FEATURES
MY EXPERIENCE CONTRACTING COVID-19 “SITTING OUT IN THE OPEN ON A SCORCHING SUMMER DAY, I COULD FEEL LINES OF SWEAT POURING DOWN MY BODY, BUT FOR SOME REASON I WAS SHIVERING.” PAARTH SONI ONLINE SPORTS EDITOR
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can still hear the thermometer beeping rapidly. 99.0. My temperature was higher than usual, but surely it was nothing to worry about. As I drove to a nearby basketball court, ready to put up some shots for the day, I could tell that something was off. My head was pulsating and I felt very sleepy. Thinking that I was tired from staying up late the night before, I proceeded to tie my shoes and start practicing. With every dribble and every shot I took, it felt as if my energy was leaving my body. My mouth started to dry up, even after drinking half a gallon of water. At this point I knew there was something wrong with me and called my dad to pick me up. Sitting out in the open on a scorching summer day, I could feel lines of sweat pouring down my body, but for some reason I was shivering. Thankfully, I made it home soon after that. “How are you feeling?” My parents checked on me. Now, in this situation it would have been best to tell my parents that I was feeling sick and should get tested. But instead, I pulled the “I’m just tired” line and headed off to bed, thinking I’d feel better in the morning. Oh, man, I regret that. I woke up the next morning with a 100-degree fever. As soon as I told my parents, they made me quarantine inside my room and scheduled an appointment later that day for a COVID-19 test. It was crazy to think that I was about to get tested for a virus that had closed down the entire U.S. economy and killed thousands, but nothing was really going through my mind. The only symptoms that I had were a low fever and body aches. I mean, I’ve had the flu, and it was way worse than this virus was for me. I wasn’t stressed throughout the whole process. However, I realized it was because I had gotten lucky. After a few days, my results came back as positive. I was not Environmental portrait by Paarth Soni | Page design by Marina Qu
allowed to leave my room. Since my parents were exposed to me, they had to quarantine inside the house as well. Luckily, my parents ended up being safe, but one of my friends tested positive for COVID as well. Talking to him on the phone, he was miserable. He was feeling dizzy, nauseous, had body aches and even had a fever. I was sitting in my room with no symptoms. Around three days later, he felt better, thankfully. But despite that, we both couldn’t believe that we had the virus. It was honestly the weirdest feeling, since you hear people talking about COVID all the time and you see it in the news but could never imagine yourself having it. We were both thankful that we didn’t have to be hospitalized and that our lungs weren’t affected. Once my health was back at 100 percent, the two weeks began. Spending these next two weeks locked in my room was probably the most demoralizing part of the entire process. It really felt like a prison. My parents would bring food to my room only three times a day and made sure to cover their faces when walking in. On top of that, I was not allowed to step outside or exercise. I was glad that I had my Xbox to keep me company during these times and would either play that or be on my phone. Some people like spending all their time at home, but I was just happy when it was all over. Taking that first step outside after remaining indoors for two weeks felt so refreshing. All of this could have been prevented if I was social distancing and didn’t go out to play pickup basketball. You see, for the first three months of the lockdown, I did a great job of limiting the number of people I came into contact with. However, after Phase One of Virginia’s re-opening, I became a lot more lax and would play basketball at courts where there would be 30-40 people. Regardless, I learned my lesson, and the whole experience taught me not to take the things I have for granted. OCTOBER | FEATURES | 11
