Michele Anderson
Day by Day my Covid Story.
July 7th - I remember it like it was yesterday. I knew something was off. I started having a dry cough in the morning and the next thing I knew it was 4pm and I was so exhausted. I had been wearing a mask, washing my hands, and adhering to social distancing. I went to work and came home. How, out of anyone, could I get it? My husband started experiencing symptoms —sore throat and no taste or smell around the same time. We both immediately got tested and both were positive. We quarantined at home for almost a month.
The first few weeks for me were of no taste and smell, the most painful pressure in my head, extreme fatigue where I would sleep during the day, wake up for a couple hours then sleep through the night. Around this time I started experiencing the most intense muscle pain in my legs and back. The pain was excruciating and I have a high pain tolerance. In those first couple of weeks I didn’t have the energy for social media, watching TV, and when I would try it would hurt to look at screens and would drain my energy. During the 1st month I was in the ER twice (Severe dehydration, leg cramping etc.). My symptoms in total were: No taste or smell, severe headaches, extreme leg pain, dry cough, dizziness, and extreme fatigue.
When I did have energy, I managed to find a support group online @wearebodypolitic. This group of survivors gave me hope and helped me feel not so alone♥️. After being off work for over a month my doctor phased me back in slowly. At this point I was still dealing with extreme fatigue, no taste or smell, and on & off leg pain. After my 4 hour shifts which was 8am -12pm, I would come home, sleep most of the afternoon, wake up, have some soup, and then fall back asleep. I quickly learned how important it was for me to listen to my body. Sleep was my medicine and it was critical I listen to my body.
So after 2 weeks of 4 hour shifts, it then went to 6 hours, and I should say that through this experience we did have doctors who were as supportive as they could be, but who just weren’t educated on Covid and really know how to help. We also had a great support system so we were lucky in that aspect. (Not everyone has that.) The truth is even with all that we did not have, anyone close to us who was experiencing the same things or issues, it still felt so isolating, and at times I would find myself not sharing what I was going through and honestly people don’t “get it” until they get it.
Then one day when I was at work I started struggling to walk, and my knee & leg seemed swollen and painful to walk on. On a Saturday afternoon I started feeling my lips tingle and the right side of my face got numb while struggling to find my words. I ended up in the ER and stayed in the hospital for 3 days. Diagnosis: A TIA mini stroke that you recover from, and severe dehydration. Finally during my stay I was fortunate to have a doctor who was studying Covid and was very interested in everything I had experienced from when I first got tested to now ending up in the hospital. She was a bright light and gave me some hope but also was honest and said I could continue to suffer with post-viral fatigue and shared how important it was to rest as much as possible. I seemed to have recovered from the TIA and had a change of medicine to help.
During this time my liver and kidney numbers had elevated which continues to be monitored. During this time of Covid we (Covid survivors) also changed what we ate. No sugar, and water, water, water. Also my inflammation markers were elevated so I really tried focusing on foods that help combat inflammation. I do think this helped with my fatigue improving. After leaving the hospital being on steroids I started feeling a little better, but then Covid said “Not so fast.”
My right knee was so inflamed and it hurt to walk on it, bend it and sit or sleep with it. The pain was intense at all times. I did the RICE method (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) and nothing worked. Got to my orthopedic doctor and he removed 2 and 1/2 vials of fluid from my knee and then injected it with steroids. I asked why would this happen as I’ve never had fluid around my knee? He said that he’s seen this with patients after they’ve had a virus, to have certain areas of their body impacted. I should say that years ago I had a scope on this knee and what they have seen is that Covid affects the weakest parts of your body.
So draining my knee and giving me a steroid shot helped for 3 weeks and then once again I could barely walk and could tell it was happening again. I went back; he drained it again. He said this time the fluid was thicker and he wasn’t able to give me a steroid shot but just drained it. It helped the first week after but now I’m back to the RICE method after work every day. I’m also taking anti-inflammatory meds and he gave me Tramadol for the pain which I’m not taking as I really want to heal naturally.
I really feel like if we could get this knee situation figured out it would help with my fatigue. It takes a lot of energy out of me to walk and be in this much pain. I want to say I feel privileged to have good medical insurance and a good support system.
I don’t know if I will ever feel 100% well, but I will continue fighting for myself, for others, and offering support whenever and wherever I can.