Covid-19 and Me
This blog post was written last year (2021) and details my experience with Covid-19. Originally, I had taken this post down due to controversial opinion, but after much revision, I have decided to re-upload. All opinions are my own.
Wow. What strange times we’re living in, right? I mean, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how weird living through a pandemic is because, well, this has affected us globally. It’s one of those rare times where everyone on the entire planet is going through the exact same thing at the exact same time. Although it’s been dealt with very differently across the board, we’re still pretty much going through the same process.
I know that in my own life there were some incredible highs during 2020 (turning thirty, living abroad in the sunshine etc) and then within the space of a few months, some terrible lows (visa expiration, returning to the UK, unemployment etc) but you know what tops it all? Catching Corona.
Yep, you read that right. In February 2021 I caught the virus. And they weren’t joking when they said it could completely take you out. Honestly, I felt like death itself.
Quick back story. When I returned to the UK from Thailand, I moved back in with my parents. My god, what a mission that was. When you’ve lived away from home for years, gained full independence and have gotten used to not having to answer to anybody, moving back under your parent’s roof is testing, to say the least. And with no car and no initial job, I suddenly found myself having to rely on them for near enough everything. It’s not a good feeling.
But in February, my dad returned from work one Friday evening with the wonderful news that he had been tested positive for Covid-19. This meant that my mother, an NHS key worker, and myself, a newly unemployed mess trying to cope with life, had to self isolate for 10 days. In the beginning, we managed to set up a little system where nobody would come into contact with the other and for the most part, it worked. Until it didn’t.
On Monday night, I was dancing around to the Dirty Dancing soundtrack feeling excited and happy about my newly gifted freedom, trying to forget about the recent painful past, then come Tuesday morning, I felt like I'd been hit with a ton of bricks. It became quite apparent that it didn’t seem to matter how careful we were, Covid-19 doesn’t discriminate!
My throat was dry. Real dry. Each swallow felt like I’d gotten a bunch of drawing pins stuck in my throat, ripping the flesh from the inside out. I had a pounding, thunderous headache unlike any other and my body ached. At one point, I swear my brain fell out! Exaggeration? Maybe, but the pain was immense.
For three days straight I couldn’t do anything but sleep. Suddenly, it seemed like nothing else really mattered. I couldn’t focus on the breakdown of the future I’d originally set out myself and the path I was leading before returning to the UK, I couldn’t focus on my father next door who was suffering 10x worse than me, I couldn’t eat… I just couldn’t function. At all.
I’d always prided myself on being quite a healthy individual, one of those annoying people that never get sick. The virus decided to teach me a lesson with that one! Luckily, my mum had had her first vaccine dose and although she also tested positive, her symptoms were not as bad as my dad and I.
By the fourth day, I started to feel a lot better and reality began clawing its way back to the forefront. Our self-isolation period went from ten days to eighteen or so. Snow had fallen on the ground outside and it felt like the world had moved on without me. I was only ill for a solid three days in total (although it felt like an eternity) whereas my dad was ill for the full eighteen!
I’d never been so grateful to have my health back and to the people who are still suffering as we speak, you have my full empathy. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Even after we were free from isolation and I was able to go for my first walk in the countryside, I was completely drained and my muscles felt weak. It does do a number on you, that’s for sure!
I know I didn’t have it half as hard as other people; there are people suffering completely alone, there are others hooked up to IV’s in hospitals, there are people in comas for crying out loud, and worst of all, there are people that have lost their lives to this. It’s devasting what has happened, what is continuing to happen. People stuck in care homes without access to their families, frontline NHS workers that have to battle these sights every day under immense pressure, caregivers, lorry drivers, delivery drivers, mail carriers, school teachers, catering employees, supermarket staff, bus drivers… there are so many key workers that are not protected and have a 50/50 chance of catching it every day. So trust me, it isn’t lost on me how lucky I truly am.
I have to say though, even though I snapped back pretty quickly and didn’t really take it too seriously at the beginning, in a way, I’m grateful I caught it. It opened my eyes to my own capabilities and strength, however, it also proved to me that I’m not invincible.
Biggest takeaway? I don’t think I’ll ever take my health (or freedom) for granted ever again.
