Covid in 2022 – First Time Since Initial Outbreak

First and foremost, this was definitely NOT one of my favorite things….. but I wanted to share our experience anyways.

So it happened. For two years we avoided it…… We both worked full time, while I worked mostly from home I was still going into my work, running errands as usual, and my husband went into his work every day for full 8-hour shifts.

Then it happened and he tested positive for Covid in early March 2022, over two full years after the pandemic began in 2020. Of course, we did what we could to take all precautions to not spread it. But what felt inevitable living in the same home, I also got it…

So, what was it like for us both to get Covid in 2022 together for the first time 2 1/2 years after the initial outbreak?

I wasn’t sure how to explain our experience except to put it in a play-by-play walkthrough, as you’ll see below.

My husband got it first after coming home from work on a Saturday where there was a rally event (he’s a mechanic for Harley Davidson). His biggest concern right off the bat was passing it onto me, in hopes to prevent me from getting it since I’m high-risk with adult-acute bronchial asthma, a lung disease.

The first Covid home test he took was an immediate positive, however, as you’ll see, he didn’t have too bad of symptoms.

For me, it was quite different. I took 2 home tests throughout the week, both being negative however I was progressively getting sick. What was going on?

Read below for our difference in experiences of the same string of Covid.

Want to get your own home tests? Every household is eligible to get 2 free home COVID-19 tests from the USPS. We received our first order in about 3 weeks after ordering online. During this week, we went online to order our second allowed set of tests for our household and as of today, have not yet received them as it’s only been a little over a week.

*Update* we received our tests quicker the second time, about a week and a half after ordering.

Getting Covid in 2022…

As you may know, Covid—19 and it’s evolved strings are a respiratory infection, so since asthma is a respiratory disease that I already have, it can be extremely dangerous for me to get, potentially deadly depending upon how my body reacts to getting it.

As far as it goes, when someone gets Covid, Day 0 is your first full day of symptoms or a positive viral test.  Then, Day 1 is the first full day after your symptoms developed or your test specimen was collected……and count forward days from there.

<CDC Covid-19 Quarantine and Isolation guidelines>

So- let’s start at day before day ZERO……

Saturday March 5th 2022 –

Husband went to work today, Mom came over to drop off some her amazing homemade chicken soup.

Later around 4:30 my husband arrived home…. but he ended up going to bed early feeling tired.

Sunday – Day 0 for him

My husband woke up feeling a bit like he was going to get sick (cold, flu-like symptoms). He was immediately concerned that he had Covid – said he just felt it, like it was a different feeling.

He took one of the home tests we received from the USPS….it was positive.

We set him up in our spare room and had him stay isolated and he made an appointment with Walgreens free clinic for the next day, Monday.

Monday – Day 1 for him

Monday morning he went Walgreens and they emailed test results fairly quickly within about 30 minutes….. it was positive.

I went shopping to Home Depot, Walmart, etc to get him supplies and set up in the spare room for full isolation for 5 days and created a home isolation “kit” per se.

Our Home Isolation Kit:

• water (full 24 pack bottled water)
• hand sanitizer
• masks
• gloves
• disinfectant wipes
• tissues
• thermometer
• garbage & garbage bags
• bed/lap tv tray
• standing TV tray next to bed

We also moved a tv into the spare room that has a Comcast attached to share from his phone to watch cable and other paid-for streaming apps like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, HBO, Paramount+, and YouTube.

He took his temperature as well. His normal is lower than average at 96.8 so when he took his it was 98 which is a fever for him.

He was feeling groggy and a little sick, but not horrible. He didn’t have the flu or cough. He began wearing gloves and a face mask every time he comes out of the room to go to the bathroom and using a disinfectant wipe on everything he touched.

If he needed anything like food or drink I get that for him and I wear a mask and he does too when I enter the room to drop off or pick up dirty plates or garbage.

I also took a home test to see where I was and mine was negative.

I called my sister who is a head nurse and asked her for some sisterly (and motherly) advice on:

What to do when someone gets Covid and how to care for them:

• Treat the symptoms – if you get cold symptoms, take cold medicine
• Take Tylenol & ibuProfen (for inflammation and soreness) as directed on bottle/directions
• Watch fever, it will be an indicator if it gets more severe
• Watch for major fatigue, trouble walking and getting up to use the bathroom
• Watch your breathing, if it becomes more difficult, definitely go to the hospital
• Stay hydrated – very important
• Isolate, quarantine for 5 full days
• Cleaning hands is crucial
• Wipe down everything you may have touched or do touch
• Wear a mask around the house
• Stay away from each other at least 6 feet
• Get free clinic or hospital test to confirm

She also advised us that he was contagious 2 days prior to his symptoms. And that test results can continue to show positive for 90 days.

