COVID Positive

Well it finally happened. I got a positive COVID-19 test.

I've had the privilege of being very isolated during the 19-ish months of this pandemic. Between working remotely (and the ongoing office closure after my move) and homeschooling the kids, there was really very little necessity to leave the house and expose ourselves. Moving to Dublin created more opportunities for exposure, but still, we're all happy to be homebodies and we mostly keep close to home.

Now though, we're more exposed than ever: pandemic restrictions are lifting, my wife has her circle of friends in town, the kids are in public schools which recently relaxed rules around reporting and contact tracing. Getting infected didn't feel inevitable, but it definitely felt more possible with more bars and restaurants and public transit in our life.

So yeah. Somebody got COVID-19. But it wasn't my kids, who already had dozens of classmates sent home as close contacts. It wasn't my wife, who was worried she might one day bring it home.

It was me. Just me, once all the testing was done and dusted. Me who always wears a mask over my nose and mouth. Me who has avoided nearly every social gathering since this thing started. Me who works from home and has no social connections in the city.

It seems surreal and strange that it's just me, out of the whole family group. Especially since we have shared the same symptoms for over a week, symptoms which drove me to get that first test.

I don't have much else to say. I want to feel better. I want to leave this room and stop isolating from my family. I want this cough to go away. And I would really, really like my left ear to unpop and for this tinnitus to end.

Don't catch COVID-19. But if you do, may you have a swift recovery, and not spread it to anyone else.

✑ Annika

📅 10 October 2021

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