Reader submission-

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Leah

Dear friends and family,

I want to first thank you for all the love and support you have given over the last few weeks.

Dan and I are truly overwhelmed by the endearing thoughts and prayers. We could have not survived this alone. Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts for your emotional guidance, for all your kind deliveries and check-ins to make sure we are okay. Words cannot express how grateful we feel to be surrounded by you all.

By sharing some challenges we faced, I hope that people may find this information helpful and that more people may take Covid seriously and continue to practice all safety measures. It’s a big blob of unorganized thoughts and emotions. Please bear with me.

On Monday, March 16 Dan and I first noticed minor flu-like symptoms. Many will know that I’ve been so paranoid about Covid since the beginning of February. Dan and I practiced social distancing very early on and we limited ourselves from going anywhere other than work. Even before Covid Dan and I, being germaphobes, always carried around hand sanitizers, never sat or held poles when riding the subway.

Here’s my minimal physical footprint just days before we quarantined.

Wednesday, March 11

Morning: Long Island City to office in Greenwich via MTA E train

Daytime: In office

Evening: Greenwich to Long Island City via MTA E train

Thursday, March 12

Morning: Long Island City to office in Greenwich via MTA E train

Daytime: In office

Evening: Walk from office to Whole Foods Tribeca then Chamber St station to Long Island City via MTA E train

Friday, March 13

Home all day

After work: Walk to Food Cellar in Long Island City for quick 30min grocery run

Saturday, March 14

Home all day, no symptoms

Sunday, March 15

Home all day, no symptoms

Monday, March 16

Home all day

Daytime: No symptoms

Evening: First sign of body ache just before bed time

Leading to this point, there was no interaction with anyone outside of work. Hands were washed very often. Everything at home was sanitized. Somehow, we still got it. It is that easy to spread. It is that fast to spread.

Muscle/body ache started with my left leg at first and pain level went from 1 to 3 (on a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being most severe) within a day.

Tuesday, March 17

Home all day

Daytime: Constant body ache. Minor at times and moderate pains around shoulder blades & lower back

Evening: Body ache continues prohibiting sleep. Pain level about 3, concentrated around arm, shoulder, upper back and abdomen

Wednesday, March 18

Home all day

Daytime: Body ache continues. Pain level around 3. Pain concentrated around neck, shoulder and arm. Additional cramps around lower ribs

Evening: Severe ribcage and back ache. Pain level jumps to 7. Feels like my bones are being crushed into pieces…

Overnight: Took Nyquil to rest. Sharp, throbbing pain persists overnight… Pain level at 8-9… Starting to feel fever/internal shivers and chill

Thursday, March 19

Home all day

Called NYC Health Department and CityMD, got rejected for testing. Health rep at NYC department of health informed us that they’re required to tell patients to just stay home and monitor symptoms if they feel ill and that there is no treatment for Covid. Unless it becomes critical like breathing difficulties they ask that everyone to stay home for self care. We honestly didn’t care much for testing. We just wanted some medication to suppress our symptoms.

Daytime: Body ache continues but pain level is a little less than yesterday… about 6. Chills all day and a bit of fever. Unable to check – thermometer is sold out everywhere!

Evening: Brother makes a surprise visit to drop off thermometer. He had a mask and gloves on, handed Dan the thermometer and immediately stepped back and left the apt building. We were worried sick about him but glad he is okay! First time checking fever at 7:30pm — 100.6F.

Friday, March 20

Home all day

Daytime: Fever all day — 101.5F and then 102.8F. Chills all day. Minor cough and yellow phlegm develop.

Evening: Having diarrhea for the first time. No appetite and feeling nauseous

Things were getting serious at this point… Dan and I both wore K94 mask and carried sanitizers, we walked to City MD located about 5min walk from our apartment. We had zero contact on our walk there and made sure to stay away from people and opened all doors with our elbows & sleeves.

At the doctor’s office, Dan’s temperature was at 99F therefore he did not qualify for the test. I on the other hand was at 101F and with all symptoms we told the doctor, they immediately tested me. They prescribed Benzonatae for cough and told us to continue taking Tylenol for the fever. Absolutely no other pain relievers. Tylenol only!

Saturday, March 21

Home all day

Fever: 101-102

Cough is getting worse day by day. Taking a deep breath is also getting very difficult. Losing appetite and sense of smell completely. At this point we can’t even eat, food makes me feel nauseous. Just being in bed all day is painful… doing our best to eat little for medicine.

