Adapting After Having COVID By Alex Garrett
I’m simply writing this because I don’t think there is enough discussion about the life lived AFTER having COVID.
After a week of care from my wonderful mom and step-dad, Vic , I walked into the local urgent care to get my rapid test days after testing positive hoping for a negative. If you are in Queens , I highly recommend Kamin Health (https://www.kaminhealth.com/union-medical-urgent-care/). They are efficient and get results within 15 minutes and even give a doctors note one way or the other .
On Monday January 10th, 2022 I finally tested negative through the rapid test and was so excited. I then went to Queens Hospital for a fully examined PCR. That also came back negative which had me quite excited to go back to work, break quarantine, and live again! All the efforts my family put into this to help me fight COVID were paying off. I also believe God had His hands in that week I was positive !
On the news, they make it sound so seem-less when an athlete tests negative and can be taken off the COVID protocols to play. In CDC world, they now have so much confidence the isolation period has been cut down to five days which was a head-scratcher. For me, life after having COVID has been unusual.
I have noticed since returning to life my energy levels are not where they were pre-COVID. I still feel some congestion, a chronic health condition has popped up and I just feel a little more tired than usual. While I have relied on sleep to help me, that doesn’t seem to be enough. I’m now taking anti-biotics and have Tylenol on hand just in case there is a rough patch through the day. I’m writing to alert that yes, COVID HAS AFTER-EFFECTS. We can always celebrate finally testing negative, but thinking of short or long-term effects should be examined more. The CDC has laid that out right here https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html)
I’ve always hated the label ‘high-risk’ but I can see why now. I never wanted to get COVID for multiple reasons. Along with not passing it to friends and loved ones and colleagues, one of the major reasons is that I have one kidney. During my days of positivity and isolation, I could not tell if my kidney was affected as it was my stomach that was hit the hardest. Dehydration was becoming a bit much during those first three-four days. Being ‘immunocompromised’ is a real issue here.
The media glamorizes the idea of losing sense of smell or taste moving forward. What they don’t tell you is that it does take a while to bounce back. For 30 years, with support from family and friends , I have always been used to bouncing back from any illnesses. That’s why life after COVID is a little unsettling, if I’m honest.
