It has certainly been a year.

*checks notes* *sees it’s only February*

Aw phooey. (This is more of a plague notes-type log thing, something they did centuries ago in different times with different diseases.)

This past Wednesday, after two days of incredibly productive and life-affirming choices, involving a resolve to make mini-charcuterie plates for my wife in the middle of the workday because if I’m home I should be doing nice things for my hard-working wife, I started to feel sick. My nose started to run. Continuously. I was worried it was a sinus infection, because it didn’t feel like a cold. “I’ll sleep it off,” I thought.

Woke up Thursday. I was supposed to volunteer at the boys’ preschool. That sinus infection felt like it continued, but now it expanded to a full blown headache, migraine pulses, and runny nose.

Friday was supposed to be a big day. Kai’s birthday party was going to be on Saturday, lots of family coming to the new house for the first time. Still feeling sinus pressure, runny nose, migraines, and now body pains in my upper body. No time to rest, though, as I have a lot of errands to run and food to pick up and a house to clean and family to confirm coming and–POSITIVE COVID test. My first one. First time getting the big C.

Can’t believe it didn’t even dawn on me to test as soon as I felt sick. Kai 2nd Birthday: CANCELLED.

Saturday, the body pains shifted down to my stomach and legs, but there was less of a migraine.

Sunday? Sunday was a different beast. Random bouts of chest pain mixed with what felt like swollen eyeballs that rattled in my brain. Runny nose returned. The chest pain, I learned, was shortness of breath brought about by fatigue. At least, that’s what the doctor I spoke to diagnosed. Started Paxlovid.

Now everything takes like metal. I can’t sleep longer than 20 minutes at a time during the day, and at night it’s no longer than a few hours. Wake up repeatedly. (Even writing this silly post has drained me and now I need to finish it laying down…)

I’ve listened to roughly 20 hours of WrestleTalk Extra Podcasts over on their Patreon and am making my way through the Lord of the Rings audiobook (brilliantly narrated by Andy Serkis) on Spotify. Couldn’t watch TV for very long until today. April had to work, so I played some Nintendo Switch to keep the boys distracted.

Everything tastes like metal. The world feels like I’m looking at it through mesh webbing.

And all I can keep thinking about is: This is the virus that killed my Nana Pat over three years ago. This is the virus that changed my life, both for the better and the worse, almost four years ago. I lost my job. My Nana died. My Tata died. My cat died. My other Nana died a month ago. I can’t—

Not trying to conflate or coincide all this tragedy, but the last few months have been especially trying. Hoping for brighter days after all this COVID stuff goes away.

Thanks for reading,

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