next time you hear that covid is “a hoax” I hope you remember my story.

I woke up the morning of Saturday March 21st and I noticed a cough. texted a friend and he said “what would you otherwise tell a patient of yours that was coughing?”

but told him this felt different.

i knew it was different. tim took one look at me & knew too. we were pretty sure I had Covid. then the tough decision—do tim & the boys stay and risk getting sick or do they leave me but then know i’d be alone and likely get worse. but, they left to go live somewhere else.

I was alone. those first few days were hard—aches, fevers, cough, fatigue. part of me was hopeful I could just have influenza or some other virus. but around day 5 when I woke up and took a bite to eat and realized I couldn’t taste anything, I panicked. I grabbed ground coffee

and couldn’t smell it. it was like it was really far away & such an odd experience. then I knew. that night my chest tightness worsened & I started feeling short of breath. kept waking up from sleep feeling restless & wondered if my breathing was getting worse. was anxious.

and I was alone. I became very anxious each evening as the night came, knowing I was alone and my breathing was short. couldn’t sleep as I was afraid. started listening to the Pslams on audio & meditating. days were filled me barely sitting up, really not eating or drinking much

two weeks passed & after a few days of feeling like I was getting better, I felt worse again with new fever & malaise. tim said I sounded horrible and made the drive home with the kids. I’m not sure I was thinking clearly when he arrived. I just wanted to stay out of the hospital

my recovery after that was non linear. it seemed like the profound fatigue would not lift. kept reading that most people are better in a few weeks. but I was so discouraged when that was not the case for me. would do a few patient visits by phone or video and it would exhaust me

then found some resources that helped. joined a support group on slack for long Covid recovery. would only read the “victories” channel to try to stay positive. and after about 100 days I felt like I was finally back to baseline. still have a few minor symptoms I can handle.

I know I’m very fortunate & it could have been so much worse. but here to tell you I was a very fit person with no underlying medical problems who got totally crushed by this virus. am so thankful for those of you on here that knew & checked in on me, often several times per day

and your prayers and supprt meant the world to me. and now whenever I see this statue in my parents yard, I think about my guardian angel who I believe watched over me those scary nights. it’s not a hoax, wear your mask, social distance, take it seriously.