‘She’s Almost Among the Living Again’

The Saga of the Widder Curry’s Covid -19

By Judi Curry

I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you that sent me prayers, positive thoughts, greeting cards, flowers, soups, foods, magazines, funny sayings, etc. during these past 22 days that I have been wiped out by Covid.

NEVER in my entire lifetime, which is substantial, have I ever been so weak, so indisposed as I have been the past three weeks.

When I say that I had no energy even to lift myself off the commode, that is no exaggeration.  I needed help, each and every time.  And do you want to know the strange thing about this disease?  I had a “mild case.”  I never had an elevated temperature; I never had low oxygen; my blood pressure remained normal throughout the entire 22 days.

I just had no energy. None. Nada.  And one of the worst sensations I had in the 22 days was that my bones were on fire! Truly! They felt like there were flames emanating from them. All day. All night. For 18 days!

And how did it start?

I had a crew come in, all masked, and all checked for Covid, to replace my forced air furnace.  All of the men wore masks from day one (Monday) until day six (Saturday) when the foreman of the job called me with some “bad news”.  It seems that two of his crew members had sore throats.  They had all been tested for Covid at the start of the job; all were fine, but on this Saturday two men tested positive for Covid.

And… I was already beginning to feel like I had a cold – a little congestion, and I noticed that when I took out the black trash can I had trouble navigating the pathway back into the backyard because I was out of breath.  Things went downhill from there.  I could barely walk from my bedroom to my kitchen.  I had to make a stop in the living room and dining room before I could pour myself a glass of water.  Although I could still taste food, it tasted like nothing I had ever eaten before – maybe like “spoiled fish.”  I found that my gag reflex had never been so active, and just putting liquid in my mouth triggered the reflex.

I am fortunate in that I have three daughters that could help out.

One daughter, Lynn, had just had the two injections because she is a health care worker and it was a precautionary measure for her. She drove down from Orange County and stayed with me for the first 4 days, giving me food, helping me get off the commode, getting back to bed, etc.  When she left my youngest daughter, Stephanie, came and spent 4 days with me.  She took over where Lynn left off, and she and I had some discussions about the Pedialytes I was not ingesting – tasted terrible – the liquids I was not drinking, etc.

But I realize that this was all for my own good, and she wanted to make sure that I was receiving nourishment for the healing process.  She kept telling me “what a good girl I was” to finish 2 ounces of liquid, as she kept refilling the damn glass.

Michele, my eldest, is a government employee and was under quarantine.  Although she physically was unable to help me because of the quarantine, she did the shopping; made yummy food; and kept bolstering all of us. I don’t know how many trips she made to make sure that I had plenty of soup to drink; Pedialyte to drink, etc.  It was truly a “family effort.”

So, how am I now?

That’s the interesting thing.  I am still very, very weak.  I still cannot move comfortably from the bedroom to the kitchen, but I can get from one room to the other easier than before. I am eating my meals – Cream of Wheat – in the morning; cottage cheese in the afternoon along with a banana; soup and salad at dinner at the dining room table.  I try to clear off my plate and bring it into the kitchen, but even this is proving to be taxing.

But flavors are coming back; the Cream of Wheat brought back so many memories from my youth; the dressing on the Antipasto Salad that I had from Rosario’s was heavenly.  The vinegar just strong enough to vitalize my taste buds; the homemade soup that Stephanie and Shawna made tasted so nice going down.

But I have been writing this little thank you for the past 3 hours.  I can’t follow the thoughts all the way through.  I have to stop; leave my desk, and come back in a half an hour or so – I just don’t have the energy to complete the thoughts.  BUT I AM GETTING BETTER! I am getting stronger.  I can put one thought ahead of the other just like I can put one foot in front of the other.

I’m not over it yet – but I am closer.  My voice is stronger; my step is not as hesitant; and I will beat this very soon.  I could not have done it without all of you, however, and from the very bottom of my heart, I send you sincere thanks.  You all honestly made the difference.  I’m among the living again – albeit not as feisty as usual, but it’s coming!  Your encouragement pulled me through.  For this I will always be eternally grateful.