Tuesday- Day 2 for him

He’s starting to get a little bored but he’s also sleeping a lot. He’s feeling better, but then feels sick, coming and going randomly, and extremely tired.

I think one of the harder parts of this is the lack of interaction my husband gets to have with our dogs. Like clockwork, at 3 am our 5-year-old Chiweenie named Chapo cries to go into the room to see his daddy.

We tried to be as cautious with the dogs as possible. But, we let the dogs in for a few short minutes randomly throughout the day and my husband always wears a mask when they are in there.

I talked to our vet and they advised that there is just too little research available on animals and Covid, but so far that she’s aware of there have been only very few rare claims of dogs getting Covid or carrying it and little to no evidence they can pass it onto humans.

 

 

We’ve been communicating a lot by FaceTime and he’s texting me if he needs anything or just to talk.

 

      

Wednesday – Day 3 for him

He’s starting to get sore from laying in bed for 3 days.

He’s feeling better with little to no symptoms at this point except lots of sleeping and body aches from laying down so long with very little exercise.

Thursday – Day 4 for him

He’s getting a bit antsy- really sore and tired. His symptoms are nearly gone, only coming and going  – sometimes he’s perfectly fine, and then he’s slightly not feeling good the next hour… but overall, he’s feeling OK at this point……however…..

I’m feeling like I can I might be getting sick, but more like a cold. I feel a sore, scratchy throat and pretty bad headache.

I took a home test and it was negative, again. That’s the second one I’ve taken and both showing up negative, so maybe I just have an actual cold bug.

Friday –  Day 5 for him, Day 0 for me

He’s feeling fine and can’t wait to get out.

I, on the other hand, woke up and felt like I was still getting sick. I took my temperature at around 10 am – it showed 97.7.

As the day went on though, I started getting major cold chills, worse headaches, congested (no runny nose), and major body aches.

I took my temperature at 2 pm and it was 100.7.

We made an appointment for Walgreens the next morning so I could get an official Covid test.

My mom came over and dropped off a bunch of “feel-good” medicine and food on our doorstep for both of us. I didn’t want her to come in since we had Covid in our house and I didn’t know if I have it at that point.

I immediately drank some of the orange juice she brought, a sudden craving for juice, but then I noticed…..

I couldn’t smell or taste the orange juice at all.

Oh boy.

That was one of the symptoms I remembered over the years hearing about others who got Covid who lost their taste and smell. But my husband didn’t lose his, so I wondered why would I if he didn’t?

Saturday – Day 1 for me

Husband finally came out of isolation. Only to have to do the dishes….. sorry about that dear.

We went to get me tested.

The husband geared up with a mask and gloves and went inside to get some actual cold medicine that we seriously lacked in our house.

My sister had advised us to treat the symptoms, so since I was having cold symptoms, then that’s what we would get stuff for and treat.

After we left there I drove him up to get his Jeep finally (another story for another time). While we were out an email came in for me that I was indeed positive.

Into isolation I get to go when we get back home.

Yippee for me! Not.

Husband started washing all his sheets from the spare room, spraying Lysol disinfectant spray all over everything, and trying to wipe down all the surfaces.

I am really getting sick at this point, coughing up a storm, getting through cold chills to welcome in heat sweats and migraines and now the runny nose is appearing.

At this point, I didn’t even want cereal and anyone who knows me is well aware that tacos and cereal are my ultimate weakness and craving in life….. that’s how sick I was.

My sisters response to this was, “Shit just got real.”

LOL 🤣😳 Yes, you are so right seester.

I am taking DayQuil and NyQuil (appropriately throughout the day as recommended), Tylenol (1 every 8 hrs), and IBuprofen (3 x 200 mg every 4-6 hrs) which really seem to help with controlling the angst of the coughing and extreme body aching.

Here’s a pic of the mess I created in our bedroom in just a few hours of sickness.

 

Sunday – Day 2 for me

Woke up feeling a bit better, cold chills and hot sweats seem to have passed, but the coughing and runny nose continue.

With my lungs and asthma, I am on high alert for any complications that might arise, but so far they are normal discomfort for a cold and nothing feels out of the ordinary than being sick in the past.

Took my temp at 1 pm and it was back down to 97.6.

Thank goodness.

Monday – Day 3 for me

Feeling better, but definitely still sick.

Took a shower today and realized how much I was missing the smell of soap, my shampoo and conditioner and just all the pretty smells that taking a shower brings with that fresh clean feeling.

Coughing is continuous but like on a timer, when the medicine hits 4 hrs, the coughing comes back right on time.

So, I continue DayQuil and cough drops.

