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THE DISEASE IS ROUGH, AND YOU CAN’T BE TOO CAREFUL
The following day there was a tight feel
ing in the front of my throat, like I was very
anxious. With all the stressful news and
how tired I felt, the doctor thought I might
just need to get some rest. I slept in the
guest bedroom as a precaution, since my
throat was also getting increasingly sore by
that evening.
In the morning, I didn’t feel well-rested,
but I still didn’t feel very sick, although
there was a funny feeling in my upper chest
now—some tightness—and a little bit of
wheezing. I continued to sleep in the guest
room, and while I did not feel much sicker,
I was sleeping more and more. Some more
diarrhea, but not severe.
Five days after the first symptoms, the
Town of Truckee sent out an email asking
residents to call, just to be phone-screened,
if we had any of the symptoms on a list.
I called, thinking I was just being a good
citizen and that they would tell me the GI
issues (a disqualifier at the time) and lack
of fever (qualifier) were nothing to worry
about, even though I had a mild, dry cough.
I was surprised when they scheduled me for
drive-through testing the next day. They
called my cell phone to get demographic
info and said that, due to test shortages,
they would test for flu and strep first. Once
I was seen, they asked for symptoms again,
checked my temperature (98.9), pulse (65),
and oxygen saturation (97). Next, the doc
tor listened to my lungs, turned around,
and said, “I need a COVID test,” which
came as a surprise. I asked about the flu
test, and she said, “This is definitely not
flu.” Coronavirus gives your lungs a unique
sound, and the disease can also be seen in
chest CT scans. [Justin]
The Battle
Over the next week, my symptoms
worsened. It became hard to breathe and
more and more painful. It felt like I had
inhaled a campfire, with an intense burning
behind my sternum. The cough got worse
but not severe, and my temperature never
went above 100, although I felt feverish
and would break out in cold sweats. I had to
change my sheets, which was so exhausting
I had to lie down several times in the pro
cess. At this point, I was not getting out of
bed at all. I was sleeping 18 hours a day and
in a daze for the remaining six. There was a
constant ringing in my ears, so loud it woke
me up. I also woke up many times unable to
breathe.
I became unable to focus and had no
appetite at all, but still no nausea. COVID
boosts your blood sugar, even while fasting,
so it’s important to keep eating and drink
ing, even though you don’t think about it. I
took my temperature with a thermometer,
which recorded it to my phone, so I had a
log and noticed that I felt worse when it was
higher, and my breathing was worse when it
was lower, but that could have been correla
tion and not causation.
Mentally and phys
ically, it felt like being
held down by a set of
waves and battered
against the ocean floor.
It was a struggle to
breathe, with the worst
coming at night and
in the morning. It felt
like a struggle to get
to the surface to catch
my breath—barely—
before the next wave
hit and pushed me
down again—all the
way to the bottom. This
became very disheart
ening and depressing,
because it would seem I
had turned a corner—
that moment with most
illnesses where you
can tell you are getting
better—only to get
slammed down again.
And again.
After a week, it
became hard to be opti
mistic about a recovery.
I started thinking this
was how I would die and
wondered what it would
be like to be intubated
along the way. My left
lung began to fill with
fluid that I could hear and feel when I rolled
over in bed: pneumonia. I was by myself,
and no one could come into my room. I was
worried that, if I needed help, I would be
too tired to alert anyone.
About halfway through the week, our
pulse oximeter arrived, and I was able to
check my 02 saturation. It was 91, and
below 90 you need supplemental oxygen,
which meant a trip to the ER. I was very
focused on keeping it above 90. It probably
had been lower previously, because I did not
have a way to measure it when I was strug
gling the most. I did some postural drain
age and chest percussion which seemed
to do something, but I can’t say for sure if
it helped. After lying at an incline, I could
feel “popping” when I breathed, and after
percussion it would feel like my chest was
vibrating.
I wanted to avoid a secondary bacte
rial infection. I did breathing exercises to
keep my lungs from collapsing. The doctor
wanted me to try to get out of bed to avoid
blood clots. I still did not have test results,
but I knew I had COVID-19 at this point. I
By Amanda Denz and Justin Silvereditorial@flagpole.com
Editor’s Note: Justin Silver grew up in Atlanta
and is the son of former Athenians Herb and
Sally Silver. He and his wife, Amanda Denz,
live in Truckee, CA. This account was posted
on Facebook Apr. 8 and also on Medium and
is reprinted here with permission.
Justin is the first person I know to have
COVID-19, and I thought it would be help
ful to share his story and how we handled it
because, sadly, I think
this will be relevant to
some of you in the com
ing weeks.
Justin is super
healthy, rarely gets
sick, and was being
extremely cautious
when he contracted
COVID. The only way
you’ll avoid this is stay
ing home. The best way
to prepare is to have
a thermometer and a
pulse oximeter. Also,
just stay home. If you
think you or someone
you know has any
symptoms, quarantine
early; don’t hesitate.
Also know that many
people will have cases
like Justin’s that don’t
require hospitalization.
If you get sick, it might
be a drawn-out, uncom
fortable ride, but the
likelihood that you will
be OK is very high.
First, I’ll say Justin
is doing OK. I’m also
OK. The last few weeks
haven’t been amazing,
but we’ll be fine. He’s
still recovering but is on
an upward trend, and I’ve been physically
separated from him for long enough to be
in the clear. [Amanda]
Contagion
Justin works from home, and most of
his other activities are outdoors. He was
also concerned and cautious about this
way before most other people. This virus is
super contagious, and if he can get it, so can
you. The only way to protect yourself is to
stay home.
During the timeframe in which he con
tracted it (before the shelter-in-place was
announced), he went skiing at Squaw. He
didn’t even go into the lodge, but he did
ride the funitel—an enclosed 15-minute
gondola ride. He made one visit to Whole
Foods, where he was super careful about
washing his hands and not touching his
face, and one visit to our local grocery
store—same precautions. Other than me,
he came into contact with three friends who
aren’t sick but could have been asymptom
atic carriers. He didn’t see anyone else or go
anywhere else. He has a really good immune
system, rarely gets sick, is healthy and has
no underlying conditions.
My goals in sharing all of this are to con
vey these points:
1) Everyone not absolutely needed in the
world should stay home, like for reals. Even
if you think you’re being careful on trips
out, that doesn’t actually protect you.
2) If you or someone you love gets sick,
know that it might suck, and it might suck
for a while—like way longer than a usual
Justin Silver and Amanda Denz before COVID-19 was a thing.
cold or flu—but the majority of people will
be OK in the end.
3) If you or someone you know have any
symptoms, quarantine early, even if it feels
overly cautious. Don’t spread it. It took
us 13 days to get his test results (yes, 13
days!), and the whole time we acted under
the assumption that he was positive. I’m
glad we did that.
4) It would be good for you or someone
in your neighborhood or community to
have a pulse oximeter. And also a thermom
eter. If you get sick, these two tools will aid
you in staying home. [Amanda]
The Beginning
It started with a dry-feeling throat and
a few random sneezes. The next day some
mild diarrhea, but I thought maybe it was
just drinking too much coffee—no nausea.
The CDC now says this is common at the
onset of COVID-19. My throat felt slightly
sore, but the heat was on, and I attributed
the dryness to it. This is when the fatigue
started.
rrm^coi
Diary of a COVID-19 Event
6 FLAGPOLE.COM | APRIL 15, 2020