Catching the Dreaded Covid
Unfortunately, I had the misfortune of personally meeting the Covid virus in June 2021. The first thing I want to say to you is “You Do Not Want To Catch this Virus!!” We are still not sure where or how we caught it but that scarcely matters once you have it!
My son and I were lucky and had moderately mild cases of Covid and did not require hospitalisation. However, do not underestimate the unpleasantness of this disease.
The symptoms are erratic and unpredictable and you never know what is coming next! The only constant is total and debilitating fatigue. Mentally and emotionally, this takes a tole as well – the fear of spreading this to your loved ones is anguishing, but as you need looking after there is nothing you can do but let them help you and pray they don’t catch it.
One day it feels like a head cold and the next as if you have been caught in a rugby scrum between the Bokke and All Blacks! Body aches in places you would never expect with the flu – spine, kidneys, hips, legs, shoulders, neck and ribs. The next morning you wake up and wonder if it was a nightmare as the aches are gone only to be replaced with a glorious phlegmy cough which does not care what medication you take it is not going away!
Then you lose your sense of smell and taste – this completely scrambles your already frazzled brain. Your brain knows what it should be smelling and tasting but it is not! The only thing you can smell is hot and cold. Taste-wise we were still able to tell sweet from salty, sour or bitter but nothing else. So, every meal tastes of nothing and even your favourite coffee has no flavour!
And just as you feel as if you have turned the corner you manage to run into either a new symptom that you have never heard of or the fatigue which had eased the day before comes back with a BANG! And you are man down again and feeling as if you will never get out of bed ever.
17 days in and yesterday was a nightmare of a headache with this stupid unproductive annoying cough and of course the endless fatigue. I am so tired of taking medication, doing inhalations and coughing but I guess we will keep treating the symptoms and hopefully one day I will wake up and realise it is gone.
To my customers, thank you for your understanding and compassion while I have been ill and unable to function. For the last few days at least, I have been able to work but sporadically as the fatigue just knocks you flat after you do too much.
I know we are all fed up with masks, sanitisers and social distancing but PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! Keep up with these and do not let your guard down! I promise you do not want to catch Covid! This disease is very real and even a mild case is extremely disabling.
