The holidays were certainly interesting. With this long drawn out pandemic ongoing, I was looking forward to a new healthy year where I could see people’s faces again. In mid-December I excitedly received the first of two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. The initial couple days I felt okay except for some arm pain at the site of the injection. But a few days later I began to feel weak with chills. I was diagnosed with Covid. I must have had asymptomatic starts of it when I got the vaccine— which made the lingering virus come to the surface. I was quarantined for 10 days. My main symptoms were fatigue, loss of taste, and mild shortness of breath with exertion. A week later I tested negative and received the booster shot.
Duty calls. After the new year I returned to work. Thankfully I work half days because the fatigue was still present. I remember coming home and needing to take a nap. Menial chores became all-consuming. I stopped working out, but tried to eat cleanly and be active. I was determined not to let the aftermath of Covid take over. By February I felt like myself again…. Maybe the stamina wasn’t 100%, but it was enough to resume goals of more than the minimal.
I feel like although it was my body that was most effected by the virus, my mind played a huge role in the defense against this disease. If I didn’t have a fighting, yet calm, demeanor, my suffering may have been prolonged. And actually, it got me thinking about the advice I often give to my patients when tackling any disease— long-term or short-term. If you go into it with a weak or defeatist attitude, you will take longer to heal. This mindset certainly rang true for me. I have used this mentality in many areas for a lot of reasons, but the biggest one of being a source of strength….for our parents, our children, our patients, and our community.
Now we’re fully into Spring and anxiously awaiting Summertime. I am certain that this pandemic will weaken… it already has by many getting infected and forming antibodies, while others are getting antibodies via vaccination— or unexpectedly experiencing both like my husband and I!
