I don’t know. I assume I got it sometime between July 3-5, when I went to Okoboji to celebrate my 40th birthday. We drank and dined outside, but there were a lot of people, and my friend Mel was literally the only person in Boji wearing a mask. I didn’t wear a mask. A mask would have hindered my ability to down Busch Lights and Chuck Norris shots.
I knew going to Okoboji was a risk. I took it anyway. I wanted to get out of my house and away from my stressful, all-consuming job. I wanted to get out of Lincoln, a town I’ve always loved, that’s become so sad and strange during this Pandemic. I wanted to forget about my most recent break up. I wanted to laugh and have fun and forget about the state of the world.
Monday, July 6, I woke up with a cough, a headache, and I had diarrhea. I chalked it up to drinking all weekend. I’d been working from home since March 12, so like any other day, I pushed ahead. After work, I walked six blocks down to Walgreens to pick up my monthly prescription. I wore a mask in the store. On the way home, I felt unusually, feverishly hot. I took my temperature. I had a fever.
I logged into TEST Nebraska and reported my symptoms. They didn’t have any openings right then, so they told me to log back in tomorrow.
Tuesday, July 7, I logged into TEST Nebraska again and secured an appointment to be tested on Thursday, July 9, at 8:00 a.m. I still had a fever, cough, body aches, and diarrhea. I sat at my dining room table, and kept working.
I texted everyone I’d been around in the past 5 days to let them know I had COVID-19 symptoms and would get tested. They expressed appropriate levels of shock and concern. Gina, a nurse, suggested drinking extra water, adding vitamin C, and doubling my multivitamins. I did all of that. I also added garlic, elderberry, DoTERRA onguard, and apple cider vinegar.
Wednesday, July 8, in addition to my current symptoms. I lost my sense of smell and taste. That’s when I knew for sure I had COVID. People told me to stay positive. You know, mind over matter. I couldn’t. I couldn’t think myself out of it. The panic began to set in. I kept working.
I woke up Thursday morning, July 9, with the same symptoms including the new symptom of dizziness, and I drove to North Star High School for testing. The nurse who pulled my test kit out from under my windshield wiper was so sweet. She told me it would be ok. She knew I was scared. I tilted my head back, opened my mouth, and took the Q-tip to the brain. It didn’t hurt at all. It really didn’t feel that uncomfortable. They told me I could go home. I wanted a Scooters or Mill coffee so bad, but I drove home. I couldn’t go through a drive through and potentially expose anyone there. I drove home pondering life, death, and COVID-19. When I got home, I kept working.
I got an email Thursday night that my test had been received at the lab, and I could expect results in 72 hours. My friends continued to text to “check in.”
Friday, July 10, I began to panic in earnest. I’d heard stories of people who felt fine who suddenly got really sick and died within hours. I got to work. I prepared a list of all my bank accounts, retirement account, debts, assets, and monthly bills. I made a spreadsheet of the accounts for my family. That way if I died, they wouldn’t have the hassle of trying to figure out my stuff. I emailed the list to my mom. She said, “You scare me, but ok.” This was the first day I allowed myself to lay down on the couch. I laid down and finally felt the full weight of it. I felt so shitty. I couldn’t watch TV, I couldn’t listen to an audio book or a podcast, I just laid there and felt sick.
Saturday, July 11, I laid around feeling shitty for as long as I could, but it didn’t seem effective. I needed something to distract me. I downloaded Ali Wong’s audio book “Dear Girls” onto my phone. I didn’t want to lay around feeling sick, sorry for myself, and waiting to die. Ali’s book distracted me. She made me laugh. I went out into my back yard with my mask on and pulled weeds. Around 6 pm I decided to go to a desolate park near my house and walk a bit to stretch my legs. Exercise has always helped me cope with stress in the past. I wore my mask and walked around the big empty circle. I listened to Ali Wong, and I felt the heat bring my fever even higher. I sweated and felt cold at the same time. Around 6:30, I heard my phone ping. It was my COVID-19 test results. I had tested positive for COVID-19. I started to cry as I walked back to my car. Now that I knew I was positive, I couldn’t be in the park, even with my mask. I drove home, crying all the way.
