Today’s story is about a couple who had a fairly mild experience of Covid-19 and yet still are strongly insistent that this is something you want to avoid in any way possible. The covid fatigue is real, people. The names have been changed for anonymity.

A personal story of the COVID positive experience.

Thomas and I tested COVID positive on 2 Dec. When I got swabbed I had no symptoms (I was tired, but I’ve been tired since I was a teenager), and Thomas had his usual allergy + broken many times nose = regular sinus drama (again nothing unusual).

We had gone to our GP to get his sinus infection checked out, and with Christmas approaching we asked to be tested for COVID as a precaution for peace of mind in our upcoming plans. Well, my ‘I’m tired’ and Thomas’s ‘I can’t believe I have another sinus infection’ were neither of those things. We both had COVID.

As careful as can be

Despite all the precautions, we still caught it. We have absolutely no idea where we got it, and track and trace is simply not functional for us to ever know this for sure. We had very limited contact with others in the 14 days prior, none (knowingly) ill. This is important, as it means we almost certainly got it from someone who was asymptomatic, or in passing in a shop.

Loads of people have allergies. Many feel tired with 2020 being the nightmare it’s been. The little symptoms are common things the majority of us would ignore and still see friends, still go to shops etc. In COVID times, however, this means people are walking around and interacting with one another while having enough viral load to test positive (brushing off, as we did, the little symptoms of being tired and having allergies).

So far, we have been lucky to avoid severe illness. However, even a relatively mild experience is an awful one!!! 100% do not recommend.

Our Symptoms

Thomas is only now very slowly getting his energy levels back, but still struggling with brain fog. The man with boundless energy spent two weeks doing nothing (an event which has not occurred since he worked out how to use his legs). I still have a niggling dry cough, my sense of taste is still a bit off, and I  am exhausted all the time even with solid sleep every night and a nap every day. My allergies (which have been under control for years) are suddenly worse than they have ever been. I cannot concentrate (I have not gone this long without reading several books every month since I was 6) which is terrifying.

And all of those personal illness related worries, pale in the face of these even more terrifying parts of the COVID experience:

  1. The horror of testing positive and having to call everyone you came into contact with 14 days prior to your positive test and tell them they need to isolate. Take a moment and think what your list would look like! Ours was a thankfully only a couple calls, but even having those few was the most awful awful feeling.
  1. The endlessness of counting out the 14 days since you saw your loved people and hoping they don’t get ill. Hoping the people they’ve seen before you called don’t get ill. The multiplier is horrific when you start tracing! Add in grocery shopping and it’s a true nightmare.
  1. Watching your loved one be ill with something that is killing people around the world is a unique trauma (and that’s without either of us ending up in hospital which must be an order of magnitude).
  1. We tested positive nearly a month ago. Will we ever be 100% again? We just don’t know, this is not a weight anyone wants to carry.

We have quarantined the necessary 14 days, and will have isolated as much as possible an additional 14 days on top of that. We have had no social time with friends or family in December. We missed watching the children in our lives open their gifts from us. We missed making and sharing a meal with my parents. We missed seeing friends who we love. We couldn’t support friends going through hard times. But our actions have been worth it, because we have protected others.

Please be safe. Whatever cautions you are taking, I can attest to the reality that you need even more 💛

Thank you Jane for that. This feels like a bit of a horror story to read and this is someone talking about a mild case of Covid-19. i’m not sure how people are able to read these stories and choose to either disbelieve the seriousness of the disease or continue to act in ways that put themselves and others at risk. But possibly it’s because they are not reading these stories and so i invite you to SHARE this to your social media spaces and actively invite people to engage with them.

For the next story of Eve, a teacher who got covid, click here.

To return to the start of the series and catch up on any stories you may have missed, click here.