Night chill continues… getting no sleep from body ache and ongoing fever. Pain level is still at 8.

Sunday, March 22

Home all day

Fever: 102

No big difference. Still same symptoms: fever, body ache, chill, fatigue, night sweat and cough. Breathing is getting harder. Don’t think we need oxygen but still can’t take deep breaths.

Overnight: Woke up around 1am with pain and fever. Taking tylenol but not helping much… bedsheets and blankets are all soaked from night sweat.

Monday, March 23

Our stomach is so empty yet it’s so difficult to eat. My fever went down to 99-100F but Dan’s fever is going back up to 101-102F. His cough is a lot worse with shortness of breath also getting pretty severe… We called City MD for after care consultation and we asked if we would benefit from Tamiflu, Zpack, Inhaler and Hydroxychloroquine (after watching Daniel Kim’s Covid recovery video on Instagram). Dr said no to everything but the inhaler. We immediately picked up, started using it. Helping a little but not much… I’m continuing to have diarrhea on empty stomach.

Tuesday, March 24

Cough is getting worse and worse. Harder to breathe, too. The moment you try taking a deep breath or do anything that involves air flow into your lung like yawning, you immediately gasp and feel sharp pain in the chest. This new symptom is even worse than the fever and body aches we have been experiencing for a week now… Dan’s breathing is much worse and he can’t even speak. We immediately called NYP to speak with a doctor. They were not taking any new patients unfortunately and directed us to NYP Covid Hotline. A very nice representative explained step by step of what we can do and when he heard us about our breathing issue he told us to go to the ER immediately. At 5:30pm we packed our bags and headed to Cornell Weil ER. Thankfully, there were many nurses working and not as crowded as we anticipated. We got help immediately — they checked our vitals, our EKG (Heart) and lung xray. We waited a couple hours and were informed that Dan has to be admitted due to Pneumonia and higher than normal level of PCT (procalcitonin). They said due to these factors, his pneumonia could be bacterial and that he must be on antibiotics. His breathing got worse and worse and they wanted to continue to observe him at the hospital.

For me, after observing my scans, I haven’t developed Pneumonia yet so they discharged me after a few hours though I showed all Covid symptoms. Leaving Dan behind was the scariest experience ever. I knew being admitted was the best thing for him but with his wheezing cough and all other symptoms, I felt like I was going to lose him… I lost all faith at this point and felt so uneasy. The unknown was so scary. After another hour of saying good bye and shedding tears I finally exited the hospital.

Wednesday, March 25

Home alone, worried sick for Dan… if he didn’t respond, I immediately went into panic mode. The hospital was calling me to take care of logistics… they asked if I would be the point of contact if anything happens to Dan and if I were to be the one confirming any medical decisions on behalf of him. I was not ready to answer these questions.

As for my symptoms, my cough continued, shortness of breath continued, fever continued. The only symptom that went away was body ache.

Thursday, March 26

Shortness of breath is getting worse each day. Diarrhea started again… getting night sweats and chills again with fever hovering around 102.5F. Getting zero sleep at night from fever and cough.

Friday, March 27

Yay, Dan is back :) His symptoms are still lingering, but seems like his shortness of breath is getting better. We still have zero appetite. Each day I’m having one cup of smoothie and that’s enough food that I can handle. Just thinking about food is making me feel nauseous again.

Saturday, March 28

Dan is slowly recovering. Still wheezing and using inhaler to control his cough but antibiotics seem to be helping him. My cough is worsening. It feels like I’m drowning and about to die… I’m constantly running to the toilet to cough out thick phlegm. Choking and passed out on the bathroom floor… Coughing fit is 10x worse at night. Fever is back up to 101. Taking tylenol to keep the fever down but suffering throughout the night with breathing issues.

Sunday, March 29

Morning cough is so bad now too… Using inhaler but coughing and gagging non stop every 30min… Still can’t consume any food. Just drinking gatorade and orange juice to survive… With coughing and gagging, vomited everything out of my body. Did not sleep the whole night. Was in bed sweating from fever and unable to lie down due to coughing.

Monday, March 30

Severe coughing fit… Felt like someone was suffocating me with a pillow on my face. My chest felt tight and I really couldn’t breathe on my own… Every time I closed my eyes to rest, I caught myself not breathing…

For the first time I felt like I could really die from this. Immediately, I asked Dan to call 911.

