This story is a true account of my battle with COVID-19 and will hopefully serve as a cautionary tale for viewers to understand this virus as the threat that it is. COVID-19 can happen to anyone, and even those who think they are immune simply are not. I thought that if I followed all the rules, washing hands and wearing masks, that I would be as safe as I could be. Unfortunately for my family and me, that was not the case. While this virus is not the end of days harbinger that some media outlets have hailed it to be, it is nothing to be scoffed at either. I was lucky to run the course that I did, especially considering my asthma and already weakened immune system. Stay safe people, take this seriously.
Like so many other sicknesses, this one started subtly. On April 16th, I woke up with a deep pain in my left leg, specifically the back of my quad. Having been an athlete for most of my life, I was no stranger to these random pains and decided just to let it be. Usually, these pains are a result of sleeping weird or something of that nature. But the next day, not only did the pain not go away, but it had spread to both legs. This was worrying, but not the end of the world. Then I noticed I felt colder than I usually do and took my temperature. I had begun to run a low-grade fever, something around 99.4 degrees. This was more concerning as I was well aware that these were two very big indicators of what was about to come.
Naturally, I let everyone know who needed to know and stopped going out. But that damned optimism kept me from preparing any further. I remember thinking, “This couldn’t possibly happen to me, I’m young and healthy. Plus, I followed all the rules at work.” Boy, was I wrong. As the 18th came and went, the aches spread up my spinal cord to my lower back, which made movement difficult but not impossible. My fever had gone up to around 100 degrees, and my appetite was completely gone. I had to force myself to eat a single pop tart, which, as a college student, is a new low that I never thought I’d reach. Then things went from bad to worse.
The 19th through the 21st represented the worst days of my life within the last year in terms of physical feeling. My fever was staying at 103 degrees and maxed out at 104.6 degrees. My entire body ached like I had just ran 3 miles on my hands and knees. The Tylenol I had been taking failed to touch my fever or ease my pain, and my stomach growled for food despite the fact that I couldn’t bring myself to feed it. I also developed a cough that only served to be a couple of thorns in my chest every few minutes. Things got so bad that I had to call the emergency room and ask for advice (my primary care physician was unavailable, and I had nowhere else to turn).
They said that I needed to take ice-cold showers and take Advil in combination with the Tylenol I was already using. That day I learned the reason that movies always show torture scenes with buckets of water. It was by far the single worst shower and possibly worst water-related experience I have ever had, and I was a bad swimmer as a child. Sleeping was nearly impossible through those three days. I would get maybe two hours of confused dreams before I started shaking violently from the fever resurfacing. I slept with windows open, no blankets, and a fan on me at all times to try and break that fever. It was hell, but in the (very) long run, it was worthwhile.
On the 20th, I managed to contact my primary care physician, who asked me to come in and get tested for COVID-19, citing my current condition as “COVID-19 Syndrome”. The way it was explained to me, “COVID-19 Syndrome,” is essentially having COVID-19 but without official test results to prove it. So, the lady came out to my car (I wasn’t allowed in the building)
in her best Robocop impression complete with visor and what appeared to be shoulder pads. She then put a six-inch cotton swap through my nose and into my brain. Remarkably, it was painless. But it made my nose itch, and my eyes water like you wouldn’t believe. My doctor prescribed me some anti-viral medication that I sent a healthy person to pick up, and I went home to try and rest up for what I knew would be a long night. The 22nd flew by with only slight improvements to the achiness of my body, a small victory but a welcome one.
The 23rd confirmed that I was on the mend. My fever had dropped to 99-100 degrees, and the soreness had almost completely gone. I slept for what felt like days because of how tired my body was from fighting the virus for the past week. My test results came in on the 23rd as well and were surprisingly negative. My family and I were stunned. I had all the symptoms, and copied the other confirmed cases almost to a T. My doctor explained to us that the current tests that Wyoming has only has a 40% accuracy rate. He also spoke about how the other eight patients he believed had it tested negative like I did. According to him, these tests would be considered unusable if we were not in an epidemic right now.
The 24th signaled the end of my journey. My appetite returned, and I awoke with a normal body temperature. It was a welcome relief after all the misery I had gone through. I finally returned to my studies and had a lot of catching up to do. Luckily, many of my teachers were very understanding with me and worked around my sickness. For that, I will be eternally grateful.
Officially, I did not have COVID-19 and merely had all the symptoms necessary to be classified as “probable” or “having COVID-19 Syndrome”. Unofficially, it is pretty obvious that I had everything necessary to classify myself as infected. My money is on a false negative on the part of the test, but ultimately the decision is in your hands. This story is not a warning saying to batten down the hatches and never leave, nor is its encouragement to go outside and lick everything. This is merely my story in the hopes that this can cut through the fog and provide more information for someone who needs it.
The virus is still out there, and even though I cannot get it again or spread it, I got it originally from somewhere. I ask that you take these words with a grain of salt and make your own decisions. Stay safe out there people; the world is better with you in it.
-“Jefferson Steelflex”
