Covid Journal

Thank you for taking interest in my story and reading what my experience of catching the SARS-CoV-2 RNA (Covid-19) Virus. I started documenting my experience of being sick with Covid-19 on Facebook on February 19th the day I received confirmation that I was positive. I documented mostly to inform my family/friends of how I was doing and also as a way to refer back should I need to relay the data to any medical personnel later. In the last 60 days, I have little to no memory of the first 3 weeks at all. Some of my accounts here are from those Facebook posts, text messages conversations and the help of my husband Chris. 

As a side note, a little bit about me. I’m 40 years old with 3 kids (2 biological daughters, 1 step son), 2 dogs and 2 cats. I am what I consider pretty healthy. I enjoy paddle boarding in the summer but winter I'm a bit of a hermit. Medically speaking I do have an auto-immune disease called Chronic Idiopathic Urticarial (CIU) – which is a fancy name for Chronic Hives with no known cause. I’ve been taking allergy shots for the past year and was getting a
monthly injection to control my hives.

Throughout this journal, you’ll hear a lot about the symptoms I experienced on a daily/weekly basis. What is almost impossible is to describe the pain that went along with those symptoms. I tried as best as I could on some of them. There were a few though that I myself am still trying to process how I was feeling what I was feeling.

I hope this helps educate and inform everyone who reads this that this is a very real and very dangerous virus. Thankfully, my immune system was able to fight it off and I didn’t have to be admitted to a hospital.

Wednesday - February 17th, 2021
Day 1 - This is where it all began, I woke up at 2:30am with the worst headache I’ve had in a long time. I took 3 Ibuprofen and stumbled my way back to bed. 7am came too soon, got kids to school and took my husband Chris to get his Covid-19 test as he wasn’t feeling well for the previous 4 days. Throughout the day, I worked from home but battled that headache and started feeling light headed, congestion, nauseated and also had diarrhea.
Symptoms progressively got worse throughout the day.

Thursday – February 18, 2021
Day 2 - I woke up feeling terrible, called into work as I couldn’t look at a computer screen with the headache I had. The headache came and went all day and yesterday’s other symptoms of nausea, diarrhea, congestion, light headedness were still present and new symptoms appeared. New symptoms were muscle and bone aches (best described how I would imagine someone with arthritis feels), I started coughing today and also lost my sense of smell. My sense of smell I only realized because I tried to smell the roses Chris got me for Valentine’s Day and there was nothing! I scheduled an appointment to get tested for Covid-19 and drove over to get the saliva test done. Chris got the call his test came back positive today so I’m certain I am also positive.

Friday – February 19, 2021
Day 3 - This morning, I was so dizzy. I felt like I was on the verge of passing out walking to the bathroom and had to lay down on the floor for almost an hour until I felt I could make it back to bed. My head hurts and feels like it weighs so much. My muscles don’t hurt as bad. Unfortunately, the headache which went away for a few hours is back and I’ve been taking 3 ibuprofen every 6 hours on the dot since Wednesday. Cold medicine is helping so I can at least get a few hours of sleep. I still can’t smell which is hard for me to comprehend. The county health department called me this afternoon to confirm what I already knew. I was positive for Covid-19

Saturday – February 20, 2021
Day 4 - I woke up today feeling actually pretty good. My headache is still there, diarrhea for the 4th day in a row has not been pleasant and the cough is still there, dry cough. The muscle aches are limited today to my calf muscles which all of the above have made it almost impossible to sleep. I even told Chris today that if I felt like this on Monday, I could probably go back to work.

Sunday – February 21, 2021
Day 5 - I slept all night last night, something I had not been able to do since last Wednesday! However, when I woke up at 9am my head hurt the worst it’s felt since this started. I describe it as being hit in the back of the head. The pressure in the back of my head is really odd. I’ve been so nauseous that I’m forcing myself to eat/drink. Not easy to do. Still monitoring my coughing, started tracking my blood oxygen level today, it was
steady at 97%.

Monday – February 22, 2021
Day 6 - Woke up to the same headache, called my sister who is an Emergency Room Doctor in Idaho and she said that I can take Excedrin to see if it helps my headache. It’s lessened but still really painful. Aches/pains are now in my elbows and legs. It seems every day my body hurts somewhere else. I have a low grade fever now of 99.6 and day 6 of diarrhea. Standing up has been a challenge, I’m so dizzy and lightheaded, and Chris has been having to help me to the bathroom. Showering is done by sitting on the floor with the hand wand (thank goodness I bought that a few years ago).

