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I tested positive for COVID-19

Guest Contributor
Guest Contributor
Opinion
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By Noelle Lefforge

I was one of the first two coronavirus cases at UNLV that you may have heard about. I am 39 years old and relatively healthy. This was the sickest that I have been in my adult life. I hope I can use my position as a mostly-recovered patient to encourage anyone still on the fence to take this pandemic seriously.

I likely contracted COVID-19 when I was in New York City between February 27 and March 7. At the time, I did not know that I was at the epicenter of the outbreak. Now we know that more than forty people who were at the same conference as me tested positive. It’s very eerie to think back to how we joked about not being able to greet each other with any more contact than a wave. Some of the same people I sat next to during meetings are now in the hospital. I remember calling home from the conference and hearing the rising anxiety in my husband’s voice. He sent me a picture of a shopping cart full of groceries as he prepared for my potential quarantine when I arrived home. I was dismissive; everyone where I was seemed calm. “Nothing scares New Yorkers, everything is normal here,” I told him. “I’m going to be just fine.”

Unfortunately, I went to another conference in Washington D.C. after that and made it back to Las Vegas late at night on March 10. I felt fine; I thought I was in the clear. I climbed into bed a little after midnight. My three-year old daughter, who I hadn’t seen in almost two weeks climbed into bed next to me early that morning. Now I shudder remembering that she touched my forehead and whispered, “Mommy feels hot; mommy is sick.” I don’t know how she knew what the thermometer didn’t yet show. I reassured her that I was fine and happy to be home. Little did I know that each kiss I gave her and my five year-old son that morning put them at risk.

I worked a few hours — after all, I had been out of town at conferences for a long time and it felt like work needed me. There was a creeping sense of illness, but I dismissed this. Between the 15-hour workdays at the conferences and the jet lag, a nagging feeling of sickness was to be expected. Then I started getting chills and hot flushes. I called my husband. “I’m not feeling well.” The silence was heavy. “Get home. I’ll get the room set up for you, and I will get the kids from school now.” This is how we began our self-quarantine.

I was sick for two weeks, during which I was really, really sick for 4-5 days. My primary symptoms were a low fever, fatigue, loss of smell, digestive issues, and severe nausea — they basically unfolded in that order. I only had a little bit of chest pressure and barely any cough. So many have said, “Well, that doesn't sound like coronavirus.” But it does. The fever would come and it would go. I would start to feel better, then be unable to leave my bed. The symptoms didn’t always line up with what I was reading about. Then the positive tests started being reported among attendees at the conference I was at. 

My symptoms did sound like what they were reporting. I questioned if I was sick or not. I called the UNLV Health Center which is in constant consultation with the Southern Nevada Health District. They said the treatment was the same whether I had it or not – stay in quarantine and get rest. They didn’t want to run the risk of me exposing others unnecessarily if I had it or exposing myself if I didn’t. I understood this, but it was awful not knowing, especially when the first question everyone asked me was if I had been tested. I’ll never forget what wasn’t said between my husband and I, but constantly exchanged in our fearful gaze: “What if we both get sick at the same time? No one can come in here to take care of the kids…”

On day 8 (March 20), I got really sick. I was barely coherent and just wanted to sleep. The worst symptom was the nausea. I felt physically hungry, but the thought of eating or drinking anything prompted an immediate urge to vomit. My husband called the health center for me; they wanted to see me before I worsened further and needed to go to the hospital. I wore an old mask we had for landscaping, terrified I would expose someone to my illness. I was relieved when I arrived at the health center and everyone was wearing full gear. I felt guilty every time they would have to enter the room and then dispose of their gear before venturing elsewhere, because I knew they were running low on protective gear. They put me on IV fluids, which kept me out of the hospital. I still felt sick, but less like I was going to die. I am eternally grateful to the health care workers on the front lines of this crisis. 

I started to feel better a couple days after my visit to the health center. They tested me and on March 25 the test confirmed what I already knew – coronavirus. I’m probably back up to 85 percent health now at 17 days from my first symptom. I can finally love on my kids again. The relief throughout our home is palpable. The struggle of recovering from COVID-19 lessens how bad the quarantine seems. 

So far, my husband and kids are symptom free. Maybe the constant hand washing and separation worked. Maybe they are asymptomatic carriers. We will likely never know. Testing is still not readily accessible, making it difficult to know the status of one another or when we can venture back out into the world.

Here is what I want you to know from my journey. This thing is super contagious and super dangerous. The only reasonable action is to physically distance until it is under control. You do not want this disease. You especially don't want your loved ones, particularly the more vulnerable, to have this disease.

Please take care of yourselves and each other by staying home. I am hoping to use my experience as someone who has recovered from it to help others. Thanks to SO MANY who have offered us support through this difficult journey; we have received hundreds of offers for help. Let's be compassionate to one another — it's hard to know the full extent to which our fellow humans are suffering right now. We need to be flexible, lower expectations, and focus on surviving together. There is so much love and hope in the world, especially among our community.

#stayhomefornevada

Noelle Lefforge, Ph.D., MHA is an Associate Professor-in-Residence in UNLV's Department of Psychology and the Assistant Director of Clinical Services and Research at The PRACTICE: A UNLV Community Mental Health Training Clinic. She is a licensed clinical psychologist, a wife, mother of two, and has lived in Southern Nevada for more than 20 years.

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