It started on Thursday night and a slight pain in the shoulder spread to the neck. Immediately a headache joined the party.
Within 30 minutes, the chills washed me so badly that I dressed in a comfortable place on one of the warmest nights of the year.
After avoiding it for two and a half years, it was finally my turn. I was infected with COVID-19. And it packed up the fuss.
This is a story about how I got the virus and dealt with it in quarantine on the weekend of July 4th.
My case comes from the fact that the BA.5 subvariant, a new vaccine-resistant branch of the Omicron variant, is becoming the predominant strain throughout the United States.
However, it is unclear if it is BA.5, which accounts for 53% of all new cases in the United States as of late June, as a process called genomic sequencing is required to determine a particular variant. Hmm. Still, it’s probably some form of omicron, which spreads easily, but with less serious consequences. Key indicators such as hospitalization, ICU admission, ventilator use, and death remained at about the same level in New Jersey for at least two months after the first surge in Omicron in December and January, with no major fluctuations. was. There were 885 hospitals in New Jersey where COVID occurred on Tuesday night, far from more than 6,000 a day at Omicron wave heights in January.
By the time my symptoms began, 850 days had passed since the first case of coronavirus in New Jersey. I spent much of that time writing over 300 articles documenting pandemics. But writing about it and living the symptoms directly are two different things.
My symptoms started on Thursday night after my wife, young daughter, and I landed in New Jersey after staying at Disney World for a week.
Our friend, who was staying at the same hotel, tested positive at the beginning of the week. However, there was little interaction with him and most were easy.
My guess is that COVID was only around a ton of tourists from all over the world packed in buses, monorails and vehicles, and wasn’t as vigilant as they experienced most of the pandemics.
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Here’s what I did wrong: The wearer did not wear an N95 or KN95 mask that would help prevent the virus from being transmitted. What we had was so tight that it hurt my ears and felt stuffy in the burning Florida sun. Instead, I wore a much less protective paper mask.
Also, I didn’t wear the mask more than necessary indoors. I installed it only when it was crowded. I plead guilty to COVID’s fatigue.
I am 46 years old and relatively healthy and active. I have been fully vaccinated and received a booster shot in December. All of these were developed before we knew anything about the Omicron subvariant.
A health care friend told me that the doctor she works with is only prescribing the immunodeficiency COVID drug Paxlovid. So I did what most people do these days — with the considerable help of Tylenol and Gatorade to tighten it.
First day
We landed at Newark Liberty on Thursday afternoon, and I was fine for a few hours.
But around 9 pm I started feeling chills. I went to bed early and woke up a few hours later, shivering. I checked my body temperature. It was 101 — not the highest in the world, but long after I had a fever.
It was almost impossible to get back to sleep. My skin was so hot that I felt like I could fry Taylor ham.
the 2nd day
I haven’t felt this illness for years.
I didn’t want to get out of bed. My body felt incredibly weak. It took a lot of effort just to walk across the room.
Thirty minutes later, I was pressing a quick diagnostic swab against both nostrils. Two stripes. And the indication of infection was dark when it often faded.
The first thing I did was write an email and a text message to everyone I contacted the day before. The sources I came across at Orlando Airport, the family who shared the condo with us at Disney, and the six neighbors. He welcomed me home the night before.
My fever rose to 102.7 in the afternoon. However, after a long nap, the fever subsided and I felt better. The chills are gone.
Third day
I slept straight for 12 hours. As something like insomnia, I didn’t even think I was capable.
My body temperature was around 101 degrees all day long. I thought there was another bottle of Tylenol behind the medicine rack. It turned out that it was a type for children. So I chose acetaminophen, which has a flavor of bubble gum. I didn’t like it at first, but it grew to me.
Thankfully, my wife and daughter replenished the adult supply. It was great that they cooked me a meal, left it on the bedroom door and had a conversation in the hallway to cheer me up. So did my neighbor. Many of them volunteered to go shopping for me.
Day 4
For the first time, the temperature fell below 100 degrees.
And it became the envy.
I was quarantining on July 4thth Weekends, long days, and a comfortable year of life are my favorite times. I firmly believe that you have to count the summer days every year before the cold and gray come to us. And I’m stuck inside.
To make matters worse, my apartment was right above the pool where my neighbor was having a party. When I opened the window, I heard the children, including myself, crying.
We found this to be a small price to pay compared to the 34,000 New Jerseys who had never passed the quarantine.
But if this happens again, God will let it be in the miserable week of January, when the rest of New Jersey is just as miserable.
Day 5
independence day!
Not for me.
I had a rapid test in the morning and it returned positive. I also had a small cough. This is the first sign that this virus has invaded my lungs. It diminished as the days went by.
I’ve checked tool A disease control center called “COVID-19 Quarantine and Isolation Calculator” has been developed. He said he could leave the apartment in two days because his fever had dropped.
So I thought of the day when fireworks fluttered in the sky and the smell of charcoal and light liquid ooze out of the bedroom window.
Day 6
My wife and daughter left in the morning to stay at my house-in-law on schedule.
And that meant I was able to get out of my bedroom for the first time in almost a week. It wasn’t exactly De Gaulle marching under the Arc de Triomphe, but I would have lied if I hadn’t felt liberated when I stepped into the kitchen.
I was still tired, but my cough was almost gone and my fever seemed to be a distant memory.
Day 7
To celebrate the end of the quarantine, I wore a mask and put out the trash. Then I went downstairs and did a lot of laundry. We have big dreams in my home.
I also thought conversation I spent last year with Toms River firefighter Chris Aldrich. He had a rough case of COVID, even though he was completely vaccinated.
“If I hadn’t been vaccinated, it would have been much worse,” he told me last June. “I firmly believe that it saved my life.”
My immunity to the vaccine has definitely diminished. And the jury is still investigating how effective these antibodies are against all these Omicron submutants. But like Aldrich, I’m glad I got them.
You can hear people outside the window splattering into the pool. We will continue to be cautious for the next few days. There is enough time to grab the summer at the corner.
This article was originally posted on NorthJersey.com. Our COVID reporter has obtained a COVID.It hit him