My Nightmare With COVID-19

Hey guys!! It's been a little while since my last story, but a lot has gone on since then. My husband, RJ, is still away at college in Columbus, Ohio and I had finally got a job there after months of rejected applications. I started my new job on January 10th. Everything was going so well. I was learning a lot of new skills that I never did before in my previous jobs. I even tried new foods that my boss treated me to for lunch. My life was really starting to go in the right direction. Even my anxiety was under control. That is, until January 21st. I was just ending my shift at my new job. RJ came to pick me up and had asked me about my day. I told him that everything was great and I was liking my job. All of a sudden, I started feeling really tired and my energy was drained. RJ was also feeling the same way, which I thought was a bit strange, but thought nothing of it at the time. Instead of driving back to Sandusky, we decided to get an Airbnb for the night to rest. Once we got to the Airbnb we rented, I made RJ some hot tea and I had decaf coffee for myself. Once we finished our drinks, we got into bed and got some sleep. The next morning, we woke up and I had a sore throat and a runny nose. RJ told me that he had the same symptoms. At the time, we figured that maybe it was just the weather changing. I got into the shower for a while before we checked out of the Airbnb. I let the hot water work its magic and I started to feel a little better after 20 minutes or so. Around 11am, we got dressed and packed up our things. Once we got on the road, the same symptoms we had earlier came back. We started to think that maybe we had a little sinus bug. I never once thought that it could've been COVID-19. Besides, I was fully vaccinated. Even though RJ wasn't, he was in very good health as well. After a 2 1/2 hour drive, we finally got home to Sandusky. The symptoms were getting worse and that's when we realized that it wasn't a sinus bug. We immediately went to the hospital to get tested for COVID-19. We got the PCR tests that would take 3 days to come back. That night, I emailed my boss to let him know that both RJ and I went to the hospital and got tested for COVID-19. He got back to me and told me to quarantine until the results came back. RJ let his school know as well and we quarantined together. The 3 days of waiting seemed like an eternity. Then Tuesday finally arrived. We logged onto our patient portals and got the results. We both tested positive for COVID-19!! I was shocked and in disbelief. I was vaccinated and still got it!! How could this have happened? All I could think about was how this would affect our health as well as my job. I just got it not even 2 weeks ago. I emailed my boss that day to let him know that both RJ and I contracted COVID-19. He told me to quarantine for 10 to 14 additional days and to keep him updated on how we were doing. We were 5 days into quarantine and RJ was feeling better faster than I was and he wasn't even vaccinated!! I felt horrible. My body temperature went up and down, I was feverish, I coughed my head off, and sneezed for hours at a time. Once I reached the end of my 14 day quarantine, I still wasn't feeling better. My symptoms were out of control and that's when I decided to email my boss. He was expecting me to return, but I had to let him know that I would be unable to return due to the symptoms. I was devastated because I really liked my job and COVID-19 literally ripped it out from under me. I have since gotten better and am COVID-19 free, but I now am in the process of finding a new job. It was been over a month since I've worked and I need to get back on my feet. I still can't believe I contracted it. I mean, I did EVERYTHING possible to prevent myself from catching it. This just proves that no one is safe from getting it, even if you're fully vaccinated. I'm lucky to have survived it. This virus is deadly and I hope this story inspires others to take it seriously. Wash your hands, wear masks and practice social distancing wherever you go. Whether you choose to be vaccinated or not, please stay safe and healthy.