It Finally Got Me!

After more than four years of escaping it, I got COVID.

It was a little stressful to be out of the shop for two weeks, but Hannah and Hayden completely stepped up and in and made sure everything was taken care of at the shop so that I didn't have to worry. Maybe you even came to the shop, and didn't notice I wasn't there?! I appreciate them both so much. It has been such a huge fear for me, as a small business owner, to get sick and have to close for two weeks, but luckily I didn't have to close at all!

COVID hit me hard.

This was not "just a cold". Or even "like the flu". 

I *felt something* inside of me.

And it took a lot from me for several weeks. 

I had no idea what to expect! As a society we've normalized COVID (it still isn't normal) so much, that even I, who has been more cautious than many, for longer than most, and who still gets weekly updates about COVID, was surprised it hit as hard as it did. 

Not knowing any of this beforehand is why I want to share my story. As one person said to me when I was back at work, "this is a two week illness". I'm learning this over and over again. The more I share my story with others, and the more they share with me, the more I'm learning that my experience is more common than rare.

(I'm just going to come right out and say it: the 5-day guideline from the CDC is an absolute joke that is driven by our capitalist society and puts people at risk!)

For me, COVID felt like it came out of nowhere on July 15th, but in hindsight, I had a sore throat for a few days before. I thought nothing of it originally. I was out more than usual, in crowded places (ooooops), and when I have to talk loud for a long time, I often end up with a mild sore throat that lasts a day or less. 

(Don't be like me! A sore throat is currently a very common symptom, so pay attention to your body!)

The day before, I canceled my evening plans because I was SO tired. Again, I thought nothing of it because I had been out so much the few days before. 

On the morning of July 15th, I was SICK. I was in a lot of pain all over my body, but especially in my head, neck, and jaw. My throat had never hurt so badly. I could barely move, but I had to let my dogs out. When I sat out on my steps that day, it was during that intense heat wave we had in the northeast. It was nearly 100F with humidity of a million percent, and I was freeeezing. I had goosebumps.

I tested negative that first day! 

My symptoms changed almost every day for the entire time I was sick. 

The fever was the worst on the first day, bad but not quite so overwhelming the second day, and was gone just a few days in.

I went through an entire box of tissues each day for the first few days, and all I wanted to eat was fruit?? (I love fruit, but usually my body doesn't like more than 1 serving a day)

Since I was expecting it to only last 5 or so days (??? thanks CDC ???), when the 5th day came and I was feeling better but still very sick, I started to get anxious. 

When the 7th day came and I was feeling better but still no where near well, I started to get more anxious, but around this time, someone mentioned a great phrase to me: radical rest. She said to heal would take radical rest. (This is not always completely possible when you live in a house with other people who affect your sleep schedule, but I still keep that term in mind almost a month later because it's a great one to remember.)

When the 10th day came and I was feeling better in my body but I was still symptomatic, I started to get pretty nervous that I'd never feel better! And never test negative! I was not feeling great mentally, and it did not help that several people seemed surprised that I was still sick!

(Reminder: this is not surprising. From everyone I've talked to, this current group of variants really does cause a two week illness! But at the time, I still didn't know this.)

On Day 12, I finally tested negative. I had lingering minor symptoms, but I didn't *feel it* inside me anymore. On Day 13 I tested negative again. On Day 14 I tested negative a third time, and I re-entered the world. 

Around Day 19, I was still feeling extreme exhaustion and brain fog and getting really nervous that it would last forever. Thankfully, the same person who told me it was a two week illness gave me some perspective. When I shared how exhausted I was, she asked when I first got sick. When I told her, I could see it in her face: "oh, it was only a couple weeks ago?? you'll be ok".

It wasn't until around Day 25 when I ran up the alley stairs to go to D2 and realized, I ran up the alley stairs! Like usual! Not slow and exhausted like the previous two weeks!

Today, about a month later, I'm still not feeling 100% like myself, but I'm close. I don't have the exhaustion anymore, but I still don't have full energy. I don't have brain fog anymore, but I still have some glitches. I still have some nerve and muscle pain. I'm feeling a bizarre sense of apathy? (This is very unlike me, and I don't know if it's from a severe lack of sleep due to situational factors or it's COVID related - I'd love to hear from you if you've felt this way from COVID!)

Overall, I'm grateful to be mostly healthy overall again, and hopeful that I won't have long term symptoms or damage. 

I feel like this is a good time for another reminder: this is just my experience. I'm not a medical professional, I'm an herbalist. I can't treat any diseases/illnesses, COVID is different for everyone, and everyone's bodies are different. I wanted to share my timeline with you in case you need the knowledge or reminder that it's ok if you're not better in just a few days. A two week illness is "normal".

Because COVID can be so serious, and because I have to be careful what I share isn't taken as medical advice, I'm just going to share a little about how I took care of myself:

I drank and drank and drank teas. So much liquid. Warm tea and and room temperature teas. I even had a few sports drinks on the first couple days (I almost never drink things like this, but I was really craving sugar for some reason).

Because it changed so much for me every day, I chose to soothe symptoms as they came up. For me, that meant sage gargles for my throat, lots of fruit, lung supporting teas, and immune boosting teas for the first few days to around a week. 

When it felt right, I reduced the immune boosting teas and added immune builders, added lymph moving teas, and kept the lung supports. 

When it felt right again, I switched to immune building and lymph moving teas, and added heart supporting teas. I'm still somewhere around here in my personal protocol.

At different times, I also did herbal steams and used essential oils for helping relieve congestion and to remind myself to breathe deep.

A little gift that my experience gave me:

I could only do one thing at a time for a few weeks. I couldn't even look at my phone if the TV was on or music was playing. This was scary, because I need to multitask to run my businesses, but it was also a good reminder for me to slow down. Now that I'm getting my ability to multi-task back, I'm relieved but also reminding myself that it's ok to just do one thing at a time sometimes.

I'm glad it's (hopefully) over and I'm feeling almost totally recovered. I'm grateful not only to Hannah and Hayden, but to all the care Mike gave me (while isolating the best we could for two whole weeks!), and also to all the people who reached out and offered to drop off supplies to me! I felt very cared for, and part of a greater community.

Take good care of yourselves, and listen to your bodies!

Xo,
Lisa