Member-only story
I Had COVID-19, But It Wasn’t the Worst I’d Ever Felt
It doesn’t mean I’ll take it less seriously
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. This story is my personal experience with COVID-19. The disease hits everyone differently. What’s mild for me could hospitalize someone else.
I expected a lot when I got sick. I expected to struggle to breathe, but I wasn’t wheezing. I expected a trip to the hospital, but I didn’t have to leave the house. I expected to be so weak I couldn’t get out of bed, but I had enough energy for small chores around the house.
If someone I was around hadn’t tested positive, I would’ve never thought about getting the test myself. The disease put that person in the hospital, but I got out with nothing more than a head cold.
Before I got sick, I thought of COVID-19 in two extremes: you died or ended up in the hospital. When I suspected I had COVID in March, some of my family told me it wasn’t possible because I wasn’t in the hospital on a ventilator.
I was more scared of the disease than my fiance and his children. An article came out saying fat people were more vulnerable. Overweight people have a history of being ignored when they go to the doctor’s office. People died because symptoms that have nothing to do with their weight get blown off by a doctor’s fat bias.
