We Got It

Well, we had a good 2.5 year run, but I'll always remember the week of my milestone birthday as the week I first got COVID.

As I'd mentioned, my husband tested positive immediately while my test remained negative, however despite immediately masking and separating at that time, I was sure I'd already been exposed. I was pretty much two days behind him and tested positive over the weekend. Luckily I've had a much lighter case so far. We're also aware of two other people he infected before he was symptomatic.

Pavel Danilyuk for Pexels

It's pointless to get upset or try to figure out exactly who got him sick or what happened, but here's the timeline as best as we can piece together as well as how we've been doing:

• Saturday: We were together all day and celebrated my birthday with many friends outdoors; I'm pretty sure no infections happened here, as we were exposed to the same people (and in fact I was more exposed, as I greeted and hugged many guests).
• Sunday: We were also together all day, and went to a large concert that night. It was semi-outdoors and we were in the front row so we didn't wear masks. However, once the band started, people kind of encroached into our area and honestly I was a little uncomfortable. I think my husband picked something up here - I stayed in my seat and he stood up, so maybe the particles were floating up higher, or there was a guy he was close talking with before the show started and maybe he got it from him.
• Mon-Tues: Nothing happened, neither of us went anywhere or was unmasked around anyone else.
• Wednesday: My husband went to work from his office for a half day, I spent the day with a young person I volunteer with - both of us were masked when indoors with others. My husband spent that evening visiting family outdoors and was a little hoarse when he got home, but thought it was because he'd been outside talking all night.
• Thursday: My husband went to the office again for a full day, was the only person in the room wearing a mask most of the day, though he ate lunch with a couple coworkers. When he got home he still sounded really hoarse, had a fever and chills and just wanted to go to bed. He tested positive for COVID and I tested negative. We immediately masked up and designated certain areas of the house for him to keep separated.
• Friday: My husband called out sick and spent the day in bed with a slight fever. I felt ok but had a tickle in the back of my throat all day; it felt like allergies maybe because we'd had the windows open overnight and achy because I slept on the uncomfortable guest bed.*
• Saturday: I still felt sick and was not surprised to test positive for COVID. My husband started an antiviral treatment following a telehealth appointment with a doctor. I'm still not sure how he got a prescription as he doesn't really have a lot of risk factors and didn't have a super severe case so far. He spent half the day in bed, half on the couch with me. This was probably my worst day, but my symptoms were not that bad, mostly just coughs and sniffles.
• Sunday: Felt a little better because I got to sleep in my own bed again. My husband's first fever-free day, and his energy level was pretty much back to normal. I felt fine but my voice sounded pretty bad - I did a bunch of housework but mostly took it easy. Found out one of the family members he visited on Wednesday also tested positive.
• Monday (today): My husband is pretty much back to normal, I haven't even heard him cough much today. I was still a little congested this morning I think just from overnight, but am also doing pretty well. I don't think either of us have taken any cold medicine today. Found out one of my husband's coworkers he was with last week tested positive. 

I do not recommend anyone get COVID and would still like it to be gone, but I am happy to report that thus far at least, I never even had a fever and the experience has not been any worse for me than a typical cold. My husband definitely had a rougher time, but really turned a corner after just a couple doses of antiviral treatment. Hopefully the worst has already passed for both of us, but I know it's not uncommon for people to be improving and then suddenly take a turn, so I don't feel like we're out of the woods just yet. 

I also find it interesting how every infection was pretty much 2 days after exposure, how being outdoors doesn't mean you're totally safe if you're close (despite masking indoors religiously we'd really been living totally normally outdoors this summer), and how much worse these exposures might have been if not for masks and vaccinations blunting them. I'll definitely be a lot more cautious both indoors and out going forward, but in the short term I'm hoping to enjoy a little immunity boost, before we're eligible to get our new Omicron booster shots...

* Apologies to all our past guests! I will be ordering a new mattress topper and bedding ASAP!