COVID Ruins The Party, Again

I tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday morning. It's a long story, and based on the information being released on NPR, I'm not surprised this has happened, or that I am a breakthrough case. 

Let me set the stage:

Over the past month, whilst training hard-core for Gravel Worlds Long Voyage in August, I hit the training miles hard, and fast. But, my rheumatoid arthritis began acting up. While I was working on ways to manage the pain on the bike, my rheumatologist prescribed low-dose steroids to knock the inflammation back. Not my first rodeo with this, for the record. 

But because privatized healthcare is a fucker, and Anthem Blue Cross changed the rules midway through the year, my access to Enbrel, a biologic injectable that manages my RA symptoms, was stripped until I could get a blood test for tuberculosis. And where does one get one of these blood tests for tuberculosis? At the hospital on the other side of town - which is rather hard to get to when you don't get a lunch hour and individuals of authority will give you side-eye when you leave work for necessary care (hello, vet med, I'm looking at you!).  So, to mitigate the rheumatism storm destroying my joint function, I was put back on steroids while waiting on the insurance, doctors, pharmacy and third party to get their ducks in a row. 

In addition to all of that, I was basically experiencing three weeks of sleep deprivation. Like the rest of the vet med world, my team is so short-staffed, we are all filling in on the treatment shifts. So, I had a 14-hour night shift one week. Then, my bike training including 100+ mile overnight rides. As per usual, I got called in on an emergency overnight at work, where I was at work for 24 hours out of thirty-six. And, because I'm only human and I miss my friends, I traveled to Nashville to visit my old friend for her bachelorette party. 

And while in Nashville, I most likely encountered individuals spewing SARS-COV2 into the air. And because my immune system was absolutely fucked, and in spite of the fact that I was vaccinated with Modern since March, and despite the fact I have been excruciatingly careful (particularly as an essential worker), I started experiencing symptoms approximately 6 days after visiting my friend. 

I had been feeling worn down for weeks leading up to Tuesday. I was fucking exhausted. In my world, this was nothing new. I always get a sore throat after working a double. I always take a nap on a Saturday that I am on call. I always have impending feelings of doom. I drug myself through my two-a-day workout Monday, slept restlessly, and woke up Tuesday feeling like bones. I could barely get through the strength training workout, passed out on the couch when I got back home, and barely scrapped my ass to work. My boss looked at my squint eyed and kicked me back out with an advisement to go get tested. 

The rapid test took less than 5 minutes to proclaim me positive. By that point, I could barely keep my eyes open. I somehow found myself getting home, thanks to my sister. Once in bed, the fever hit. Hot, cold, sweaty, goose-pimpled. Even with Tylenol on board, my temperature was 99-degrees, where I normally run at 97-degrees. I had a splitting headache, the feeling of someone pressing on my collar bones, and a raging sinusitis. I remember foggily taking phone calls from Protect Purdue and the Indiana State Department of Health, as well as sending out text messages to my physio, teammates, coworkers and friends who I had contact with over the weekend. And then I just slept.

Around midnight, my fever broke. I felt boney and exhausted. And very drippy. I was two steps away from having a nervous breakdown. I got more sleep and finished some book that have been waiting in the wings. Over the next week, some symptoms eased off, others popped up for twenty-four hours. I'm currently writing this, sipping a beer that I can't taste. I worry that I exposed someone who is going to get sick, or expose someone else who will be much worse off than I. I worry that everything I have been working so hard to build in preparation of for the A-Race is gone. 

All I can do is be patient. 

I am quarantining until next Friday, when I will be retested. As I've gotten my energy back, I have been tackling some menial chores in the homestead that I have put off for months. I'll be doing my PT and mobility exercises.  Maybe I'll make one last effort to get those aerobars on my gravel rig (doubtful...). There is no way of knowing if, had I been unvaccinated, if my symptoms would have been worse. Considering that there was COVID in my house over the winter break, my suspicion is that I am dealing with the highly-transmissible Delta Variant. I suspect that being vaccinated has protected me from the nastier symptoms and potential hospitalization. For that, I am grateful. 

I'm also ridiculously angry, and I'm actually not sorry about it. The politicization of this virus was completely unnecessary. I am angry at those who refused to vaccinate themselves despite being eligible. I am furious at the people who spread misinformation, and now the country is experiencing yet another spike, where deaths and long-hauler syndrome could have been avoided. 

As per normal, humanity fucks it up and COVID-19 ruins the party, again.