14 days of COVID-19: My personal Experience

Recently, my immediate family and I tested positive for COVID-19. It wasn’t the worst experience in the world and I am grateful that we were lucky enough to go through the experience with very mild but annoying symptoms. With the whole world practically in lockdown over the new virus, I decided to tell my story and hopefully help people understand what it feels like emotionally and physically.

The week before the diagnosis may be the most important for anyone reading this who may be experiencing similar symptoms – granted that I am not a medical doctor and can only share what my family and I experienced. The idea to track the symptoms only came well after the diagnosis, so I will do my best to write this retrospectively.

Wednesday, 8 July 2020

Nuno says he has been feeling a little off today but doesn’t seem too concerned. He says his throat is sore and has a headache, but then again he always has headaches thanks to his narcolepsy. It is cold, very cold, and we have been abusing the gas heater lately. Maybe the transition from a hot room to a cold one could be the reason why he’s getting a cold? Both Gabby and I are fine though, nothing to worry about.

Thursday, 9 July 2020

Today is my turn to feel a little off, but nothing too major. I woke up with a scratchy throat and my chest feels a little heavy, so I will be taking every single medication we have for colds and flu to nip this in the bud. Gabby found a pack of Strepslls and stuffed about four of them in her mouth today. I’m a little worried since she’s still a little tot, but at least it will help her throat if she’s feeling anything!

Friday, 10 July 2020

Yay we seem fine! Gabby sneezed twice today but that was about it. We also have been checking our temperatures but everything seems normal. We need to go visit our contractor later, so will be drowning ourselves in hand sanitiser and smothering ourselves with those irritating masks. Safety first!

Saturday, 11 July 2020

Nuno woke up a bit funny today and I have a headache. Nothing to worry though, neither of us have high temperatures and have been following protocol with the masks and all. Gabby feels really warm today but the contactless thermometer says she’s 36.3 degrees Celsius. Something doesn’t feel right! I pulled out the other thermometer, you know the one that goes in the ear, and it says she’s 38.5! We need to cool this baby down! 

Just got a text message from my friend saying that her husband tested positive for covid… this is not good! We went over to their house on their daughter’s birthday and didn’t wear our masks because we didn’t think they had it, plus we were outside. We will all need to get tested as soon as possible just in case we have been exposing people to the virus.

The test wasn’t too bad, they let us do throat swabs. Hubby says he gagged but my experience was relaxed because I made sure to keep saying “aaaaaah” until he was done. I suppose that helped to … open things up?

Sunday, 12 July 2020

It was Gabby’s birthday today and the poor little angel wanted to go outside. How do you explain to a two year old that it is a special day for her but she is not allowed to have fun? We also got our test results today so that meant not going out to pick up her birthday supplies. As a mom, that made me feel terrible – I mean, I’d planned to do everything on Saturday but then the Covid thing popped up. Lucky for me, my good friend came over and dropped off a cake, balloons and some fruit (thank you D) which she left by the gate for a social distancing pick up. I am truly grateful! Health wise things seemed quite fine. I’ve let my boss know about the test results so that we can start contact tracing as soon as possible, but besides the light cough and scratchy throat, nothing feels too hectic.

Monday, 13 July

Here comes the flu.

Tuesday, 14 July 2020

Nothing noteworthy today except that I couldn’t go ten minutes without blowing my nose or sneezing my lungs out. This dry cough is also bugging me because it feels like I need to expel something only to start wheezing. It sucked, but I was able to spend the day in bed. There was a burning sensation in my nose for the most part but I’m pretty sure I’ve had that with the flu. It’s funny how you forget the bad when it passes… I took lots of vitamins, Med Lemon, antihistamine, Ibumax and lots of tea to help with the symptoms. My temperature has been decent, roughly 37.5 degrees. Gabby has a very light fever too but she seems ok otherwise. The only real issue is that she isn’t eating much.

Managed to take a two hour nap when Gabby went down so I’m sure my body got a bit of recovery time.

Wednesday, 15 July 2020

Today was a weird day. I felt very sleepy for the most part and coughed a little less than yesterday but the fatigue was on another level. I think the flu-like symptoms have been messing with my head (physically) because everything up there hurts, especially my ears. My breathing also seemed to be a little weird during the day only to have to take antihistamines and anti anxiety pills as I lay in bed at night, struggling to breathe. Don’t ask if the pills worked, I popped a sleeping pill right after and prayed I’d wake up in the morning – and guess those prayers were answered! I’ll be honest, I was scared, very scared. Not your “I’m not going to speak to that cute person” kind of scared, I felt like my little one wouldn’t have a mom in a few hours! I’m only saying this because that fear added to the difficulty breathing, hence the pills, and I hope that if you’re reading this you are able to stay calm.

Thursday, 16 July 2020

It’s my birthday today and I feel blessed. This year we are in quarantine but my husband has managed to make me feel special and Gabby won’t stop with the hugs and kisses. I’ve noticed that my sense of smell is completely gone, but I can still taste food. Well I can taste salty, sweet and sour to be precise. I’m hoping this is just temporary, but since we have to find a silver lining in everything – maybe it’ll be a push to get back to healthy eating! I’ve been extremely sleepy too… today is the fifth day in a row that I’ve taken a two hour nap after a full night of sleep. The ‘rona is definitely more effective than a sleeping pill!

Friday, 17 July 2020

My ears don’t hurt anymore and it is the first day in over a week that I haven’t fallen asleep during the day! My eyes were heavy but I still managed to be productive when Gabby was asleep because, let’s face it, mama can’t get anything done with a bored toddler around! I still can’t smell anything and was surprised to realise that Gabby had been walking in a poopy diaper for hours. This is quite scary… 

Saturday, 18 July 2020

My ears haven’t hurt at all today, I didn’t nap again today and I didn’t nap even though I really needed. I was also able to smell the butter I used for an omelette this morning. It was the faintest smell but at least that’s something! What is freaking me out now is this weird metallic taste I still have in my mouth that just won’t go away. I know I’ve had this before but can’t remember when… after surgery maybe? When I had tonsillitis? Whatever it is, it’s annoying!

Monday 20 July, 2020

I slept through the night apparently… Funny enough, it was so hard to get out of bed this morning and I spent the day nursing a headache paired with extreme exhaustion! My boss joked about my tiredness being linked to the fact I got back to work today and while I denied it, it might actually be true. Working today while in my sleepy state did take something from me – even though I was very productive, I found it difficult to concentrate for even five minutes. I think I might actually need to let this virus pass completely before committing to anything that requires an activated brain and formal communication! My body just felt sluggish during the first part of the day but started to ache towards the later afternoon and that might just be from sitting in one position all day, or from missing my afternoon nap. Whatever it is, I can feel that I’m not yet back to myself. Ears were aching a bit, my sense of smell is returning slowly, the bitter taste in my mouth has almost fully passed and my appetite seems to be back to normal now.

After this point, the symptoms eased up significantly to the point that it was not worth tracking. I did abstain from exercise as my lungs weren’t too happy with the ‘rona and all medical advice received was to stay away from any movement that would raise our heart rates. There are still times when I feel a tightness in my chest depending on how cold it is or if I am barefoot on a cold surface, but my family and I feel normal otherwise. We were fortunate not to experience severe symptoms, however, we know that is not everyone’s experience. For the sake of your own health and those around you who may be exposed to the older generation or people with underlying conditions, please keep your masks on and get tested if you experience any symptoms!

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To read more about the COVID-19 symptoms, please check out the below links or call your local health line:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/symptoms-causes/syc-20479963