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Friday, April 17, 2020

I Never Would Have Guessed That I Had Coronavirus Before I Tested Positive

The moment the girl next to me in vocal class sneezed, I had a bad feeling. I texted my mom, "Guess what . . . I just got coronavirus." This was in early March, when, for the most part, Americans still thought of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as something that was happening on the other side of the world. Schools, stores, and restaurants remained open, and the possibility that they would close hadn't entered our minds. While I had become worried about the vocal warmups we were doing in classes at my performing arts high school (picture blowing air out of your mouth, lips buzzing, spit flying), my text was mostly meant as a joke. "You're fine," my mom replied.

Then, a week later, I tested positive.

Friday, March 13, turned out to be our last day of school, possibly for the entire year. The next day, just a few days after I had sent that text to my mom, we received a long email from the school chancellor with updates on the coronavirus. Buried in the third paragraph was the news that someone in my school had tested positive. The following day, I came down with a terrible headache. Then I developed a fever that went up to 101.7°F, fatigue, and dizziness, and I lost my sense of smell. (I remember saying, "Why does everything smell like mucus?") I never had a cough or shortness of breath, though — so in our minds, it was unlikely that it was COVID-19.

By Tuesday, I still wasn't feeling well. My mom called one of her best friends, who's a nurse, and she urged us to see a doctor. We made an appointment and walked the three blocks to my pediatrician's office. The doctor initially thought I had a cold, but she decided to give me a test because of the fever and the fact that there was at least one confirmed case at my school. The testing guidelinesweren't as strict then as they would be just a few days later, but my mom and I were still surprised when my doctor pulled out the swab — and even more surprised later that week when the results came back positive.

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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don’t believe here.

Annoy said...

This is the reason that Governors should NOT open the states yet..people will gravitate to states with no restrictions..
Since Florida opened their beaches, people are not practicing social distancing nor wearing masks.

Anonymous said...

The genie is already out of the bottle. Locking down the states on wrecks the economy, it is not presenting or slowing the spread of this virus.

Anonymous said...

It’s all the reason to open the states, it proves that for most of us it is no big deal, just like with the flu if you are susceptible take care of yourself

Anonymous said...

Please folks. Adopt some common sense. If someone has the virus (probably plenty of people) and are not experiencing any symptoms that is a good thing. As is now being determined by some studies this virus is not as deadly as previously thought. Once again, we are all different.
Some of us are going to die from various causes,, i.e. heart attack, various types of cancer, pneumonia, diabetes, etc. Chance are by now you have either had the virus and not have known it, or you have had it and are now over it. If you are not in one of these categories, the odds of you getting have become slim to none. As me and my family, we fare getting on with life.

Anonymous said...

Can you see the small bars around Salisbury open again? People drinking with mask on, no distancing. Think that would be enforced remotely? Heck the Mayor cannot even abide by that rule. It is so frustrating!

Anonymous said...

Yes 9:31