Editor's Note: Obviously, this post deviates from "strictly sports," but I think it's important to be open and transparent, so I will chronicle my upcoming journey through this blog.
I tested positive for Covid-19 today, something that I had hoped to avoid ever since the pandemic began in March. Writing is therapeutic for me, and it's something I honestly don't do enough of these days, so I'm going to blog my way through my experience here. I don't know how frequent my posts will be, but hoping I'll have something to say quite often.
Friday, Dec. 4
Today is the day where symptoms first started showing up. I developed a very minor cough, but I didn’t think anything of it because it corresponded with a freak incident. I left school for two hours to go to LSUA to take pictures of our Robotics teams competing. On my way back to school, I stopped by Sonic to get some drinks for lunch and a snack to share with Elizabeth. I took a bite of a cheese stick, and some of the grease squirted into my throat, making me gag and cough. After that moment, I had a minor cough occasionally, and I just chalked it up to that moment.
Flash forward to the evening. My plans are to go take pictures of the Tioga-North DeSoto football playoff game. I checked my temperature before I left, which is something I typically do. Checking temps is just standard-operating procedure these days. The thermometer read 98.0, so I figured I was good to go. I went to the game, stood on the North DeSoto sideline all evening. I wore my gaiter and tried to socially distance, all things that I normally do when I go take pictures.
When I got home, I didn’t feel great. I chalked it up to standing outside for nearly four hours in sub-40-degree weather. Just to be sure, I checked my temperature again, and it was 98.6, which I thought reaffirmed my original thought that I was still just cold from being outside in early December and my body was readjusting.
I don’t know exactly when I woke up. It could have been 2 or 3 or 4. (Update: The wife says it was "3:30ish.") I didn't check the clock. It was the middle of the night, or my night at least. I woke up in a cold sweat. My body was aching. I had chills. I knew I had a fever. I went to check it, and I was right: My temperature had risen to 100.6 degrees, which is high enough that I would have been immediately sent home from school had I reported to work. Elizabeth and I had a quick discussion about me going to get tested for Covid-19 the next morning, I took some ibuprofen for the fever and I went back to sleep.
Saturday, Dec. 5
I woke up around 7. The sheets were soaked in sweat, and my temperature had dropped to 99.0. I was still thinking at this time that my illness was related to being out in the cold rather than Covid, but because I’m a teacher, I thought it was best to be safer than sorry. I went to a local urgent care to get a rapid test, and the results came back positive. It was not the news I wanted to hear. I tried to be vigilant and diligent to keep Covid at bay. I wear a mask or a gaiter whenever I’m out of the house, and I try to socially distance as much as possible.
But truth be told, I put myself at risk a number of times. With basketball season starting, I have spent a number of evenings in gyms where I can’t control what other people do. I don’t wear a mask during live play when I officiate, but I do have a gaiter that I use whenever I come in close contact with fellow officials, coaches, players, etc. Still, that’s just one of several ways I could have contacted Covid-19. I’m sure I’ll never know the true cause.
The hardest part so far was what came next. I had to contact my principal to let him know that I’m in isolation for 10 days and my wife is in quarantine for 14. I had to talk to the school nurse to discuss what students and fellow teachers I might have had close contact with over the past several days who might have been exposed by me. I had to let two friends who I spoke with at a football game Friday night that I may have unintentionally exposed them. Even though I wore a gaiter at all times, we had several conversations throughout the night that were within six feet. I feel terrible about that, and I will feel even worse if either of them contracts Covid-19.
The urgent care nurse practitioner prescribed me a cocktail of three medicines to take daily along with a suggestion to take Vitamin C and zinc, which I will do through a daily dose of Emergen-C. Truthfully, the symptoms have been extremely mild so far. I didn’t feel well when I woke up in the middle of the night last night, but that didn’t last long as I went right back to sleep and the fever had mostly dissipated by the time I woke up. (I was still 99.5 when I went to urgent care, but by the time I got home, I was down to 97.7.) So far, I just have some minor chest congestion, which may be more caused by the medication I’m taking than Covid itself. I don’t have any chills, body aches, headaches, loss of smell or taste, or any of the other telltale signs of Covid. It’s early. I know they may be coming. The virus hits each person differently, and I have spoken with several friends who assure me from personal experience that it is no joke.
So far, I can’t complain about my surroundings or service. Elizabeth has the master bedroom and bathroom, kitchen, dining room and living room. I have shut the door between the dining room and the hallway where I’m at, which includes the spare bedroom, my bathroom and the cats’ room. It appears for the next two weeks, I will be the cats’ keeper while Elizabeth takes care of the dogs. I know I’m going to get some huge hugs and kissies from Huckabay once I’m out of isolation! (Ryley's response is still TBD.) I know Elizabeth is going to get frustrated at some point, as she is quick to tell me how horrible of a patient I am when I get sick, but she was a great nurse today. I’ve been visited by housekeeping a couple of times, as well as by Waitr, Uber Eats and Door Dash (which apparently have set up shop in our kitchen for the time being).
I know this isn’t going to be easy on me, being cooped up for 10 days. I love to go out to eat. We aren’t the most social people, but I don’t lock myself away either. I don’t have a TV in my current setup, so I may be streaming a lot of things on my laptop. I do have several books to read, a case of water, plenty of assignments to grade, and students who I’m sure will be emailing me lots of questions about their assignments over the next two weeks. It will be a challenge, but we can make it!
