The Time When I Contracted Coronavirus

March 13th 2020.

I opened my eyes in the morning. The stare at the ceiling lasted for a few minutes and my reality was slowly dawning on me. I got up from my bed and started my morning routine. But today was different. There was no rush but just a small impetus to complete the chore. I brushed my teeth and made my way back to my room. I was sharing my apartment with two other roommates.

The first ray of sun hit me but I was still in denial and bit petrified of what had come of the world. I looked at the adjoining house that was abandoned long back; the backyard was full of unkempt grass with dead leaves and the creepers swirled around fences - some dead while some were nourishing from the nearby plants. A rose plant stood erect with a full blossomed rose - a not so unusual site where one species flourished around other dead species.

As I was sipping my coffee by the window and observed squirrels scurrying around, I heard a shrill sound. The sound of the ambulance as it made its way through the main street. On regular days if you listened to this sound, you'd realize the Doppler effect would take a long time because of the heavy traffic; today was different. The shrill sound emerged from one distant corner of the street and quickly passed to another and slowly engulfed into the silence in a few seconds. Today there was almost no traffic since most organizations in the Tristate area had set up remote working for their employees thereby reducing the overall traffic density.

I opened the lid of my Windows laptop and logged in with my credentials and went to the portal of my company. The virtual place was the same as yesterday with the only exception that I was accessing it from a different geographical location. While I was mentally prepared how the day was going to get unfolded but when I was experiencing it, I was still finding it unusual not because I was working from home but because there was no end in sight for this.

The next day I went outside to face the grim reality. I was staying close to one of the busiest main street and I was noticing fewer automobiles on the road. The reality was similar to what someone would witness when a cowboy would enter a desolated village, the only exception being that I wasn't seeing tumbleweed rolling around, yet!

March 15th.

As I was absorbing the new reality and accepting it as my fate for the next indefinite time, out of the blue, I started feeling fatigued and felt lack of energy. I thought I was lacking in electrolysis and therefore quickly made lemonade and rested. At night, I could feel my temperature rising. I got up in the middle of the night and partook Nyquil along with a natural herb to provide me comfort. As I went back to bed, thoughts started racing in my mind about the possibilities of the novel virus. I had watched almost all the news channels in the evening and they were displaying the horrific graphs of death tolls, admitted patients, and patients in critical conditions. I was unable to sleep for some time but as my thoughts were going all over the places, I kept my eyes shut and started taking long breaths to relax and slowly transitioned to deep slumber.

The next morning, my temperature was almost down but I was still experiencing a lack of energy. I ran it by my roommate and cautioned him about the possibility of the new virus. I decided to isolate myself for the next few days. My roommates were kind enough to prepare meals for me. They would leave the food outside my door. I kept my utensils separate from theirs and made sure they stayed that way. For the next 15 days, I was not going to go outside; not even for groceries.

Since the graphs were spiking higher than preceding days, I decided not to consult my primary physician merely so that he could focus on patients who were in more need than me. On the flip side, I didn't want my condition to worsen in the long run either. Faced with such a dilemma, I settled for consulting him on phone to get some preliminary diagnosis. When I called him, I started detailing him about all the pain and suffering I was experiencing. As I was enumerating my symptoms, he told me my symptoms mirrored with that of flu. But he also cautioned me to not rule out the possibility of contracting the coronavirus.

The next day, I went to take a bath. In the middle of showering, I experienced something I had never experienced before. I was squeezing shampoo from the bottle when something felt strange. I brought the shampoo closer to my nose but I couldn't trace its fragrance. When I was done with my bath, I decided to spray room freshener in my bathroom but alas, I couldn't smell that either. Later, when I made a cereal bowl, I was tasting bland cereals. I thought my fever might have paved way for this and presumed these senses would return either later by the end of the day or maybe in a few days. They didn't.

I was gathering information from news channels about people who had contracted the virus and were experiencing similar symptoms as me. I was terrified. Germans, Brits, South Koreans, and people from every corner of the world were reporting these symptoms. I tried my traditional method of using steam to open pores, maybe allow some hard mucus to get softer just so that I could get them out of my nose. While it comforted, it didn't help much. I tried making spiciest Indian curry whose aromatic capabilities was thought to be potent. Sadly, nothing. I cut a lemon in half and tried to squeeze it directly in my mouth. Nothing. I didn't know if I was having plain water or lemon. I tried having chocolates, but it seemed I was chewing leather.

Three months had passed since I experienced these symptoms. Most people who reported these discomforts seemed to have recovered after a few weeks or a month. Not me. I decided to finally pay a visit to my primary physician to either get the diagnostic or antibody test and update him that I wasn't experiencing any changes regarding my sense of taste and smell. A few days later I received results for my antibody test and it showed I had developed antibodies against the new virus. I had the novel Coronavirus. I had contracted a virus whose knowledge was limited and baffled most talented scientists and doctors in the world. I had developed antibodies against a virus whose vaccine wasn't developed yet. I wasn't sure how to react in that situation. I simply decided to keep myself fit, maintain a healthy diet, and avoid going out to public places as often as possible.

Later, my primary physician redirected me to an ENT specialist who said I had developed inflammation in my nose and prescribed me a nasal spray. After using that spray for about a month or two, the senses finally returned. Finally, my eyes were squinting when I was licking lemon. The spicy Indian curry was successfully able to make my face red-hot. The leather chewing finally revealed its identity: Hershey's Chocolate bar. As for the smell, I was finally able to smell my soap, my dirty socks, and the burning food while cooking.

I sincerely request all the readers who made this far to read my story to understand the gravity of the situation. Please wear a face covering while out in the public, and in fact, avoid going out unnecessarily. Please maintain social distancing and frequently wash your hands and keep yourselves as well as your surroundings clean for good hygiene. I wouldn't wish this virus on my worst enemy - not even to the coronavirus that was posing as my biggest enemy at that time!

You're not invincible. Please listen to experts and if you feel you know better than someone who dedicated almost their entire lives in knowing human anatomy, then please develop concrete pieces of evidence, challenge their theories, and try to disprove them appropriately as opposed to merely taking out protests on streets with misspelled signs, yelling out like a maniac, seeking attention on social media and not only jeopardizing your own life but also lives of others. Yes, you should be heard and you have your rights to voice your opinion, but please bear in mind, mere loud speaking is not going to make your voice heard to anyone and therefore, I'd suggest you raise your voice through an appropriate channel with concrete counter-evidences.

Peace!

** Please note: The writer of this article in no way aims to claim the usage of Nyquil and Tylenol tablet to reduce fever. Nor does the writer advocate its usage. Please consult a healthcare expert before undertaking any household remedies.