We both started off with temperatures and that has remained steady for all of Andy's 7 days. We check it in the morning and again at night. 100.5 is pretty average. It goes up and down a little. I suspected that it wouldn't stick around. We've done cold showers, Tylenol.
The burning chest. Ah! That's been hard for me but Andy hasn't had any of that. He describes it as a "heavy chest" but it didn't last long. I feel like a human water heater. I need that part to stop. Why won't that stop? Feels like I'm having heart attack all day long.
The next symptom is a sore throat, ears and glands. Painful. Andy has pushed through most of that and I'm a few days behind. I sound better today. You know when you swallow and stretch to try to pop your ears to relieve pressure? I try to do that all day.
Andy lost his sense of smell and taste on day 3. Still gone.
The exhaustion is hard for Andy. I've been able to move except for yesterday. I even did the dishes a few days ago. The joint pain is weirdly specific to areas that I already have arthritis like my hands and ankles and it's strange to have painful elbows! So weird!
Yesterday's big symptom was/is the confusion. The brain fog is...foggy. Thank goodness for spell check.
Today the nausea came in. The fire has moved lower in my torso and I connect this with how I feel when I get migraines and I throw up. It feels like that today. Surprise! My temperature is 100.1 right now.
Everyone suggests that you sleep on your stomach to take the weight off your chest - but I have tried to do this and I just can't breathe. My sinuses are so impacted that I have to sleep half sitting up. Just seems like something new every day. I don't think there is anything else on the list, though. Tomorrow will be a better day. I feel like we have been through the worst of it. We didn't get a bad case (we aren't hospitalized), nor a mild case - we just got it. And it isn't one-bit fun because it's a new symptom every day.
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Speaking of pain...I have been reading about going back to school. I want to know if once we go through this we are immune. Some of the things I've read say "yes," and some say "yes for a couple of weeks" and some say "You will need to be tested for antibodies periodically." I'm hoping for 100% immunity, baby! I would love to have that freedom. But I also get a flu shot every year for the traditional flu "just in case." So as soon as they have a vaccine, I'm also willing to be vaccinated as many times as I need to be. Hahaha... I worry that there are those in society that aren't willing to be vaccinated for anything...ever. Hmmmm. Freedom has many layers.
I know that with any new disease our scientists are doing their best to figure it out as quickly as they can. The traditional deadline for school to start again is coming. I don't feel like teaching theatre online is optimal. Haha. The things we teach - teamwork, listening, focus, courage, problem-solving, critical thinking, etc... isn't done from a computer screen. We need to perform. We need characters to develop - stories to build and tell.
And if I'm immune - I'm lucky, right? We've paid the price to have some kind of sense of safety. But are we? My classroom is big. Really big. I can scrub my tables down after each class period. I can be careful. But I was SOOOOO careful NOT to get Covid. I was the poster child for mask-wearing and hand washing. And what about my colleagues that teach in half my space?
If I decide to do a traditional performance assessment (a play) and my audiences come with their homemade masks on, how can I be certain they will keep those masks on for two hours? Is that a new job I want to take on, "mask police?" How will I sustain my program? Can I live with the chance that Covid could get to one of our beloved sets of grandparents or someone that is compromised in any way? Is that their fault, or mine? Sheesh...so much to think about.
Hmmm...how are we going to do this?
Last thought...now we know for sure that if a teacher got sick during the school year they would be out for about 2 weeks. First, you have to get enough symptoms to be able to be tested, then you go through it, then you have to test negative to get back to work. This is a great time for any of you that would like to try substitute teaching to give it a try. I think we will need a lot of subs this year and it won't be just for just a day or two.
BUT - if you take a drama class at Salem or Spanish Fork - you can be assured that you won't get Covid from your teacher. Hahahahaha.... at least that's what they're telling us...today.