Dan started packing an overnight bag for me, I was still passed out on the bed… After maybe an hour wait, ambulance arrived and they immediately checked my oxygen level. I recall them nodding their heads and putting an oxygen mask on me. Because it’s a pandemic, we unfortunately could not choose a hospital. They took me to the nearest one — Mt Sinai Astoria ER. ER scene was so sad and crazy. It was packed with people with masks, appearing to have same symptoms as me. There were occupied hospital beds everywhere. There were chairs in the lobby for any immediate care. There was absolutely no room for any more patients. You’re just left alone for hours, treated the same as walk-ins even if you arrive via an ambulance. They don’t know who is suffering and need an immediate attention. It was that chaotic and busy. Applause to all hospital workers… seriously, it’s the toughest job ever. After a couple hours, a nurse finally sat me down in the lobby. After measuring my vitals, they immediately grabbed an oxygen tank. A PA finally came to check on me. Then they took my lung x-ray and discovered that I now have developed pneumonia. Combination of my lung x-ray with my oxygen level being in the low 80s, PA informed me that they’re admitting me but that there are no hospital beds left. He let me know that I will be transferred to a different Mt Sinai at some point. At around 2AM, they transferred me over to Mt Sinai UES via an ambulance. Mt Sinai UES seemed very calm. They put me in a private room and throughout the night there were two nurses and two doctors that came in to check on my vitals and take more blood samples for more tests.

Tuesday, March 31

Treatment begins. Still hooked up to oxygen. They gave daily dose of Hydrocodone for coughing and Hydroxychloroquine for overall Covid treatment.

Coughing and shortness of breath are both continuing but the oxygen and Hydrocodone are suppressing coughing fits. Can’t sleep at night with fear of my breathing stopping.

Wednesday, April 1

Forcing myself to eat. Finally no fever. Hospital is good about feeding you breakfast, lunch and dinner. Still no sense of smell and taste, but eating as much as I can so I can take medication. Taking Hydroxychloroquine on empty stomach was the worst. I immediately vomited within 15min of taking the med. Oxygen level is around 93 with mask. Without, it drops to low 80s. Nurses come in throughout the night to check vitals and to draw more blood. Blood pressure is dropping significantly.

Thursday, April 2

Starting to feel a little better. Not sure if it’s the Hydroxychloroquine or the Hydrocodone, but breathing is a little better than the day before. Still suffering quite a bit. Oxygen level is up at 95 with mask. Without, it drops to low 80s still.

Friday, April 3

Definitely seeing sign of recovery for the first time! Eating better, finally can smell and taste food a bit. Oxygen level in high 80s without the mask. After speaking with the doctor finally being discharged.

5pm: Finally at home. Feels good to see Dan again. Feels good to shower. Before I left for the hospital, I couldn’t even sit and had to lie in bed. Feeling so grateful for having a home to come back to. Thankful for the hot shower and just being able to just walk again.

Saturday, April 4 – today

Recovering each day, feeling better and better.

It’s been a long 20-day journey. Some may experience very minor symptoms, some may experience what we faced and some may face even more difficulties. After experiencing Covid, I’m beyond grateful for the littlest things I can do in life. Words cannot express how grateful I feel for everyone that really journeyed with Dan and I each and every day.

I love you, friends and family. Sorry that we put you through concerns and worries the last few weeks. Can’t wait until the day we can all see each other again <3

Sincere gratitude to all hospital professionals that have helped us. Thank you for your bravery for the work you’re doing right now in this moment to save lives.

Again, I want to remind everyone that Dan and I did all that we could to avoid getting Covid – literally – from washing hands every 30min combined with use of hand sanitizer, to avoiding the crowd in NYC. We were very cautious. Other than going to our offices, we practiced social distancing since early February. This could happen to anyone, anywhere. Please continue to be safe, stay in as much as you can. We wish no one experiences what we went through. We hope that you continue to stay healthy.

With love,

Leah

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Dan

This is my covid-19 story.

tldr;

I tested positive for covid-19 and bacterial pneumonia.  Leah tested positive for covid-19 and viral pneumonia. We both went to the ER and were admitted to the hospital at different times — i was there for 3 days and Leah was there for 5 days.  We were both aggressively sick for about 20 days and honestly thought we may die.