Tuesday – February 23, 2021
Day 7 - 2am woke up not being able to sleep, my headache is terrible. The body aches are now in my back/hips/shoulder/clavicle. I’m getting confused at times, almost delirious. My head feels very weird now, everything is foggy. Past 7 days have been a roller coaster of the same symptoms, all getting a bit worse each day, but mixed in having a few hours where I feel pretty good - then it all crashes and feels worse than before. This afternoon, I began having severe nausea, worse headache, ringing in the ears started and all of this made it impossible to sleep.

Wednesday – February 24, 2021
Day 8 - Same as yesterday, the pain in my muscles and bones intensified a bit today. The nausea and headache did as well. I was able to get ahold of some Zofran (nausea medication) which helped little. Still not able to eat much.

Thursday – February 25, 2021
Day 9 - Today was a bad day, I had a terrible headache still all day, and even though I knew it wasn’t a migraine headache (feels much different) I took my emergency migraine medication that my neurologist gave me a few years ago. That didn’t even touch the headache. During the day, my hands/feet/arms/legs started tingling. Not like when they fall asleep though. It was very deep inside my limbs. Everything is tingling almost like an electrical switch was turned on in my brain and I couldn’t get it to turn off. I’ve also started to experience auditory hallucinations. (I asked Chris to let the dogs out of our bedroom because they were pacing, I could hear their nails clicking on the hardwood floor. Chris got up turned on the light and then informed me that the dogs weren’t even in our room).
Sleep didn’t come for me – the extreme tingling kept me up most of the night.

Friday – February 26, 2021
Day 10 - I broke down and asked Chris to call urgent care today. I couldn’t leave the house (couldn’t make it downstairs) so he called a company that sent 2 doctors to our house. I received an IV in my bed which was so needed. I was very dehydrated. They also gave me a shot of Phenergren for the nausea that I had been having for the past week. They listened to my lungs which they said sounded good. I was able to sit up in bed on my own for
a few minutes. Still I’m very tired, coughing still but the nausea and diarrhea have ended so it seems. All symptoms are still there, doctors thought it was weird that everything was “tingling” but didn’t seem too concerned. They did order a chest x-ray for tomorrow to be brought to the house as well.

Saturday – February 27, 2021
Day 11 - I felt pretty good today! The fluids from the IV yesterday helped a ton. I went downstairs and sat in our recliner for 20 minutes before having to go back upstairs to lay down again. That’s the most I’ve done in 11 days, but I did sleep for 4 hours afterwards it was too much for me to do so soon. I asked Chris to call and cancel the chest x-ray as I don’t think my lungs are a problem...just have the dry cough which is more annoying than anything. Today, my symptoms are: Auditory hallucinations (which is getting a little frustrating trying to figure out what is real and what is not), headache (still in the back of my head), dry cough, muscle/bone aches, tingling feeling in my arms, hands, legs and feet, ringing in my ears, vertigo, dizziness, brain fog/fuzziness, extreme fatigue and I still
can’t smell.

Sunday – February 28, 2021 to Wednesday – March 3, 2021
Day 12 to 15 – Symptoms are much of the same but there are mild improvements. I got out of bed and sat in the recliner again each day, a little more than the day before. Main symptoms today are headache, congestion, cough, fatigue, joint/back pain everywhere and brain fog.
Thursday – March 4, 2021
Day 16 – I woke up feeling really weird today. Same symptoms as yesterday but my head just feels weird. I texted with a few people and received a couple get well soon cards in the mail. I did make it downstairs again today and even tried to make dinner but I couldn’t stand that long and had to ask our kids to make it. I went back up to bed. I’ve been getting these weird feelings in my arms/joints that I can’t really describe, almost like they
are not connected to my body. My brain, I think, can’t process this feeling and I can’t exactly describe what it was like – almost like a pre-paralyzed feeling. Everything just hurts.
I’ve enlisted Chris to help with this part of the journal entry as I can’t remember what happened...AT ALL. I fell asleep around 6:30pm but at 7pm I woke up and told Chris I felt really dizzy. REALLY DIZZY. I sat up on the edge of the bed and that was the last thing I remember. I rely on Chris to relay what happened for the next 3 hours. Chris told me that I sat on the side of our bed and began to tell him that I couldn’t feel my arms. I then started to panic. He says I started hyperventilating and sobbing. I told him I needed to get to the shower so he helped meout of bed and he carried me to the bathroom where I told him I had to just sit down. Chris says that as we sat on the bathroom floor, he was rocking me and holding my arms so I didn’t move them. He said he tried distracting me to get me to calm down but also checking that I could feel him touching my arms, which I said I could. I spent 2 hours on that bathroom floor with him and once he was able to get me to calm down and breathe normal, he began asking me questions. For the next hour, He says I asked him 5-6 times what day it was, I didn’t know where I was, kept asking what
happened etc. Afterwards, he says I was like a zombie, I stared at the wall, answering his questions in shortsentences. By the time I was completely calm, he got me back to bed and I passed out sleeping. He says I refused to go to the hospital or to have an ambulance come. In hindsight, he probably should have ignored me and called them anyway.
I’m not sure what caused that panic attack, but Chris says that I was completely out of it for those 3 hours. I remember parts of the end of the 3rd hour when he got to our bedroom window and had me breathing in fresh air
then going back to bed. I slept all night, in a very deep sleep. Chris said that was one of the scariest things he’s ever witnessed and the kids were pretty worried about me too.

