I've had Covid two times. Once was in February of 2020 (I know, that seems so early, hear me out). I had just accompanied my employers (I worked as an in-home nanny/tutor for 8 kids) to Florida to help their large family go to Universal Studios and Disney World. When I got home, the news was flooded with articles about Covid having just arrived in the states, "but don't worry, it's only in major tourist hotspots like Disney World!" I immediately fell ill with the worst temporary illness of my life. I had a 104 degree fever for almost a week. I slept for at least 16 hours a day and consumed only strawberries and canned black beans, which my partner delivered to me on tiny plates beside my bed. It was fatigue like nothing I've ever experienced. I'd had a Skype call scheduled with a friend and it took me literally hours to text her "too sick to talk" because I physically could not open my eyes. I'd open them and they'd slam shut again. I'd wake up, eat one strawberry and a few beans, and pass out again. I remained just lucid enough to vaguely remember that 105 degrees is an ER-worthy body temperature, so I kept taking my temperature and feeling hazy relief that I was only at 103-104. This culminated in me, so desperate for warmth to sooth my violent chills AND a cool breeze to sooth my raging fever, dragging my body into the backyard and falling asleep in the middle of the yard for blissful hours on Super Bowl Sunday, luxuriating in the combination of sunlight and wind. My neighbors were literally grilling hotdogs and playing soccer in their yards but I was too delirious to care. So I maintain this was Covid--I've never felt anything like it before or since! And the symptom profile matched one of 6 "sets" of Covid symptoms that were consistently manifesting in the early days of the outbreak.
My second bout with Covid was November 2022, after vaccines + booster, so while I had the same fatigue and fever symptoms, plus loss of appetite, it was less severe. I spent a lot of time shivering and aching in bed, but I was capable of reading books, messaging friends, and eating normal things like spoonfuls of soup. It was certainly worse than a regular cold or flu, though.
My second bout with Covid was November 2022, after vaccines + booster, so while I had the same fatigue and fever symptoms, plus loss of appetite, it was less severe. I spent a lot of time shivering and aching in bed, but I was capable of reading books, messaging friends, and eating normal things like spoonfuls of soup. It was certainly worse than a regular cold or flu, though.