Day 1 — Monday, 3/16/2020

This is what I would consider Day 1 of where everything started.  Covid-19 was finally getting recognition in NYC and both Leah and my workplace began an indefinite WFH schedule. During the day, I started to feel a little warm and achy. My initial thought was that the new chest workout I did at the gym must really be effective because i’m really sore.  As the hours of the day progressed, i got worse and worse. Luckily Leah still felt fine, so I didn’t think much of it. That night i decided to take Nyquil to help me sleep and fight off whatever I was starting to feel.

Day 2/Day 3 — Tuesday, 3/17/2020 to Wednesday, 3/18/2020

Last night was horrible and I could barely sleep.  Muscles in my entire body were aching so bad and my joints were on fire.  The muscle aches and inflamed joints would continue every day going forward.  I feel like i’ve been hit by a truck. Both Leah and myself would wakeup during the night, curl into the fetal position, and let our moans of anguish and literally cry.  For some reason, all our symptoms got much more severe at night. This is when everything started to head downhill.  Leah started feeling sick on Tuesday as well and our symptoms were near identical.  We were both on a strict regimen of dayquil and nyquil, which didn’t really seem to help much.  We definitely were having fevers as we would have hot flashes/cold flashes. We would be burning up and dripping buckets of sweat in bed.  On day 3, i also developed a cough.

Leah was so certain that we caught covid-19, but I was stubborn and said we probably just caught a cold.  (Internal monologue: what are the odds that we actually caught covid-19?  I mean seriously? Narrator:  The odds are pretty freaking high, actually).

The strange thing about covid-19 is that we both lost our sense of smell and taste.  We both had zero appetites and were not able to eat anything. We forced some soup down when we could, and just drank gatorade/juice/water as much as we could to stay hydrated.  We were so weak and exhausted from the constant fevers, that we really couldn’t function. At all. The lack of nutrients and food intake definitely weakens the body and makes it harder to fight.

Day 4 — Thursday, 3/19/2020

Do, Leah’s brother, made a surprise visit and quickly dropped off a thermometer for us (wearing gloves, mask, and kept his distance away from us outside the apt door in the hallway).  We had been trying to order one from online, but they were sold out everywhere. With this, we were able to finally confirm that we were having fevers between 100F-102F+ daily. I’ve had high fevers before, but these covid-19 fevers were different.  Whenever the meds wore off and our fevers climbed, we would be so out of it and feel delirious. My coughing is getting worse and im starting to produce a large amount of thick, clear phlegm.

At this point, i’ve had enough and decided to call the NY Dept of Health hotline to get info on where we could get tested for covid-19.  Their advice? Stay home and quarantine yourself.  If you have covid-19, don’t spread it or get tested.  (Internal monologue:  Was this a way to manipulate the actual stats of people positive with covid-19?)   There are no medicines that can help you, just stay home.  Only if you are having trouble breathing and feel like you are going to die, then you can goto urgent care or the ER to seek help.  I found online that City MD was doing covid-19 testing and called them to confirm.  They said it would be up to the discretion of the doctor and there is no guarantee we would be tested.  When we listed our symptoms, they said we should just stay home.

Day 5 — Friday, 3/20/2020

We both feel miserable.  We have had constant fevers for 5 days, muscle and joint pains, unable to eat, and trying to drink but are dehydrated.  We decide to suit up in masks/gloves and head to the CityMD 5 minutes from us. We were both tested for the flu and tested negative.  At this point, i had a sinking feeling in my stomach and knew that we had covid-19.  Unfortunately, my fever was not high enough so I did not qualify to take the covid-19 test.  Luckily, Leah had a fever that qualified so they were able to give her the test. By proxy, since we live in a studio, if she was positive I would be positive as well.  But get this, CityMD is allocated only THREE COVID-19 TESTS PER DAY!  THREE, WTF??  NYC is completely unprepared.  Luckily, Leah was able to receive the 3rd and last available test they had.  To help with our coughing, we were prescribed Benzonatate capsules which did literally nothing.

Day 6/7 — Saturday, 3/2102020 to Sunday, 3/22/2020

My coughing got much worse and simply speaking would cause me to gasp for air and go into a coughing fit.  If you were to imagine the normal breath you take is a 100% draw, i was only able to breathe in about 10%. Breathing any deeper than 10% would cause me to start gasping for air and coughing.  It felt like I was drowning. I was constantly struggling for air and reminded me of when I got pneumonia a couple years ago. FYI, covid-19 is an upper respiratory infection which is why it is so dangerous.  All previous symptoms are still happening: fevers, muscle and joint aches, cold/hot sweats, fatigue, unable to eat, and coughing.

