damn. the covid finally caught me.
Saturday, December 2, 2023: The symptoms started on Tuesday afternoon with a sore throat.
I’m prone to sore throats so I didn’t think much of it. Wednesday morning, I had a live modelling gig so I was up early. It’s usually a bit chilly in the studio (even chillier with no clothes on!) so I stuffed several pillows, a down duvet and space heater into the back of the car before I drove the twenty minutes to Carleton Place.
By the time I got there, the throat was worse and I was starting to get congested. I masked up and went in to tell the artists I had a cold. Usually there are eight to ten set up in a circle, but on Wednesday there were only four, all of them women.
“Go home,” they said. “You need to rest and get better.” (Good advice.)
“Thanks, Moms,” I said with a laugh before I turned around and walked out the door. (Good decision.)
Since then, I’ve been experiencing a bunch of symptoms in addition to the sore throat: a really bad constant headache (partially alleviated with Tylenol), a persistent ache in both ears, runny nose (alternating with congestion), sneezing, fever and chills, and worst of all, a scary cough. I have brain fog, zero energy and overall malaise. Blech.
I have been self-isolating and I finally tested myself this morning. The result was positive. I firmly believe the vaccines and boosters I have received since they first became available during the pandemic kept me COVID-free until now. Unfortunately, my latest vaccination (ten days ago) was ten days too late to offer much protection this time around.
That said, I’m grateful the symptoms are not worse than they might be and that I am not any sicker than I am.
Despite my foggy brain, I hope to get some writing done over the next week or two. I continue to self-isolate with the goal of fully recovering and minimizing the exposure of others to the virus, which is once again on the rise.
A friend of mine who tracks such things sent me this graph with respect to Ottawa wastewater:
Be safe and stay healthy.
https://www.ontario.ca/covid-treatment-screener/
© 2023 Susan Macaulay. I invite you to share my poetry and posts widely, but please do not reprint, reblog or copy and paste them in their entirety without my permission. Thank you.
