March 18, 2020 Update
Dear All,
Here is today’s update.
On a personal note….
As many of you know from my prior posts, I developed a fever and cough last Friday that was concerning for COVID. I was able to get tested and the results came back positive that I did, in fact, have COVID.
Despite having only mild symptoms and possessing the knowledge that I’d likely be fine, it was still unsettling when the result came back as positive.
To recap my symptoms and timeline:
Day 1: Symptoms began in the AM with a headache and general malaise of feeling ‘off.’ Able to work and function that day but could tell not 100%. By that night, developed chills and fever to 100.5.
Day 2: Continued chills and headache with new development of a dry cough.
Day 3: Chills resolved but still with headache and cough.
Day 4: Headache and cough begin to resolve.
Day 5: Continued improvement with only mild symptoms
Day 6 (Today): Close to normal with resolution of most symptoms
I consider myself very fortunate that my symptoms never progressed to anything serious and greatly appreciate the well wishes from many of you out there who reached out.
This was a stressful event for me as I’m sure it would be for all of us. We discussed in a prior post the importance of staying calm in the event that you develop symptoms or test positive, but having gone through it myself, I know that it is easier said than done. Nonetheless, hoping my story and course can reassure those who do develop symptoms of what their course may look like and that it’s normal to be anxious during this time.
One other note - I’d been practicing social distancing prior to symptoms but there were still a few folks I’d been in close contact with that I called to alert. Unfortunately a couple of them did go on to develop symptoms in the days after I tested positive, including my Dad, who has also tested positive (and recovering well). While it was stressful coming down with COVID, the stress was amplified knowing that I’d passed it on to others, including a family member. I say this to further advocate for social distancing measures so that in case you do happen to come down with symptoms, you’ll have less stress to deal with worrying who else you may have infected if you’ve been limiting your interactions with others.
Tomorrow, I will send out a new post with updates on the COVID situation nationally and address questions such as how long you should remain isolated and quarantined if exposed to someone with COVID or you yourself develop symptoms.
Many thanks again to all for your support over the past few days,
Harry