Day 8 — Monday, 3/23/2020

We have been reading and watching all covid-19 things online.  We are basically SME (subject matter experts) at this point. One of the most helpful things we watched was Daniel Dae Kim’s Instagram (thanks for sharing w/ us Steve) post describing how he is covid-19 positive and his doctor prescribed him Tamiflu, Zpack, an inhaler, and hydroxychloriquine which helped him recover quickly.  At this point, we are so done and wanted this to be over (Narrator:  things were not near being over and were only going to get worse.  Much worse).  We called CityMD for a phone appointment and relayed what we saw in Daniel Dae Kim’s video.  Unfortunately, they said the only thing they could prescribe for us was an inhaler, so we both got one and started using it immediately.  The inhaler helped a bit. Immediately after using, we could go into a coughing fit for 10m, but it would expel SO MUCH phlegm from our lungs and allow us to breathe for a few hours afterwards.

Day 9 — Tuesday, 3/24/2020

I had the worst sleep ever.  My fever was burning on high all night.  Coughed all night and was unable to sleep on my back, sides, or stomach while struggling to breathe.  I had a really bad coughing fit and got lightheaded due to lack of air in the morning. I felt like i was drowning and i knew i needed help.  Serious help. Mind you, this is day 9 and i have probably lost about 7+ lbs at this point and was absolutely delirious from the fevers. In the past, i’ve suffered through shingles, stomach issues that required me getting an endoscopy/colonoscopy, pneumonia, etc, but this is the first time in life I felt like I may actually die.  We called up Weill Columbia and was instructed to come to the ER. We both packed overnight bags and prepared to head out.

Before going, i decided to give Leah all my financial account logins incase something horrible happened to me.  I was trying to remain calm on the outside because I didn’t want to freak her out, but deep down things didn’t feel right and I needed to prepare for the worst case scenario.  I was genuinely scared to death that I may not survive this.

If you EVER are sick in the city and need help, make Weill Columbia 68th your first choice.  They are newer, clean, and the staff is absolutely amazing. At the ER, we were both received and put through some rounds of testing immediately.  They checked our vitals, ran an EKG test for our heart, and xrayed our chest to check our lungs. Xrays confirmed that I have pneumonia, but Leah was still okay.  Since Leah already did a covid-19 test, they did not test her, but they did a covid-19 test on me. They shove this long qtip about 4″ deep inside your nose and it tickles your brain.  Both nostrils. That shit hurts.  They drew 7 vials of blood from me to do some testing which they confirmed that I had bacterial pneumonia and elevated procalcitonin (PCT) levels.  The doctor said that my elevated PCT levels were not okay and wanted to keep me for observation. In addition, i was not able to speak at all and was coughing nonstop due to shortness of breath.  My o2 saturation level was fluctuating between 89-92% which was still okay, but they were concerned with my constant coughing and difficulty breathing.

It was around 930p now and we were in the ER all day.  We asked again about admitting Leah and how she clearly needed help.  Unfortunately, they said her symptoms were not severe enough and had to discharge her to go home and rest.  This terrified me.

Day 10/11/12 — Wed/Thurs/Fri, 3/25/2020 to 3/27/2020

They finally got me a room at 230a and i left the ER.  I spent three days in the hospital. My covid-19 test comes back and I am positive.  The doctors put me on an antibiotic cocktail (one IV drip and one oral), hydroxychloriquine, cough med syrup, and acetaminophen (tylenol).  They also gave me an IV for nutrients/hydration along with my antibiotic IV drip sometimes. They came into my room to check my vitals and draw blood every 6 hours which made it difficult to rest, but i napped when i could.

I cannot praise Weill Columbia’s hospital staff enough.  Even though they were packed with covid-19 patients, they took the time to speak with me and answer any questions I had.  They also followed strict protocols by suiting up in a new PPE gown each time they entered my room to avoid spreading the virus.  My Dr even gave me his personal cell phone number and continued to call me daily for a week after I was discharged to check up on me.  He did not have to do this, but went above and beyond to make sure that I was okay. An absolute hero.

I probably should have stayed in the hospital another day or two to recover and continue receiving meds, but I was scared that Leah was home alone.  We texted and facetimed alot while I was in the hospital, but I had an uneasiness and knew I needed to go home sooner than later. I got myself discharged and finally went home Friday night.

