When we started coming down with #covid19 symptoms I found threads detailing progression extremely helpful. I’m on day 10 today, so here’s mine:
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It started with my 6yo, 11days into our strict self isolation. How did a 6yo get it? School closed a day too late for her? Was my husband an asymptomatic carrier? (He works IT and has a lot of contact before isolation started.) No idea.
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For 6yo it started with low-grade fever and fatigue. Day 2: fever, chills, cough. By day 9: persisting fever, cough, listlessness. Nearly had to rush her to ER due to shallow breathing. Instead, diagnosed with pneumonia in clinic parking lot.
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Despite telltale signs she didn’t qualify for a test. In MI tests only for first responders, healthcare workers, immune compromised, and 60+. Which is fine. But don’t be fooled by the numbers. Confirmed cases are a fraction of the real spread of the virus. 4/

Several more days of fever, fatigue, shallow breathing, but each day slightly better. We’re almost 3 weeks out and she is almost back to normal. For me and 11yo things looked different... 5/

Side note: do you know how hard it is to isolate a 6yo who is sick and scared and has trouble breathing? 6/

For me and 11yo it looked like 2+ weeks of fever and extreme fatigue. Started with subtle sore throat that felt more swollen than sore. Just a few hours of coughing on day 6, then shortness of breath, mild but for days. And so. much. fatigue. 7/

And yes, smell disappeared. Accidentally sprayed the bathroom with pet urine neutralizer thinking it was bleach. Also, coffee tastes disgusting without smell.
Drank warm lemon water and Gatorade to stay hydrated, ate vitamin C, slept on stomach. 8/

Today, day 10, is 1st day I’ve spent significant time out of bed tho not yet fever free. But we’re fortunate. I did a little online mortality calculator and learned I had a 1 in 350 chance of dying. Not bad. On the other hand, I’ve probably applied for grants with worse odds. 9/

I write this in part because as scary and unpredictable as the coronavirus is, most trajectories don’t end with ventilators. I needed to be reminded of that. 10/

Still, updating your will, instructing your kids how to read oximeters, when to call 911, and writing each one a letter just in case—it weighs you down. 11/

None of this drama diminishes the stesses of those not sick but just stuck in isolation, I’ve realized. I think the mundane things are all the more stressful because they are taking place in the shadow of the enormous things. 12/