my covid experience

Three years into this global pandemic, I caught covid. It was a relatively “mild” case, in that I never lost my sense of smell or taste and didn’t need to be hospitalized. Still, it has been a miserable experience. After being relatively isolated since everything shut down in early 2020, masking at the grocery store and other public places as restrictions relaxed and were re-instated with the different waves, my partner and I decided we wanted to be part of the world again, you know? We’re both vaccinated, diligently wore masks, didn’t dine indoors, etc. We felt we had been safe, and it was time to do more of the things we had missed doing during isolation. We went to a concert at the Rose Garden (Tyler the Creator’s “Call Me If You Get Lost” Tour), and it was a great time. I did have my first “old man at the show” moment, which was kind of surprising to me. I remember Tyler coming onto the scene when I was in high school, and I’d followed his career since. But the audience was thousands of kids still in high school, which is cool, but I didn’t expect that. So I definitely felt a little weird, like, why do you all know the words to these old songs? You definitely shouldn’t be listening to yonkers at age 7. But I digress. I was masked up most of the time, but removed it while drinking a beer or three. All in all, it was a great show and we had a blast. And then we went home, thinking nothing of it.

A week later, I was sicker than I had been in years. I hadn’t caught a cold since before the pandemic, and that felt great. But now I was achier and more fatigued than I’d ever been. Literally hadn’t felt aches to this degree since the first vaccine shot. I normally crack my back every day, and I couldn’t even do a quarter-turn without feeling pain. I was essentially bedridden for six days, achy and fatigued for four or five of those. I ate maybe three meals total, lost about fifteen pounds and suffered from diarrhea for the duration. I was also very congested, and gained a nasty cough. A miserable cocktail of symptoms. The silver lining for me was that I kept my sense of smell & taste, but all in all, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

I’m now a week out from being bedridden, and my appetite has returned. I’m no longer achy or fatigued to the degree that I was, but I am still lightly congested, the cough is still nasty, and I have to catch my breath after minor movements. Like, I used to climb rocks and ride my bike for miles and was a generally healthy 30 year old in good shape. Now, I’m out of breath going up and down the stairs in my own home. Who knows what the long term effects will ultimately be, but I’m not looking forward to finding out.

All that to say, I will continue to mask up in public places for the foreseeable future. Covid is the real deal, even a “mild” case like mine. Be safe out there.