Saturday, November 14, 2020

Dear Reader I have Covid

 Yes, Covid has come to get me. I could feel the circle tightening around us for several weeks before it actually got here. While the first wave seemed far away, this time we were starting to know people who had it. Most claimed to be "asymptomatic" almost to the point of suggesting that getting Covid was not the big deal it was hyped up to be. 

Let me clear things up for you.  Covid is no fun, or at least not for me. 

For the first week of it, my husband and I were in denial. We were mostly in bed, incapacitated by intense body aches and a pounding head. "Take the tachnipirina and rest" was the advice we were given by our doctor, so that is what we did. My husband had a mild fever, but I had none, so there was not one part of me that suspected it was Covid. In fact, the sneaky thing about Covid is that it changes the rules as it goes along and depending on whose body it inhabits. In our case, my husband and I had completely different symptoms. While my Covid decided to invade my lungs during week two, my husband never even got a cough. While his colleauge (who was also diagnosed) had a high fever for several days but no other symptoms, there was only one day where I had anything even close to a fever. It was at such a low level that in the old days I would have gone to work.

After one full week of feeling like crap, our doctor ordered a test for us. The call came the next day and we were told we had an appointment in 30 minutes at the drive-thru testing site in the Park of San Giovanni. I was teaching online at the time and had to scramble to get someone else to cover my classes. Apparently when they call you, there is no negotiating. My husband took the call. 

During week two we kept our daughter home as well, even though there is no written protocol covering parents who are sick but not yet diagnosed. This was a personal decision. We had been sick too long for it to be an ordinary flu. In the end our doctors said we did the right thing. Our daughter has still not been tested and she continues to have no symptoms. 

Being stuck in the house has not been too dramatic, although our dog has definitely suffered from a lack of long walks. Our daughter has been the main dog walker since we have been home, so that can't be fun for her, either. 

People have been calling to offer help getting groceries, which we appreciate, although most of the people who have called have been more concerned with whether or not they should get tested because they were in contact with someone who had contact with someone who had contact with soeone who was maybe in contact with us. We just tell them to talk to their doctor about their concerns. 

If all goes well, we should get tested again sometime next week, but if we don't, apparently we are free twenty days from onset of symptoms. I'm not sure this will change anything. Trieste is going into lockdown again starting Monday, so we may be free just in time to enjoy more time at home. 

At any rate, this is our story. Stay safe, everyone!