I’m hungry but nothing sounds good to eat because I know I won’t be able to taste anything.

I’m wondering if I’m to quarantine for 5 days after my positive test, when can I go back to work if I’m still feeling sick? Not only that, but the free testing site advised that you can have a test show positive for 90 days after you initially get Covid, even if you are no longer sick or contagious.

As far as we have learned, in order to return to work, if you have had Covid, you must not have a fever or symptoms within 72 hours of returning. Some places require a negative test, but, how would this be possible if you can still be showing positive long after?

Tuesday – Day 4 for me

My fever has subsided but the coughing and congestion continue. I’m drinking DayQuil like it’s the last elixir known to man.

Still no taste or smell. I begged my husband to get me the taco truck because it’s comfort food for me.  He wondered why when I can’t taste it. I simply said,

“Because I know I like it…. That’s good enough for me”

Wednesday – Day 5 for me

Today I had a little breakthrough….. a bit too TMI for some, but it’s relevant….

I got up to go to the bathroom and for a moment, I thought I smelled….. my pee?? That’s weird.

But, in the moment of realization of my senses potentially coming back, I ran to the kitchen, opened up the fridge, grabbed the orange juice, opened it up and took a whiff…. what!?! Oh my… I can smell orange juice!!! Yippee!!!!

But, as soon as it was there, it was suddenly gone. Did I get overexcited and scare it away?

Well, it was a good sign that it won’t be gone forever…. So I’ll take that little win.

The fatigue that comes and goes is pretty extreme – it’s like I feel ok one moment, but then suddenly overcome with tiredness I can’t fight. I’ve been taking really hard naps throughout the day and working in between on my laptop.

I’m also incredibly weaker than I thought. I am dropping things because my grip isn’t there for some reason.

It’s a weird cycle of alertness to complete exhaustion.

Thursday – Day 6 for me

Since I still have symptoms, (coughing and congestion), and I have to continue to take precautions, I’m now allowed out of quarantine.

I felt like a little bit of a stranger at first sitting in my living room watching tv today with my mask on.

It was nice to be walking around. My body was feeling a bit sore from all the laying around.

I ate some cereal today and what a pleasant delight to be able to slightly smell and taste that sugary sweetness.

Again, the tired spells that come and go can be overwhelming.

But, today I felt the best so far. I was getting spurts of energy and I wanted to take advantage of it so I did some dishes, went downstairs to do laundry, started walking around the house with disinfectant wipes….

But then suddenly….

I got incredibly lightheaded and had to immediately sit down. I realized I may have been doing too much too quickly for my body and took that as a sign to just slow back down.

I’m confident that I am definitely on the upswing and on my way to a full recovery from my Covid/cold.

I am truly thankful that somehow I did not have any major issues with my breathing or lungs, especially with my asthma.

My heart really goes out to all those that have had it so much worse, hospitalized and even tragic Covid experiences.

Covid Resources We Used

Since it’s been over 2 years since the beginning of the pandemic, we were lucky that there is an abundance of information (and unfortunately also a ton of outdated misinformation) on the internet that allowed us to research what to do, how to manage and all the proper precautions to take.

We went to the CDC.gov site for a majority of our questions and answers as well as looking at the following:

• John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• CDC.gov, I got Covid now what
• CombatCovid.hhs.gov
• Our local Wisconsin Department of Health Services

 

Same Covid String, Different Experience

As for us, I believe our proactive isolation helped contain it in our home.

The husband was able to go back to work after his 5-day quarantine since he didn’t have a fever or symptoms in over 72 hours.

The most surprising part of this whole experience is the difference in reactions my husband had to me getting this from the same string.

He barely was sick and I had major cold and flu symptoms.

Just shows that it’s always safe to take proper precautions because our bodies can all react so differently.

 

Covid 101 Since 2020

Be safe and remember that this illness is still lurking around so help prevent the spread (and catching) it by:

• washing your hands all the time
• continue to disinfect your home’s surfaces
• cover your mouth please please please at home and especially out anywhere in public. The amount of people I have seen who openly cough is quite frankly disgusting.
• wear a mask to help protect others in case you do have it but are asymptomatic
• keep a bit of distance between you and others (6 feet) to help eliminate close contact situations and spreading

For all your questions, reach out to your own health professional (doctor), but feel free to use the links I provided above or just Google your question and try to use neutral validated sites.

Keep an eye out for my upcoming updates!

 

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**Disclaimer**
I’m not an expert, a medical professional or a scientist, and the experience I described was our own and I’m not telling you what you should or shouldn’t do- I’m just passing on the info we’ve obtained that has kept us quite safe for the past 2 plus years. I wish everyone who may get it for the first time or again a quick recovery.