Coronavirus - My Journey

Units of alcohol: 0

Pounds losts/gained:  - 9 (Excellent!)

Fags: 200 (Not really but it feels like it!) 

No, I'm not recovering from a fortnight at The Priory. I'm recovering from Coronavirus! I suspect that three weeks at The Priory would be a doddle in comparison. I can honestly say I have never felt as ill since I had yellow jaundice when I was 10 years old! 

So far so good...

During the first lockdown, I didn’t know anyone personally who contracted the virus. We survived the lockdown and really enjoyed the summer months while observing social distancing. I managed to catch up with a range of friends I hadn’t seen for a while, kept working throughout and things seemed almost normal.

In September we were fortunate enough to escape to the sunshine in Greece. We were booked to go to Crete but at the last minute we Crete was added to the quarantine list so we contacted Jet2 who was really accommodating and we changed our trip to Corfu. Over recent months I’ve been surprised and shocked by the number of people I know who have tested positive for the virus, and continue to do so.

Our coronavirus journey was going well so far.

First Symptoms

Four weeks ago, I noticed a few odd symptoms. None were commonly associated with coronavirus so I didn't think too much of it. Then, on Wednesday, I started my sneezing badly and thought I had a heavy cold.

The first time I suspected it to be coronavirus was when I lost my sense of smell and taste and then I knew. I booked a drive-through test on Saturday and by 7 am on Sunday morning I was texted with a positive result. The first emotion was fear - fear of the unknown. I don't feel fear often in my life so it's a strange new emotion. I have experienced it a lot over those few weeks, especially during the night when I was coughing so much I couldn't catch my breath. This happened on several occasions. I really didn't want to end up in a hospital and forced myself to get up and move downstairs. In my (thankfully) limited experience of being ill, you don't realise how poorly you are until you're feeling better. 

CoronaVirus is definitely a rollercoaster. Another scary aspect of the virus is how quickly it can turn. Our very own prime minister Boris seemed well for about 10 days and then took a dive and ended up in a hospital. You hope to get better when it first starts but know it could get worse. I kept looking on the internet to see what point that happened but there's little to find. It happened to me too, I got worse before I started to get better.

Little acts of kindness kept me going;

• Daily messages from my sister, daughter and good friends always hoping for good news but initially not getting much.
• The daily update and photos of my lovely great-nephew Henry who arrived in the world on 5th November and who I haven't met yet. They made me smile every day.
• My friend who brought round some shopping: it's hard when everyone is self-isolating around you.
• My lovely neighbour who kept me watered with lemonade and the Sunday Times after Dominic Cummings departure that really cheered me up.
• Lovely flowers from Freddies Flowers.
• A delicious delivery of sweets from Jackie at ShoAppy which were just what I fancied. Another friend brought around a book and a lovely light up gin from M&S on the day I was tested. I don't fancy the gin (yet) but it looks pretty lit up.
• And my colleagues - a massive thanks to Claire and Becka, who have looked after our clients at Your Story (who probably haven't noticed I'm not there!). Becka also tested positive for CoronaVirus on Tuesday after I did. Lucky for her she didn't suffer quite as badly which goes to show how differently it can affect everyone. She wrote about her experience over on her blog.

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Fully Recovered

It's nearly four weeks since my symptoms started and I'm just back at work full time. I'm so glad it's behind me and not ahead of me. I always try to appreciate life and live it to the full but this has made me even more grateful that I'm almost recovered. I'm looking forward to these vaccines being available to all who need them. Spring is my favourite time of year and it's looking like this Spring will be especially special but sadly before that time more people will get ill, be hospitalized and some won't make it. 

Stay safe, dodge the virus and roll-on Spring!

Cathy xx