Friday – March 5, 2021
Day 17 – I ended up going to the Hospital today. I was very short of breath, having to breathe after each word it seemed. But that’s not what brought me there. MY HEAD feels terrible. Not a normal headache at all, the pressure sensation is really uncomfortable, I needed an IV very badly also. In the ER, I was immediately ushered into an isolation room because I had tested positive for Covid-19. I was hooked up to an IV of sodium chloride and also a separate potassium chloride bag as well as my potassium level
was low at 2.1 (normal is 3.5). Because I was breathing weird, they did a chest x-ray which looked fine (yay). After about an hour the doctor came in and said they wanted to do a CT scan of my head and also of my lungs to rule out any pulmonary embolisms (blood clots). I kept thinking that a blood clot could explain why my head felt so bad. A respiratory therapist came in and gave me an albuterol inhaler and taught me how to use it. It makes a
big difference in my breathing for sure. CT guys finally came in about 10pm and I had both the Head CT and Lung CT done. At 11:30pm I was told that the Head CT came back clear but that I did have sinusitis (could explain the pressure in my head) and that the Lung CT
showed that I had pneumonia in both lungs. Bizarre as I didn’t even go there for my lungs.
They also said that they needed to draw blood again to confirm that my potassium level was where it needed to be then they’d discharge me. My labs came back with my potassium at 3.2 so they had me drink a potassium liquid. By the time Chris came to pick me up from the hospital at 1am, the diarrhea started again....it wasn’t a good night.

Saturday – March 6, 2021 to Tuesday – March 9, 2021
Day 18 -21– I started my antibiotic on Saturday which was prescribed by the ER physician for the pneumonia but she said it would also help with the sinusitis. Getting fluids in again helped me feel a bit better also. By Monday, the antibiotic was making me physically sick and I couldn’t keep anything down. The potassium drink had made the diarrhea start again and on Saturday afternoon I took Imodium (probably the best thing I did). I felt that all
the fluids they gave me Friday in the ER were wasted after having diarrhea every hour for 14 hours. I went to my primary doctor on Monday, March 8th, Chris had to drive me to the doctor’s office as I couldn’t walk more than a few feet without feeling like I was going to pass out...not to mention I had been vomiting all morning from the antibiotic. Another Covid-19 test (2nd) was done and I was told earliest my doctor would release me to
return to work would be Monday 3/22. Symptoms today are pneumonia, light headed, vomiting, nausea, and fatigue.

Thursday – March 11, 2021
Day 23 - I feel like I’m slowly getting rid of symptoms. My headache actually went away for the past 2 days! I’m still very lightheaded and short of breath due to the pneumonia. Still very weak and tired and I woke up today with a sore throat. Also still can’t smell. The results from Monday’s Covid-19 test (#2) came back and I’m still positive. Not surprised by that at all.

Friday – March 12, 2021 to Sunday – March 14, 2021
Days 24-26 – Today we got 2 feet of snow! Felt weird not to be able to help Chris shovel or play with our kids. I believe that today I really feel I’m starting to “recover” and not in another Covid wave as I’ve called it. My neurological symptoms (tingling etc.) has diminished a bunch, I hope it will be gone soon. Now that I’ve had a
little time to attempt to process what was happening to my body, I can only explain that as almost like a pre-paralysis. My arms did not feel like they were connected to my body. There was a disconnect somewhere in my brain. I could feel them, but at the same time, they were not mine. Weird I know, but I’ve never experienced anything like that in my life before. I have had a few nights recently where I’ve had to get up and just walk
because besides the tingling, disconnected feeling, everything just hurts.
My ankles feel like a large needle is stabbing me just before and after the ankle bone and that needle is then making its way up my bones! The joint pain from the last 26 days has been the worst I’ve ever felt. Not like after you work out. My sore throat is still there and now my left ear is aching also. The ringing in my ears has not stopped...its low
sounding but very present. The cough from the pneumonia has lessened some and I can finally breath normally again. I haven’t had to use the inhaler in 2 days!

