My symptoms hit like a ton of bricks a little under two weeks ago. I’d finished with a Zoom call for work, made lunch for my youngest child, and we watched the last episode of Loki. That’s when the fever started.

Next came chills.

Then full on delirium and fatigue so deep and abiding that I could not move to even grab the remote control. I got tested for COVID the next day.

My chest tightened, the dreaded dry cough settled in, and the fever and fatigue continued for roughly 7 days. In the middle of the night on night 7, I will admit that I was fairly worried. Coughing up blood, having a hard time breathing, I considered going into the ER.

The fear factor is one of the worst things about COVID. You’re sitting there wheezing, considering the real possibility that you might wind up on a vent. Hotel Covid— you can check in any time you like, but you can’t never leave. Had I not known that I had COVID, I wouldn’t have been so afraid, but that dark cloud hangs thick, especially at 3 AM. I forced myself to calm down, slow my breathing, and think happy thoughts.

Day 8 I started to feel a little better, and improved each day. Upon writing, it’s day 12 since my symptoms began, and I feel normal. And lucky. No cough, no fever for four days. I’m not contagious now.

I was reluctant to run right out and get the vaccine after two healthy people I know were hospitalized due to complications. I kept putting it off because I didn’t want to be down for a day or two and miss work. Obviously, that didn’t go so well.

The point of getting the vaccine is to give your body the roadmap to fight this thing. You can still get and spread the disease, but your chances of winding up in the hospital are extremely low if you’re vaxxed.

If you’re on the fence- get it done. It beats that sense of being a fool combined with terror at 3 in the morning, the thought that you may leave your children defenseless in this world.