Covid Shmovid

 Last Wednesday I woke up with a runny nose. Looking at the pollen counts, and the fact that I hadn't been taking my allergy meds for weeks (oopsies), it was easy for me to connect the dots that my allergies were acting up. While I was typing at my laptop that morning, my nose started to run so profusely that I hardly made it to the tissue box in time. YIKES! I started sneezing that afternoon and my coteacher Molly and I lamented having bad allergies in this heat. One of our students was also sneezing and noticeably sick. He said he gets bad allergies too. We all laughed that we would be the sniffly ones in the class.

Well, for me, it wasn't allergies. I was set to have a friend over for wine on the deck and I wanted to be "triple sure" I wasn't spreading anything. But I didn't expect the Covid test to be positive. As soon as the moisture hit the test line, it darkened immediately. I was shocked. I said some choice words as I grappled with the reality that after years of waiting and worry and fear, I had Covid. I did what any mature, independent woman would do. I called my sister :) 

There were a lot of logistical things to work out. Liam was at Matt's, but he'd been with me all week -- what to do? I went and picked him up for the next two days. He wouldn't be able to go to school anyway, and I was the only person who would stay with him either way. So he was in it. In hindsight, I should have had Matt test him that night. But Matt didn't have tests ("we don't take Covid tests" <-- LOLOL). 

Anyway 

I woke up Thursday with a headache and body aches but I was generally okay. I had both boys to deal with, and subplans to write and send in. I called my dr and got a video appt to get Paxlovid. I made the requisite Facebook post announcing to the world I'd come down with Covid (and asked for suggestions, Facebook has such great value for me in crowdsourcing recommendations from people I trust enough to see pictures of my children and random meals I eat). 

Liam went to Matt's on Friday midday and maybe I was holding myself together for his sake, but by Friday afternoon I could tell things were taking a turn for the worst. I could tell time by my body aches -- when I was nearing my dosage time of the Tylenol or Ibuprofen, everything hurt. It felt like I'd been in a car accident. And my joints -- I could feel parts of my joints I'd never felt before. My elbows! My elbows developed a new painful place, seemingly formed just for the purpose of screaming out "we have Covid!" by releasing pain juice every time I moved. Yes, pain juice is a thing. And my toes. My toes ached when I walked. It was honestly quite weird. I also had a mild fever. The pain meds kept the fever in the 99s but all day I chuckled to myself, thinking of the Christopher Walken/Will Ferrell skit from SNL ("I have a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell"). 

Saturday was what I would call the day of coughing, and I spent a good hour that morning crying. I was getting scared. The coughing was deep, and dry, and painful. My eyes were dry, everything hurt, the Tylenol/Ibuprofen regimen was hardly touching my headache, and my chest hurt. I was so scared that I'd get sicker, that I'd have to go to the hospital and I wouldn't have anyone to help... what would I do? Where would I turn? It was a terrifying day and I spent a lot of time crying. Luckily by Saturday evening I was feeling better. Not great, but the coughing and pain let up. I stopped being so scared. 

Sunday was a super dizzy day, and the dizziness lasted for a few days, actually another full week. It wasn't until the following Saturday that I felt like I could reliably drive safely.  

5:30-6:30 Wake up and have coffee. Sam would have "coo-sies" and water, and watch Daniel Tiger or Cocomelon while I tried to wake myself up 

6:30-7:30 free play while I laid on the sofa. 

8:30ish try to make our way to the college to see the "ding dong". Sam loves to hear the bells ring on the hour, and he loves to see the ding dong ("ding dong up!"). Then we'd walk over to the train tracks and watch the train workers move the cars back and forth, switch the tracks, to swap around cars. Sam loved watching it!