Don't Lose Your Compassion over Covid

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My boss said I would be cleared to come back to work on Wednesday, but she'd try to get me back sooner. I'd contacted them the moment I tested positive, as we are instructed to do, and at that moment, I was sick, really sick, and no, 'how do you feel?' or anything even similar to that came from her, just 'we'll try to get you back sooner.' Now, my boss is not a person lacking in compassion, or at least that has never appeared to be the case. And this pandemic has created a stress on her that is undeniable, and constant. However, I was semi-shocked at the lack of humanity, almost mechanical response coming from her when I gave her my news. As my grandma would have said, "What am I? Chopped Liver?"

I could just chalk it up to meh, you're the nine millionth person to get it and we have to find a replacement while you're gone stress, but nope, not gonna do that... I realize it's hard to get coverage and in my job imperative to do so, but I'm still human, and I'm still sick, and a little humanity would have been kind on her part, and appreciated by me. Why do I say this? To remind people not to lose their compassion in the face of Covid. Yes, it's taxing on all of us in different ways, but it's also affecting people and shouldn't people always be the priority?

For anyone who is interested, here are how the symptoms looked for my first (and hopefully only) case of Covid: 

It started off with a weird feeling in my head, entirely out of the blue. Almost a headache, that made me just want to rest. It progressed to two days of throwing up and me thinking I must have the flu. I could hold nothing down, not even sips of water. I also had the chills.

Throughout all of that and continuing was the sleep... all I wanted to do was sleep. I'd open my eyes and see the clock, '2 o'clock, 4 o'clock, 3 a.m.' and go back to sleep. That's literally as long as I stayed up, long enough to see the clock. I remember opening my eyes and thinking, "I've had enough of this, I need to get up" and then going back to sleep. I finally told my kids' aunt I might have Covid, but even as I said it, I was thinking I probably didn't (you just think of Covid every time you get sick now). She said she had a home test she'd leave at my front door. I took it and tested positive. I stared in disbelief, contacted my job, and went back to sleep. Today, for the first time since this started, I am up for very small blocks of time. Enough to sit and write this, and that makes me feel grateful. I got through, with no shortness of breath, I didn't lose my taste or smell (though I still want absotlutely nothing to eat). These things lead me to believe I have omicron vs. delta.

I'm still very tired after little to no effort of doing anything, and now my nose is running too (like a cold).

So to recap, it was a headache (and feeling 'off') that happened first. Then the flu-like symptoms...and now it feels like a cold with the one exception being I have been and am still, very tired throughout it all. Not the kind of tired I thought Covid would be, just the kind of tired where you sleep and that's all you want to do, period. Hoping for a speedy recovery. Grateful for friends and family who were concerned (it's nice to be cared about when you're sick...any time really, but especially when you're sick) and crossing my fingers that none of you get it, but if you do, that you recover fully and quickly. 

Has the timing of my virus got me down? Nope. I don't predicate my new year success on how the year begins. I think it's just one thing that happened coincidentally with 2022 rolling in. 

Stay well, stay safe, and Happy New Year to you!