My Covid Story

It finally happened. Covid arrived in our house. 

For me though, it all started with a sore throat. Two days of a scratchy, sore throat on Monday, two weeks ago. 

I had had my Pfizer booster and flu jab on the Saturday, and after a rubbish day in bed feeling flu-ey on the Sunday, got up feeling pretty much fine...apart from this niggly sore throat. 

By then Lib was a bit bunged up (but showing negative on lateral flow tests) and Si was starting to feel a bit under the weather.

After having this sore throat for two days I then developed a cough, though I certainly wouldn't have said it was 'persistent' (like they say on the NHS website). It was mild and sporadic. I've just picked up Lib's cold I thought. I felt fine in myself and still had plenty of energy. 

Then on waking on Wednesday feeling even more rough, Si did another lateral flow. It was positive. 

By that point, Lib and Ed were at school. As soon as they came home we did lateral flows on them (again) and low and behold Lib's came back a very faint positive. I was still negative at this point, but the signs were looking bad for me too. We booked PCR tests for all of us, and after a day it confirmed that yes, Si and Lib had covid. Mine came back inconclusive. 

I was still feeling ok. The sore throat was better, but the cough was slightly worse. 

Covid in the house

I booked a repeat PCR as we got our head around the ramifications of it finally being in the house. 

Firstly, we had had the plumbers start on the Monday before, as we remodel the ensuite and bathroom. They gutted the ensuite in a day and had a delivery of all the fittings and fixtures. Meaning our house is FULL of boxes....and a bath. Obviously they stopped working as soon as we'd notified them about the lurgy and luckily, it was left in a reasonable state and we still had use of a bathroom! Not ideal though having a bath in the hallway. 

Secondly Ed had to be off too while we waited for his PCR, so didn't go back into school for the Thursday and Friday. It was very very strange being in lockdown again. Lib was feeling fine, despite the covid and actually was living her best life in isolation in her bedroom. She could watch as much on her tablet as she wanted! Si camped up in the spare room, and I took meals up to him while masked up. A lot of hand washing went on. 

I had booked a second PCR, which I tentatively went out to get in the middle of Storm Arwen. Sod's law, because it was a Saturday, it was busy and I had to stand in the cold and wind waiting to get into the little porta-cabin to get tested. The test came back positive on the Sunday and it was confirmed. I had Covid-19.

Covid and MS

Having MS meant I was more vulnerable, so I had always dreaded getting it. However, I found that it wasn't as bad as expected. I certainly felt ill - I still had the cough, aches and a runny nose, but it was more just like a bad cold. Si definitely got it worse than me, which was unexpected. 

I had one really bad night, where I had a fever, then uncontrollable shakes for an hour or two, which was the only time I thought 'oh sh*t'. I felt so cold I had to have a bath to calm my body down, which worked a treat I have to say. Si was on hand to calm me down too (the one advantage to Covid was that I could now mix with Si and Lib). 

I managed to sleep, and felt a bit better the next day, so really I just had a really bad 24 hours. 

I couldn't help but feeling relieved. Relieved that it was finally done, and relieved that it wasn't as bad as expected. With regards to the MS, I was certainly fatigued and achy, but as I get those symptoms on a daily basis, it wasn't too much of a shock to the system. 

Sheila was the real rock through all of it though. Without we would have really struggled. Because she was negative it meant she could still walk Obi, and maintain some sort of normality for Ed. Our wonderful friends, helped to get Ed to and from school, which was an absolute blessing.....I'm not sure what we would have done without the kindness of everyone. 

The worst symptom

The worst symptom for me has been the loss of taste and smell. I find it quite distressing! For someone who likes to cook, and loves their food, not being able to taste or smell when you're cooking, is extremely hard. I know in the grand scheme of things, it's not a big deal, but I just find it so odd. It's weird to think that you could eat something that is 'off' without having any clue. It's particularly galling that Christmas is coming up....fingers crossed it returns soon. Christmas for me has a lot to do with smell - the  scent of oranges and spice, baking and pine from the Christmas tree. All things that make me feel Christmassy. 

Without smell, I'm finding it lacking, and struggling to fully get into the Christmas spirit. Having said that I'm feeling lucky to get through the other side unscathed!