The Devil Came Home on Thanksgiving

It was the weekend before Thanksgiving. A regular good fall weather weekend. Our schedule filled with car shopping and the next day was all about grocery shopping to avoid the last minute Thanksgiving rush in stores. Car shopping was mostly limited to the parked models outside in the lot, masking up whenever near anyone and grocery shopping was quick like most days in the last eight months. It was fun to step outside of the house as I hardly go out since I changed my job in October. As my partner in crime described, "I saw a very cute someone outside the grocery store being very sad and weeping for being separated from its clan. So I touched it, made it feel it can be with me and brought it home." I kept all non perishable items in the garage and cleaned everything else before stocking the fridge and washed my hands diligently. The next day the regular weekday began. However I woke up with a back sprain. Not very unfamiliar in my life, I did everything to get a relief that I always did in the past. I was just getting better the next day but felt something was not right. Next day or Third Day came the chills. I did my office work (secluded in the basement and away from all) and kept on popping tylenol every 6hours. By the time Thanksgiving morning came I knew I needed a test. It was not easy to find a center on a National Holiday that was doing testing without prior appointments. A dear Friend who recently went through the process suggested I'M Health. Thanks to I'M Health and the staff I got a slot late afternoon. The journey to the testing site and back was full of anxious mind games. Yes, the devil came home with me on Thanksgiving. I tested positive for COVID-19. 

There was an uncanny silence when I reached home. I didn't touch anything, didn't speak to anyone, went straight to my room and locked myself. Next few days were hazy. The only time I had contact with anyone at home when they brought me food. I would put my plate and bowl out so that they can pour the food on my plate without touching it. I cleaned my own dishes. The big relief was no one else was positive at home. My elderly in-laws are with us and the most scary part was thinking what if the virus reached them. They are stuck with us since the Covid saga began and they have no insurance as visitors in this part of the world! I guess, everyone living in the United States knows and understands how it is with or without medical aid here. 

My family kept feeding me nutritious food to build immunity and there were few Facetimes during the day to see my cats. Few friends and my sisters were only people who knew about it so a regular check and some random exchanges continued. I kept on working from home to keep my mind away from the virus during the day and fell into deep sleep the rest of the time. Luckily, the care and self isolation were enough for me to feel myself again in two weeks. However, the road to recovery was longer. Just when I was about to complete two weeks I again started having the similar back pain and my body temp would fall during the day. In those days my best friends were my electric kettle for instant hot drinks, mostly herbal tea and my electric heating pad. When I contacted the lab for a retest to make sure I was Covid free the lab informed that, "Covid-19 virus can stay in a human body for up to 90days. Hence, the test may come positive for the same period. However, if there's no symptom and the infected individual crossed the two weeks window then the person is not infectious to others any longer". It didn't give me comfort so I consulted my family physician and she confirmed the same with a line, "We are still learning about the virus". She recommended me to stay away from the family members for a few more days to be extra careful. Almost after a month now, my cats are coming to my room, staying with me. However, when I go outside of my room now, I still keep my mask on and I still wash my own dishes just to make sure! I still have the coughing. The doctor said it may stay longer especially with my asthma during winters. 

Symptoms I had-

Back pain or muscle sprain, Fever, Sore throat, Diarrhea, Partial loss of smell and taste, low body temperature, followed by coughing at the end.  

Helpful during the difficult days-

Good food, warm liquid with plenty of VitaminC, vapor, exchanging random messages with trusted family and friends, taking one day at a time and being present with myself. Self isolation is the key for keeping all other safe including keeping your pets away.

Wondering-

My thoughts go out to those who don't have luxury of working from home, no medical insurance in this country, those who became stat for world meter counting deaths due to Corona virus, those who lost their loved ones and those who do not have any one around them to take care of basic necessities while the patient can take plenty of rest and can only focus on recovery.  

Points that may be useful while talking to someone with COVID-19 

i. They are already going through a lot of scary thoughts. If they are responding during that exhausting scary period, talk something else after asking the general how they are feeling. 

ii. Do not ask 'how' they got it unless you are from the Government or Doctor's office who are responsible for contact tracing for that particular case. It's everywhere now! If you still want to know, refer to how my partner in crime mentioned "the sweet little sad thing I brought home' described in the first stanza. 

iii. As per the Worldometer more than 78, 361, 856 people are infected by the virus and 1, 723, 832 people lost their lives so far and the numbers are increasing every minute. Thus, we all have someone in our life who got either infected or know someone who succumbed. Please do not give the example of dead people when you talk to someone who is trying to recover from the disease. 

iv. Do not say that it's good as they are immune to the virus now! Remember 'we are still learning about the virus'! No medical professional will give this guarantee. It is a trend and it is an assumption for now. Moreover, no one wants to be immune by going through exhaustion, risking the lives of loved ones and having the life ending scary thoughts that come with COVID-19.   

At the end, we do not know how this virus will react to each person it infects. I am thankful that I became statistics only for the infected people in the world. Let's remember that there's the other scary stat too! Stay Safe, practice hand washing, and wear mask. All other things can wait for better time if we all survive this.