Hi. My name is Lily Turner, I am a member of the Theta Nu Chapter of Kappa Delta, and I am a survivor of Covid-19. In this post, I wanted to share a little bit about my experience with Covid-19 and how it affected me, my friends, and my family. I hope sharing my perspective will give you some insight to what having the virus is actually like and to the reality of the world we are living in right now.
It’s weird to think about, but having a cough at work could easily be a result of a global pandemic these days. Well, that’s how it all started for me. It was just an average day at work (I work at Target over the summer for reference) and ironically I was setting out hand sanitizer. I had noticed that I had started coughing throughout the day, but I didn’t think much of it. We are required to wear masks for work so I thought I was just coughing from wearing my mask all day. When my coughing didn’t stop the next day, I knew something was wrong. I eventually made it home from work and immediately took my temperature just to check. My temperature came back normal so I was very confused why I had been coughing so much. I ended up going about my day like I normally would. I went to Starbucks, got the tires rotated on my car, and came home and had dinner with my family.
However, the next morning sent me into complete panic mode. When I woke up that morning, I had gotten a text from a friend saying she got tested for Coronavirus and ended up testing positive. My heart was beating uncontrollably out of my chest because I realized I had been around her and some of my friends over the weekend. I frantically searched the nearest pharmacy that provided rapid Covid-19 testing, and ended up calling my local CVS to get in for a test that same morning. However, I was a little uneasy because CVS wasn’t going to get my results back until 6-10 days after I took their test. I went over to CVS anyways to get tested, and yes, it was the dreaded nose swab test, although it wasn’t too bad. When I got home, I was still uneasy about not knowing my results for another 6-10 days, so I did some more digging. I found that there was one Walgreens out of the whole state of Indiana that provided same-day Covid-19 test results, so the inner adult in me told me to sign up to get tested again at Walgreens for the next day. The next day rolled around and that’s when all of the symptoms hit. Along with my cough that had been going on for a few days now came congestion in my sinuses, a slight fever, the worst headache imaginable, a sore throat, and the loss of my taste and smell. It was terrible.
Even though all of the symptoms hit me like a truck, I powered through and drove myself 45 minutes to the only Walgreens in the state that had same-day results for Coronavirus testing. Again, I had to put up with the dreaded nose swab, but honestly I didn’t care at that point. I just wanted to know if I had the virus or not. I was hoping and praying that it was just a cold or something I had picked up from work, but that was not the case. When I pulled into my driveway, my phone lit up with a random phone number across the screen. My heart dropped to the floor when I heard the voice of the doctor from Walgreens tell me that I had tested positive for Covid-19. I was flooded with so many emotions. I was sad, I was angry, I felt helpless. My whole body was shaking because I didn’t know what was going to happen.
I put my mask back on my face so I could go back inside my house, I informed my parents of my test results, and I went straight up to my room to officially start the longest two weeks of my life. Those two weeks were difficult, but thankfully bearable. Even though I felt every symptom, could only leave my room to go to the bathroom, had food dropped off for me at my closed bedroom door three times a day, and made 5-8 important phone calls a day, I was able to stay connected with friends through social media, Facetime, and several phone games. Also throughout those two weeks of self-isolation, I felt my family become closer as well. We were all helping each other out and being flexible with one another. My grandparents even brought my family groceries during those two weeks because we were all being super cautious and not leaving the house for anything. Next, the members from my church, specifically my family’s small group were an amazing help. Of course the thoughts and prayers were so awesome, but what almost brought me to tears was when I saw one of the boys from our small group outside mowing our lawn for us one day. The selflessness of others amazes me sometimes! Finally, the support of my sisters at Kappa Delta was incredible. I had told a few girls, like my roommate, early on in my diagnosis, but I was really scared to come out and tell the whole chapter. When the time finally came where I told the whole chapter of my situation, I was relieved with their loving and supportive comments. I was so silly, I had nothing to worry about because I knew I had sisters who would be there for me no matter what.
Eventually, by the middle of the second week of my self-isolation, most if not all of my symptoms were gone. I had a little bit of a headache that would come and go, but nothing major. I had enough energy to finally go outside for an hour or two a day. Even though the fresh air would tire me out, I was so hopeful. I was getting better, I practically had no symptoms, and I had the support of so many people.
My experience with Coronavirus has taught me so many things like patience, flexibility, the selflessness of others, but most importantly that I am loved by so many people, especially my sisters at Kappa Delta. They helped me push through and encouraged me along the way, and I can’t thank them enough for their endless love and support. They helped me survive Covid-19.
Lily Turner
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