“I feel like I've dodged a bullet and I want to know why.”

NEW MARKET, MD:  We're older so we're in the high-risk age group. We're not super athletes, but we stay active and don't have any underlying health conditions. It still knocked me flat. I had a test on July 6th. In Maryland, it was easy to get a test - but results took forever.  I was waiting for my results because I was too embarrassed to go to the hospital without results. I was trying to be tough. Even though I felt horrible, I wasn’t as sick as those folks I was seeing on TV who were on ventilators. I thought, “If they tell me I just have a summer cold, I'm going to feel really embarrassed,” so, I just kept waiting for the results, waiting for the results, waiting for the results. 

After 8 days my temperature was still high.  I was coughing and feeling shortness of breath, so I made an appointment at urgent care but they wouldn't let me in the door. They told me since I had COVID symptoms that I should go to the ER because they couldn’t do anything for me. I'm really glad I took their advice.   If you have COVID you really don't want to be on your couch. That's when it's scary. From the minute I entered the ER I felt I was getting skillful, compassionate care and I trusted them to heal me.  I was treated with steroids, antibiotics, blood thinners and various cough medicines. 

After five days I was discharged. As I was getting dressed to leave the hospital, I finally got the call from the testing center verifying that I was positive! 

My husband tested positive as well.  How did we get it? We thought we were being careful.  We always wore masks and limited our travels to the grocery store, carry-out and outdoor activities. We’re too old to go to the bars.   My son had been very careful too, but when the governor opened up gyms, he went.  Maybe he brought it home as he also tested positive, but never had more than a minor cold.  Like most people, we will never really know how we caught it.  

Except for minor fatigue and lung tightness, I  recovered fairly quickly with no serious lingering symptoms. My most troublesome issue is the extra weight I’m now carrying from all the wonderful gifts of delicious food brought by caring neighbors for weeks after I was discharged from the hospital.  

I feel like I've dodged a bullet and I want to know why.

I realize how lucky I am to have beaten this nasty virus without much drama. My heart breaks for those who have passed away and the thousands of “long haulers” who are still suffering months after their initial infections.  I feel like I've dodged a bullet and I want to know why. I want to know what's in store for me because I didn't go.

My husband, George, also tested positive. He had a cold for two days. We wouldn’t have thought twice about it had I not gotten sick. He took Nyquil. The next day he felt better so he took it again the next day and then he felt fine. But, he still wonders if something worse is yet to come.

SYMPTOMS: Headache, Fever, Cough, fatigue, lung tightness 

TREATMENT: Hospitalized and was treated with antibiotics, steroids, blood thinners and cough medicine.