How Getting Covid-19 Changed Me
Like anyone would say it, I hadn’t thought that I would test positive for Covid-19. But I did. I was a strong follower of WHO’s golden rule, “stay home, stay safe.” I kept away from crowded and dense places and got vaccinated at the earliest so that I could keep the virus from entering into my body. I had the habit of carrying sanitizer with me even before the onset of the pandemic which throws light on the ‘Monica Geller’ side of me. But even after being a strict guardian, the virus did find its way inside.
I felt a range of emotions, one overplaying the other starting from doubt, fear, disbelief to ranging uncertainty over what can possibly go wrong in the upcoming 14 days of quarantine. The initial shock then got mitigated as the fever kept picking up it’s pace. 100 degrees, 102, 103… But I was wrong when I thought that was the worst that could happen. It slowly started interfering with my lungs making it extra hard to breathe. Day and night, stomach pained bad because of the force I was exerting to draw a breath. Over all this, I couldn't help but think how I was being part of a historical event. It isn’t as interesting as you may find reading about it.
The sort of tiredness that followed after every nap made the very concept of naps a nightmare. I could feel the energy leaving my body making it difficult to even get up from the bed, let alone walk. It was me and my bed for fourteen days with endless music and Instagram reels for pass time. I tested negative after 14 days and I was happy that it didn’t leave any Post-Covid trails behind. But Alas! I was just about to realize that some things were going to change and I didn’t know for how long…
It wasn’t long before I had to stop midway from doing something to catch a breath. I sat hunched struggling to breathe, and it continued for days, weeks and now to a month. As I’m writing this, I can feel breath getting stuck in the chest and me gasping for the same. It has become nearly impossible for me to walk with the mask over my face that the prospect of going out wearing it is a dreadful affair now. Pre-Covid, I had a great distaste for the people who wore their masks beneath their jaws, but now I find myself removing it once in a while to breathe a lungful of air. Unsurprisingly, I’m less judgemental of those people now (not saying they are right, but let’s not judge quick).
Even though I got the medical assurance that “it will take time”, I wonder how much time. How long before I can breathe like I used to? How long before I can go out wearing my mask properly without having to stop for taking in some air? I will have to wait and see…
