Editor’s note: The Advance has agreed to run this letter anonymously to protect the writer’s privacy.
I live in Creston, and I have COVID-19. I am usually a very healthy 45-year-old female who followed the protocols; I kept a small circle, washed my hands, wore a mask (sometimes) and mostly stayed home.
But 10 days ago, I became plagued with a strange headache and sore joints, which quickly escalated to fever, chills and flu-like symptoms. I decided to get tested, and in the three days it took to get my positive results, I lost my sense of smell/taste, appetite and energy.
I couldn’t sleep at night because of the unceasing headache and muscle pains, and life turned into a slow-motion brain fog as I struggled to grasp the reality that was setting in; I had “it” but still needed to take care of myself, my two young children and all our animals — with no help.
I further developed a persistent dry bark-like cough, and my fever returned; by day eight, I was desperate to stop the crushing pain in my head, which never let up for over 50 hours. I finally got stronger meds that (barely) took the edge off but eventually allowed me to sleep. Add to the list vertigo, intestinal upset, tightness in my chest and shortness of breath.
My days have included hours spent on phone calls with members of Interior Health, who checked on my condition and traced all the people I had been in contact with leading up to my illness; with that came the emotional burden of what I had unknowingly passed on to my friends and family. So far, at least two people in my circle here have now tested positive.
I am still sick, and I don’t know where I contracted this virus, but I want to share my story so that you know that Coronavirus is here in our little community, that it is not “just like the flu”, and to help you think twice about what you are doing to stay safe and help stop the spread.