10 days

Ten days. That’s how long one has to quarantine after receiving a positive test result for Covid-19. How do I know this? You guessed it - I have it and that’s what I was told by our local Health Center. I contracted Sars-CoV-2 about a week ago and this is my story.

A friend’s mother passed away earlier this year; she was an older woman and one who enjoyed a good party. Her family decided to hold one of their parties in honor of her; she had always loved these gatherings of friends and family over the years and it seemed a fitting way to do her memorial. We were invited to join them last Saturday night and we happily agreed to come. This time around we too had an RV we could park at the site so we could relax and enjoy ourselves without having to worry about driving over the hill back home.

The party was held mostly outdoors - the bbq’s were covered but open on the sides. The kitchen, a large three sided building, had its door open all night. The fourth wall opens into a dining area with canvas sides - two of it’s three sides were down, but one of the long sides was open. Air flow was good, but when the rain started we were able to stay dry. It was a pot luck and there was a lot of food and drink and everyone had a good time. There was a DJ and after the dining was done, tables were moved and the dancing started. My husband and I love to dance and we danced for quite a while before I finally grew too tired and headed to bed.

I talked to various folks throughout the evening, though we did hang out with one old friend and a friend of his more than anyone else. In hindsight, we undoubtedly spent more than the recommended 15 minutes talking to them and most likely less than six feet apart. Because it was so open to the elements we hadn’t felt compelled to wear masks. Hindsight being perfect, I can easily see how this could have been prevented, but that doesn’t change anything now.

Wednesday morning I woke up with a scratchy throat - I felt like I had been snoring all night, though my husband said no, I hadn’t. As the soreness didn’t wear off as the day wore on, I realized I must be coming down with something. As all of my colds start the same way, I wasn’t too worried. Nonetheless, I went down to the Senior Center and had a Covid test just “to rule it out.” Everyone I spoke to told me, oh, it’s probably just a cold, there’s a cold going around, etc. But the nurse who took my sample had me cover my mouth while she took it, which was a first.

I felt pretty tired after that and spent the rest of the day napping and resting. Thursday was more of the same - I sat on the couch and read and napped all day. Friday I actually felt a bit better, which was good because I needed to drive to Point Arena to open up a house for some inspections. I was careful there - wearing my mask and staying inside my car except when needed and always keeping my distance. I kept expecting to get my test results back at anytime, but I still hadn’t when I got home in the mid-afternoon. I checked the website that I had been given and was told that the results weren’t available yet.

About an hour later I got the text, and the email, telling me that my results were ready. I quickly logged in and pressed “accept” or whatever to get to the result. And my eyes saw the red circle and positive.” And I could hardly believe it. I have been tested several times and always have I been negative. Why was I so surprised? I was sick; I knew if I could have caught a cold I could also have caught Covid; but I was still shocked. I started calling people, my husband, my mother, friends. I went back and checked the results a couple of times - still positive.

After a bit of wrangling with this and letting it sink in, I called our friend who hosted the party. If I was sick, probably others were too. As we talked, he said he thought I had just had too much to drink - well, yes, but that was over and done with Sunday. Then he said that someone else had called his wife and complained of a sore throat. We talked a bit more and I told him who I had spoken with for any length of time so he could check on them and we hung up. A while later he called back to tell me that the couple who had sore throats had also tested positive, as had the one teenager I had talked to plus another man I did not know.

I called the friend again yesterday and checked to see if anyone else had gotten ill. Thankfully, no one else had. We don’t know who brought it but at least two of them who tested positive were not vaccinated; I have my suspicions, but that’s all they are or likely ever will be. I am just very thankful that I was vaccinated, because as sick as I was for those first days it could likely have been a lot worse.

I never really had a fever, just that mild sore throat. I had body aches, but mainly I felt exhaustion, physically and mentally. I’m still very short-tempered; I quickly get exasperated by stuff that shouldn’t bother me but I am quickly overwhelmed and snap. My senses of smell and taste are both gone; friends like to tell me it can take months to get those back, but research shows most get it back in a few weeks. Not being able to taste doesn’t mean I don’t get hungry - ravenous actually; it’s just that any anticipation of how good something will taste is quickly dashed. I do get textures and certain things stick out - sweetness is noticeable, as is tartness. But there’s no complexity.

My ten days of quarantine began the day I got tested - the day I first felt sick. That means I have this coming work-week and next weekend to go. I have spent most of this weekend watching Netflix, currently binge-watching Sex Education, which I highly recommend. I have made a vow to write an email a day to my email pen pal from France, who lives in Philly now. And there’s always calls and emails for work which I can do from home.

My advice? Be careful; get vaccinated - it obviously kept me from getting much more sick and as it’s likely that an non-vaccinated person gave this to me and several others, do it for everyone else (stop being selfish, in other words); wear your mask and maybe, if you’re going to hang out with someone you don’t know well, ask them if they are vaccinated. If not, you can at least keep your distance and not get Covid like I did. I’ll see you at the end of ten days.