COVID: Round Two

I missed last week’s weigh-in post, because COVID threw everything out the window. I was feeling sick enough that trying to diet on top of feeling that way just wasn’t something I was willing to subject myself to. Then, we went on a quick trip to NYC, which meant eating different food again. The good news is that this morning I was still 193.8, so I didn’t put on much weight over the two weeks.

Now that I’ve been through COVID twice, I have a bit more personal experience with how it affects me. The first time lasted two weeks, but in hindsight, I think that’s because I took Paxlovid. It helped me feel better while I was taking it, but once I was off it, COVID came right back. This time, I didn’t bother with it at all, since I’m low risk, double vaxxed, etc. I feel like I’ve gotten better much more quickly, though it’s admittedly a small sample size. If I were in a high risk group, I’d be much more inclined to take Paxlovid, since it’s real focus is helping you avoid serious symptoms.

This round of COVID all started with Denisa feeling a bit under the weather. She tested consistently, and each time it came back negative, so we all chalked it up to a late summer cold. MC had been sniffling as well, and so it was an easy assumption to make that Denisa had whatever MC had. (MC had also been testing negative.) Then Denisa took one last test, since she wasn’t better yet. Positive.

At that point, I think the damage had been done. Daniela was feeling sick, but she said she wasn’t that bad, and she was testing negative. She went to school masked, and even ran three miles for cross country practice. That evening, she tested positive. I had stayed home just in case, and I tested positive the same night.

For me, the sickness has gone pretty much the same path both times. It started with a scratchy throat, as if I had to clear it but couldn’t. From there, I had trouble sleeping, my muscles ached, and I had a bad headache. Then the fatigue kicked in. Overall, I felt really bad just one day this time, and not great for about two or three more days.

In case you’re wondering, these days if you get COVID, you’re required to quarantine 5 days from the day you first have symptoms. (It doesn’t matter when you test positive. Just when the symptoms started: that’s considered “day 0.”) After those 5 days, if you’ve been fever free for 24 hours and your symptoms are improving, you can be in public, masked. That stage lasts for another 5 days, at which point you’re good to go. So I have to wear a mask until Friday, but it seems like a sensible precaution to take.

(Surprisingly, we’ve gotten grief from some people about wearing masks in public. Apparently they assume we’re doing it because we’re scared? I don’t quite understand it. What possesses people to make them feel the need to criticize people they don’t know well, for doing something that doesn’t affect them in any real way?)

In any case, MC never tested positive, and Tomas didn’t ever feel sick or test positive at all. Quarantining slowly morphed over the stretch of time. First Denisa was in her room, completely alone. Then Daniela and I got it, so we took over the movie room, where Denisa could be unmasked, leaving Tomas and MC to roam the rest of the house. In many ways, I think they felt more like the ones quarantined by the end, just because they were outnumbered.

The good news is that we all seem to be past it now. Here’s hoping it stays that way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like what you’ve read? Please consider supporting me on Patreon. Thanks to all my Patrons who support me! It only takes a minute or two, and then it’s automatic from there on out. I’ve posted the entirety of my book ICHABOD in installments, and I’m now putting up chapters from PAWN OF THE DEAD, another of my unreleased books. Where else are you going to get the undead and muppets all in the same YA package? Check it out.

If you’d rather not sign up for Patreon, you can also support the site by clicking this DON’T GO TO SLEEP Amazon link. It will take you to Amazon, where you can buy my books or anything