“I got dishonorably vaccinated”
Depicting how my unwanted relationship with Miss Corona went, starting from how I was forced to go on a date with her. And after finding out that she has attachment issues, I embarked on a process of breaking up with her and ending the toxic relationship. Miss Corona is a bitch.
My daily entries
14 March
Felt a bit of sore throat, so I went to take FET test. Outcome: negative. But as odd as it sounds, I had dreamt that I tested positive that night.
“Okay cool, I probably just ate too much snacks or heaty food and that’s why I have a sore throat.”
15 March
Sore throat worsened a little, when I spoke my mouth felt very dry too.
16 March
Woke up with my throat as dry as the desert. Took FET test, outcome: positive. What an unusual way of having “my dream came true”…
& then came the feeling of anger and frustration.
For context, my brother had contracted the virus on 28th February and then my father was infected too shortly afterwards. While my brother had recovered after 8 days, my father only recovered after more than 2 weeks, on 20 March (that’s unusually long). Back then, with so many midterms coming my way, I could not afford to fall ill. I didn’t want to fall sick. So I went to school almost every day during the first 2 weeks of March to minimise hours spent at home with 2 infected individuals. When at home, I would be extra conscious of my hygiene and wear a mask when leaving my room. I was so determined to not be infected by the coronavirus. But alas, because my dad did not wear a mask at home and was always in the living room, it was not out of the blue that the virus had eventually spread to me. Not surprising, but still infuriating. I was angry that (1) despite trying so hard to protect myself from the virus, I still got it and (2) that my father was so selfish and didn’t care for the people around him, not even his family. Besides that, I was also frustrated because I didn’t know how ill I would become and whether I would still be functional enough to do my school work. Time doesn’t stop and the curriculum doesn’t pause for a sick person. I still had another midterm the next Monday, on 21 March and I really hoped that I would be feeling okay by then.
17–18 March (those 2 days were rough)
Besides the constant sore throat, I would experience different conditions at different times of the day. Sometimes, I would have dry cough. Sometimes, I would be sneezing and having a running nose. Sometimes, my body would heat up and I would feel feverish. Sometimes, I would feel certain parts of my body aching, but not to the extent where I had to lie down. Sometimes, I would feel so lethargic that I would just nap in between my lessons. It was as if the coronavirus was giving me a refresher course on “how sick you would feel if you were having a cold or allergy”, all symptoms included. It turns out that Miss Corona had different attachment issues at different times.
For the first 3 days, I just kept taking lozenges and drinking coconut water, and occasionally took a few doses of cough syrup and manuka honey. Anything that would supposedly help me to recover.
Took FET test on 18 March, outcome: (still) positive.
19 March (turning point, I could see the light!)
My body felt more energised! My sore throat was better, my nose wasn’t running as much, I coughed much less, but I had a bit of a blocked nose. I was definitely more functional and productive. I could sing softly without feeling like my throat was about to be ripped apart, that’s a really good sign! Being isolated at home for the past couple of days, I didn’t really move much, honestly couldn’t either. But that day, I felt good enough to do a home HIIT cardio workout! So I laid out my yoga mat and followed along a YouTube video. I couldn’t push myself too hard and settled for the modified easier versions of the movements, but still managed to complete the workout, yay!
20 March
Woke up feeling rejuvenated and took the FET test. Outcome: positive, but with only a faint line at the “T” marking. I am on my way to recovery!
21 March
Took the FET test, outcome: NEGATIVE! I have finally dumped Miss Corona and can step outside of my house again to see the world! Yay!
Some reflections and thoughts about this whole period
I am thankful for my mother. She bought the lozenges, cough syrup, and other remedies for me and helped me to takeaway my meals while I had to self-isolate at home.
I also appreciate all my friends’ concern for me while I was sick. It was really heartwarming when they periodically checked in on me.
I guess I am lucky that I fell sick during week 9 of the academic semester, because that was after most of my midterms and before my remaining projects and assignments submissions from week 10 onwards. Besides tutorials, I had nothing else due on week 9. It was sort of the best case scenario for being down with covid-19? I would imagine myself being in much more despair if I were to fall sick during my final exams period ._.
Hybrid lessons are not great. After attending 2 physical tutorial classes via zoom, I understood that hybrid lessons are not only harder to manage, but less effective too. Sometimes the tutor was not speaking properly into the microphone, sometimes the internet connection was weak and the audio turned choppy. Sometimes the tutor would show the screen from the classroom projector’s point of view, so the content of the slides were not clear. I found it hard to comprehend the lesson, and easy to feel neglected by the tutor from the “zoom’s perspective”.
Oh and, I am not addicted to coffee. I didn’t drink it for 5 days and I wasn’t having any “withdrawal symptoms”. I guess I don’t really need coffee that much to survive the day.
Another one, I miss using my monitor and keyboard too, can’t wait to go back to using the large screen.
