I Caught The ‘Rona: A Thread

July was trash for many reasons, not the least of which was catching Covid-19. I was minding my own business when it snuck up on me in the form of a sore throat.

I had redness & mild discomfort in my throat, about a 3 out of 10, like I had yelled too loudly the day before. No cough or fever; no other symptoms except some fatigue that could’ve been caused by other things. Symptoms I wouldn’t have given a 2nd thought in pre-Covid times.

I share my symptoms with you not as a blueprint for what you should expect- reactions to Covid-19 have been WILDLY different for most people- but to show you that they can be very mild. I was truly convinced I did NOT have it.

It was a blessing that things were not worse for me, as I’ve been prone to respiratory illnesses in the past. Over the holidays (so long ago now!) I got strep TWICE. I had asthmas as a kid. I’ve had pneumonia & bronchitis many more times than a young healthy person should.

Luckily, as we’ve seen, most young, healthy people recover just fine, and I’m thankful I fell into that category. Some people don’t ever even know they had it. There is some relief to just getting it over with, and then having some immunity for at least the next few months.

However, I also experienced a few other things: Guilt. Shame. Embarrassment.

I had been SO careful, distancing, handwashing, & mask-wearing to a T. And I still cannot for the life of me figure out where I picked it up.

I was ashamed for having been reckless enough to catch it, & worried about what other people might think of me. I felt like I had obviously done something wrong. And I had put other people at risk because of it. I might be fine, but I could pass it to someone who might not be.

But of course, I wasn’t reckless. Of course (as my therapist pointed out), it’s insane for me to carry the responsibility of a global pandemic on my shoulders. It’s a highly communicable disease, I live in a city ( #hotspot), & a ton of people here are *not that careful*

All that being said, I’m still glad I *am* careful. I may not have been able to prevent catching it, but I *was* able to prevent spreading it to anyone else. And do you know how I did that?? Distancing, handwashing, and mask-wearing to a T.

As soon as my throat started hurting, I stopped seeing outdoor clients, and scheduled a free Covid test, partly to keep my clients safe, but also partly because I was about to move in with new people and I figured Covid would be a pretty bad gift to give my new roommates.

When my test came back positive, I immediately contacted anyone I had interacted with for the previous 2 weeks. I felt a LOT of anxiety about this. It’s the modern “notifying your partner of an STI” phone call. You expect at least one person in this scenario to be very upset.

Luckily (I guess?) the person who was most upset was me. No one got mad at me, they just took the steps they needed to take. No one blamed me the way *I* blamed me, and more than that they were actually glad that I was honest with them.

And, tho it’s not 100% guaranteed, it would appear that I didn’t spread it to anyone. Those that had spent a significant amount of time with me, including my roommates, went and got tested, and all came back negative. And I was *incredibly* relieved.

Because that’s how you stop it. The problem for most people isn’t getting it- it’s spreading it to someone more vulnerable. Masks aren’t gauranteed to protect you from other people, but they do a *great* job protecting other people from YOU.

I was convinced I did *not* have Covid, but I still took precautions, and thank GOD that I did. Because I was careful, this thread of the virus ended with me. I was able to stop that virus dead in its tracks, because I’m a mask-wearing super hero. Take THAT, Covid!!!