Pandemic
Log: Friday, 20th
March 2020
Woke up this morning to find this
text message waiting to greet me; before my first sip of coffee.
The day I met my friend for
lunch, you ask? Friday 13th of course!
I am not someone who panics; in
fact I am the person everyone seeks out in a time of crisis. Yet, for some
reason, perhaps due to Covid-19 news overload, I read the text as saying that
my friend’s colleague and his girlfriend had tested positive.
Needless to say that almost
automatically the pain I felt in my lymph nodes, the day before, suddenly took
on greater urgency. What was yesterday clearly a symptom of seasonal allergies
took on a more ominous dimension.
I woke my wife up and said “good morning jaan, you will never guess the
text I got this morning.”
After discussing it, we decided
that I would call our GP and get his guidance on how I should proceed.
My GP’s office manager said I
should self-isolate and wait for him to call me after 7pm that evening. I had
no intention of trying to get tested for Covid-19 because I knew there was a
shortage of tests, and people who are visibly sick with far
more severe symptoms need them.
As the day progressed I started
to feel soreness all over my body and also began to feel feverish. The power
of suggestion with the passage of time is quite remarkable.
By the evening I was genuinely
feeling like my energy levels had dropped, while the pain in my throat persisted.
My doctor did not call that evening, so I went to bed reasonably sure that I
did not have Covid-19 but not entirely convinced just yet.
In the morning, I re-read the
text with a fresh set of eyes and noticed for the first time that the co-worker
and his girlfriend had not in fact tested positive; they had just
exhibited symptoms.
A few minutes later my doctor called.
I explained the situation to him,
confessing that I might now be putting 1 and 3 together. He assured me that I had
done the right thing and explained that unless I was also experiencing pain in
the center of my chest, shortness of breath and running a fever of 101 degrees
or more, it was unlikely I had Covid-19.
Further, he said that since I was
also past the four to five day limit, when symptoms start to show-up, the odds were
even lower. He added it was still worth keeping an eye on and to keep him posted if anything changes.