On April 6, 2020, I woke up at 5:30 a.m. in a sweaty panic. My heart was racing, my mind was spinning and I couldn’t breathe. I had been experiencing COVID-19 symptoms since the previous week, so I immediately recognized this as a warning: Get to the hospital now.
It was day five of the symptoms but I had avoided going to the hospital. I had called the public health line, and they told me if my cough wasn’t bad and if I didn’t have a fever, I didn’t have COVID-19. I had called my general practitioner, and they just sent me to an online screening, which told me I was low-risk and not to worry.
My symptoms included a tight chest, sharp chest pains, gastrointestinal issues, dizziness, an infrequent dry cough, dry throat, night sweats, confusion and extreme fatigue. I never had a fever above 99.5 and my cough wasn’t overwhelming and dramatic like the media was portraying it should have been. But I was so short of breath I couldn’t hold a conversation or walk up the stairs without feeling dizzy and needing to sit down.
At first, I ignored my symptoms. I blamed the tight chest and dizziness on my anxiety disorder. The small cough I brushed off as seasonal allergies. But after a few days of the symptoms worsening, I had to confront reality that I was actually very sick.
My mom drove me to the emergency room that morning. We knew I wasn’t getting enough oxygen and needed medical attention. On my way, I had a panic attack. I was nervous they would keep me alone in the hospital for weeks, or that the test swab would hurt. My mom dropped me off at the tent in front of the emergency room where they checked my vitals and gave me a mask. Within 10 minutes, I was taken back to a room and left alone.
A nurse practitioner peaked her head in and told me that they were doing everything virtually, so she was going to call me on my cell phone. On the phone, we talked about my symptoms and she told me about the test they were going to administer. The secretary also called me to get my insurance information and verbal consent for treatment. Aside from the triage nurse outside the building, I still hadn’t come in physical contact with any of the health care workers, but I was impressed by how efficient and friendly everyone was.
The doctor that came in to administer the test reassured my nerves and then warned me with something I wasn’t at all expecting. She told me no matter the test results, I needed to quarantine myself as if the test was positive because 23% of negative results were false. I was shocked more people weren’t talking about this. I know that an unreliable test is far better than no test, so I am still grateful we have that capability. But how many people ignored their symptoms because the test came back negative?
She swabbed up my nose, which didn’t hurt like I was afraid of. They sent me home not long after that, so I am thankfully able to rest and recover from the comfort of my home. While I’m writing this, it is day nine, and I feel incrementally worse than I did even an hour ago. The doctor called me the other day to say my test results came back negative, but I still needed to act like it was positive. My dad’s brother is a doctor, and he instructed me to take 2,000-3,000 milligrams of Vitamin C supplements every day, along with zinc supplements.
One of my friends who is a nurse recommended I try this breathing exercise, and then I saw that J.K. Rowling was told the same thing by her husband, who is a doctor. To manage my symptoms further, I have been taking frequent hot showers, drinking hot tea and sleeping in an elevated position.
The Wall Street Journal reports that according to the experiences of health experts, nearly one in three patients who are infected are nevertheless getting a negative test result. They caution that this is not hard science, just their observations. Studies show that the high rate of false negatives could be related to human error, the timing of the illness in the patient or just how tricky this particular virus is. We definitely need more research to determine how the virus might appear in different parts of the body at different times of the illness.
The important thing to remember is that if you have COVID-19 symptoms, assume you have it. This is a scary, tricky virus. I am a healthy 22-year-old and I wasn’t around anyone else who had symptoms. I had been self-isolating with my family for weeks when my symptoms started. I’m in the worst pain of my life and I can’t imagine how bad this would be for someone who is immunocompromised. The best way I can explain it is feeling like I can only use about half my lungs. I am constantly trying to catch my breath, even when I’m sitting and doing nothing. While I have hope that I will get through this and be stronger because of it, I truly feel we cannot be too careful. No matter what, stay at home.