Day 13/14/15 — Sat/Sun/Mon, 3/28/20 to 3/30/20

Day 13 and my fevers have finally stopped.  I am still on antibiotics and using my inhaler, it is definitely helping me feel better.  It causes me to cough and expel a lot of phlegm throughout the day. The constant coughing is exhausting and I feel like i’ve had the craziest workout of my life with every muscle aching.  Regardless, I am finally feeling better and am able to eat a little bit. Let me tell you, once you are able to start eating again, the recovery process happens so quickly.

I’m glad that i rushed to leave the hospital early because my suspicions was right.  Leah’s condition continued to spiral downwards at an alarming rate. I kept urging her to go to the ER and get help because her symptoms were getting bad.  Her fevers hovered at 102F and she was completely out of it. Breathing was labored and was coughing constantly like when I needed to goto the ER the first time.

On Monday, Leah gave in and agreed to call an ambulance.  I tried to have her sent to Weill Columbia 68th, but due to NYC being in a state of emergency, the ambulance was required to take her to the nearest ER instead — Mt Sinai Astoria.  When the ambulance arrived, her o2 saturation level read 82% which was on the low end and they immediately gave her an oxygen mask. Due to covid-19 protocol, i was not allowed to go with her to the hospital and she would have to go on her own.  The ER at Mt Sinai Astoria was packed with covid-19 patients and the situation was troubling to hear from Leah. Luckily, she eventually received an o2 nose mask to maintain her o2 saturation levels. Please head to Leah’s Facebook to read in greater detail for her stay and experience.

Day 16/17/18/19 — Tues/Wed/Thurs/Fri, 3/31/2020 to 4/3/2020

Leah was transferred to Mt Sinai UES and was admitted around 230a.  She was confirmed to have covid-19 with viral pneumonia. Since her pneumonia is viral, she does not need antibiotics.  Instead, they put her on a regimen of hydroxychloriquine, acetaminophen (tylenol), hydrocodone (aka grape drank), and the constant use of an o2 nose mask because her oxygen levels were low.  After 5 days of serious medical care, Leah was finally able to recover enough to come home.

Knowing that Leah was doing well in the hands of medical professionals, I try to rest and sleep as much as I can while she is away.  I am still weak and coughing up a lot of phlegm, but am feeling much better.

Day 20 onwards — Saturday 4/4/2020 onwards

This has been a long journey.  What the hell happened to March and how are we already in April?  We are both finally home together and exhausted. We are still coughing and get winded easily, so we need to take things slowly.  Doctors guesstimate that it will take a month until our lung capacity and function returns to normal. We need to do some breathing exercises in recovery phase to get our lung strength back.  We slowly got our appetites back and have started eating everything in sight. It is pretty crazy because like a switch, once our appetite came back and we started eating food again, it acted as a catalyst and we started to get better very quickly.

So, how did we get covid-19?  Honestly, we aren’t sure. We have been following the news of the outbreak pandemic around the world since January.  We kept saying that it is impossible for it to be everywhere except NYC, so we started social distancing and wearing protective gear back in the beginning of February.  We are germaphobes so we were always washing our hands and carrying hand sanitizer to use constantly. We even ate Vitamin C, probiotics, zinc, and super b-complex vitamins to help boost our immune systems.  Guess what? It didn’t help us. That is absolutely terrifying.

If you read this, I wish that you would take social distancing and quarantining more seriously.  You may think that people are ‘over reacting’ and this ‘could never happen to you.’ Well guess what?  I thought the same thing and it happened to both Leah and myself. I pray that you never contract covid-19 and that you do not need to see the horrors we saw in the ER and hospital.  Unfortunately, NYC is so densely populated that it is overrun with covid-19 patients and hospitals are understaffed and under-equipped to deal with this outbreak.

There are different strains of covid-19 and everyone’s immune system reacts differently.  We were exposed to a more aggressive strain and it completely WRECKED our bodies.  We are both relatively healthy with no pre-existing conditions, so praise God that we were able to survive this.  Barely. But what about people with medical issues or older people? Your parents and grandparents?  The whole point of quarantining yourself is to flatten the curve and to prevent this virus from spreading to people who cannot fight this virus.  So stop complaining or going out when not necessary.  The sooner we are able to stop the spread, the sooner we can return to our normal lives.

Stop being selfish.