It happened. After twenty months, I contracted the novel Coronavirus.
The following is an honest, blow-by-blow account of how I was affected.
All biases and political leanings are gone.
I contracted the Omicron variant late last week after an outing with a family member to a grocery store.
Initial signs of infection emerged twelve hours later.
I woke up the following morning with ice-cold extremities and a headache.
I made coffee, settled into my workstation, and got to work on my latest edit [I freelance edit videos for production companies].
Around dinner time, I realized turbulent waters could be on the horizon.
Chills enveloped my body, and my appetite was non-existent.
I mowed down some sushi anyway and settled for a night inside; sidenote, Toronto is now in its fourth lockdown.
Around 2 am, I awoke with a sore throat.
It felt like I ate a deli sandwich on rye with broken shards of glass.
After gargling two glasses of saltwater, sleep set in.
Come sun up, I knew I was in for it. I could not walk due to pervasive muscle spasms in my right quadricep.
Muscle spasms are not outliers for me. I live with a spinal cord injury, and a byproduct of the condition is uncontrollable spasms a few times a month.
They usually last for six hours. At their worst, they impede from a good night’s sleep.
These spasms were different. They lasted for sixty hours, only stopping for a few minutes here and there.
If you have never experienced muscle spasms, consider yourself blessed. Imagine a knife searing through your skin, and that is no exaggeration.
Day three of the virus was the worst.
I was bedridden with no appetite. Lack of sleep due to pain and congestion compounded an already difficult situation.
Day three was spent staring at the ceiling and cursing.
My bed sheets were soaked with sweat the following morning. The only glimmer of hope was my thirst for coffee.
Until then, coffee was not on my radar, an anomaly for someone as reliant on caffeine as me.
Day four was the beginning of my recovery. It was the threshold moment when I felt human again.
Activities around the house were feasible though not at the normative output.
Symptoms resurfaced with a bang once the sunset. One takeaway from this virus is how it comes at you in waves.
You think you’ve turned the corner and then suddenly, bang! You are back in bed, wishing things would finally get back to normal.
Another staple is the number Covid-19 does on the throat. I have never had my throat feel the way it did due to Covid.
Other symptoms experienced were watery eyes, occasional dizziness, soreness/ achy joints, and an overall flat affect due to a lack of energy.
The virus was combated with the following:
Rest, fluids, Gatorade and Orange Juice respectively, NyQuil, Halls, Tylenol Cold, Yogurt with garlic, muscle relaxers, green tea, Echinacea spray, Vitamin D capsules, Jello
I am writing this on the sixth day since the infection.
My overall health is satisfactory, but as previously mentioned, the virus comes in waves long after you think it is over.
Nighttime is worse than the day. My joints still ache, but my appetite is present. I even did a little editing earlier.
Physical activities like riding a stationary bike and stretching have resumed but at lesser times.
I do not want to push too hard.
I am monitoring my symptoms, self-isolating, and taking things slow.
In summation, Covid-19 could prove fatal for the elderly or anyone with health comorbidities.
The virus exists, people.
But does it warrant the shutting down of schools, businesses, and places of worship?
The extreme measures implemented over the past twenty months have come at a tremendous cost.
Our youth are suffering, and for what? The flu on steroids?
We need a better solution.
We must demand more from elected officials so that a virus does not undermine the very crux of what makes us human; sociability.
Sign up for K-Var’s weekly newsletter and discounts here.
Leave a Reply