. But not like allergies, more like pink eye. My throat burned like crazy too, usually a sure sign I’m about to catch a cold.
It didn’t stop there though, within a week, I also had a dry cough (no real phlegm, just really dry and with a throat tickle), a horrible headache. Body aches that no amount of aspirin or Aleve could fix. Chills and a fever that alternated between shivering/sweating, even with layers of blankets and a thick robe. Major fatigue, way more than usual for me (for starters: I have chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia). My bowels were…well, you can figure it out. No appetite, ear pressure and tinnitus.
Sure, it sounds like the flu, and I’ve had some doozies, but the flu usually works through in a matter of days and moves on.
These symptoms persisted for over a month, and I later relapsed about a month after that, with flare-ups in the months after (well, over a year now).
Where were we exposed to COVID-19? There’s a few possibilities, so it’s impossible to “contact trace” now and I’m not about to point fingers when we don’t know with 100% certainty. My state, Washington, was among the first to identify confirmed cases, so anything is possible. Let’s face it: It was likely already here and spreading before anyone knew.
Keep reading…