Turning the Corner?
Love in the Time of Corona—Days 11–13
I’ve felt much better the past 48+ hours than I did the entire seven days prior, and I’m taking that as a very encouraging sign that I’m on the right track towards full health. There are no guarantees — this virus has been known to do unpredictable things — but it would be very surprising if my condition didn’t continue to improve.
Based on my symptoms and discussions with medical experts and Holiday Inn Express guests, it is probable that I did indeed (or still do) have COVID-19. Obviously, without access to available testing I’m still in the dark about it—and even if I definitely did have it, the medical community still isn’t sure whether people can gain immunity to this virus (and if so, how long that immunity might last). This creates a weird dynamic where it’s likely that I contracted the virus and my body built up or is building immunity to it, but I still have to operate as if I haven’t had the virus or don’t have immunity. In other words, I’ll remain on quarantine like the rest of you until someone tells me otherwise.
During this time, several of my other friends have contracted the virus, and they, too seem to be turning the corner (fingers crossed, knock on wood and pour out a cup for Elijah). They had more severe symptoms than I did so their causes for alarm were higher, and it will be a very good thing if we all kick this thing simultaneously.
Unfortunately, I don’t believe these are the only corners being turned. We are also about to turn the other corner as a country — the corner where we begin to experience the things Italy was experiencing, and what New York has already started experiencing. I fear that the past week or two have been the calm before the storm, and the clouds are about to burst.
This isn’t meant to bring you down, but it is meant to provide some perspective on what we will all go through during the coming weeks. Many of us will get sick, and the statistical majority of those who do will have a scary 10-to-14-day experience but will recover just fine. Overcoming our own personal illnesses will only be part of the battle, however. This national crisis will come at us in waves both personal and societal, medical and economic, physical and psychological.
As a famous fish once said, “Just keep swimming.”
Read other posts from the “Love in the Time of Corona” series by Sam Rosenthal:
- Love in the Time of Corona — Day 1
- Days 2 + 3, Purgatory
- Day 4, Powerless
- Days 5 + 6, On the Necessity of Everyday Heroism
- Days 7 + 8, Rose-Colored Realism
- Days 9 + 10, Stir Crazy
Read more of Sam Rosenthal’s work at samrose101.com, check out his #businesscardstories collection, follow him at @SamRoseWrites and stay tuned for his debut novel, Walking Backwards.
Please RECOMMEND (clap) and SHARE this story, and always Keep It Movin.