Friday – March 19, 2021
Day 32 – I went to the doctor today, I was told that she can’t sign off on me returning to work yet. My blood pressure is the issue now. With the cough I have, my BP should be elevated and instead it was barely readable. I’m still light headed and dizzy likely attributed to the pneumonia still. Oxygen is at 96%. Because of my symptoms still, I’m still not cleared to drive or return to work. I also had another Covid-19 test today – will get those results on Monday.

Monday – March 22, 2021
Day 35 – My 3rd Covid-19 test came back positive again. My doctor says she’ll be looking to see me on the 26th to see if she can clear me to go back to work on the 30th.
Still dealing with the cough and shortness of breath – both are improving. She determined my sore throat is not my throat but a lymph node that is swollen (likely trying to filter out the virus). My head still feels weird, that same pressure sensation in the back. Fatigue is still an issue. Slow and steady wins the race right?

Friday – March 26, 2021
Day 39 – I drove today! I felt good enough to take myself to the doctor My appointment went well and I’ve been cleared to return to work on Tuesday 3/30. On Tuesday (March 23rd) it felt like a switch flipped in my brain, I started feeling much better. The doctor did another Covid-19 test today (4th).

Monday – March 29, 2021
Day 42 – My 4th Covid-19 test came back NEGATIVE!!! I still have some symptoms that I’m hoping will go away soon. Fatigue, loss of smell, head weirdness, but considering what the past 5 weeks had been, I can’t complain. I get to go back to work tomorrow!

Monday – April 5, 2021
Day 49 – I’ve been back to work for a week now. I have a few lingering symptoms, but I guess it just takes a long time. Fatigue is getting better each day, I am barely coughing now and am breathing normally. My joints are hurting pretty much every day and I find that working from home I have to stand up and walk around every 40 minutes or
so. My head is also still feeling weird and I found that my vision is very blurry when I look far away. I used to be able to see branches on the trees, now it’s just a big blur.
My ears are still ringing, low tone but is getting pretty annoying. I’m getting phantom smells of things that are not there. I am hoping that means my sense of smell is on its way back.

Friday – April 16, 2021
Day 60 – The past 2 weeks have seen improvement week over week, though I can’t say I’ve seen a day to day difference. I’ve been back to work for 3 weeks and this week finally was able to make it a through the day without feeling like I had to take a nap.
Memory loss I’m finding is pretty frustrating. Long term is not an issue, but short term memory - I’m having to take way more notes than I used to and I find that my family has been having to remind me of things that I normally wouldn’t forget.
My vision (distance) is still very blurry, that doesn’t seem to have improved. My joint pain is gone, I feel back to normal in that aspect. I was able to walk the dogs for an hour last weekend and was not short of breath. My cough is almost gone. I do have spurts where I cough non-stop for a few minutes then it goes away. Tinnitus has gone away though the pressure in the back of my head is still there. It’s not a headache, just pressure.
I’ve tried massage, going to the chiropractor thinking that my muscles in the neck were too tight and causing it, but so far nothing I’ve done has helped. The pressure may just be something that takes a long time to go away. My sense of smell still hasn’t returned. I get whiffs of things, this time, they are real ☺ I smelled coffee at Starbucks yesterday and when I cooked dinner last night I could smell the pork I was frying. But since last night, I
haven’t smelled anything. My brain must be still working on resetting.
Overall, I’m feeling really good. Until the pressure in my head goes away I won’t say I’m 100% yet. This will be my last entry for a while. I’ll add my last journal entry when the pressure in my head is gone and my sense of smell is back. I’m curious how long those will last. I think my memory loss issues may just take time. This virus has
attacked areas of my brain that I just could not comprehend what was happening to me and because of that, I think it will take some time to heal.
60 days is a long time, 2 full months to not feel like myself. I have to wait 90 days for my covid-19 vaccine (I’m still trying to get clarification if its 90 days from the date I was confirmed positive or 90 days from when I tested negative.) Once I know for sure that I’m eligible, I have decided that I will get the vaccine. I just can’t go through this again.

Thursday July 15, 2021
I’m about 5 months from when I 1st fell ill, my energy is still not back to what it was pre-covid and my sense of smell is still not 100 percent, I smell things here and there, and more frequently but it’s still not where I hoped it would be. The back of my head pressure is still there – granted it’s lessened quite a bit than it was 3 months ago. I did end up getting my vaccinations – 1st dose was 5/1/2021 and the 2nd dose was 5/20/2021. Both injections
were not painful until the next day. Then it was like I had covid again – joint pain kept me down an entire day and my arm hurt where the injection was given. I made sure to drink a ton of water prior to both injections and that seemed to help as I did not get a headache.
This will be my final entry, at this point I have no idea when I will be back to 100% but I’m up, I’m working and I’m taking care of myself and my family.
Thank you for reading!
Kate Scott