Lisa

“It Felt Like Something Was Eating My Brain”

EXCELSIOR, MINNESOTA: In October 2019, I started to feel sick. My stomach was really off, I wasn’t able to eat, and I was so dizzy that I couldn’t stand or walk.  I was prescribed antibiotics for a sinus/ear infection and Meclizine for dizziness.  It didn’t feel like my normal, frequent sinus infections.  It felt like something was eating my brain.  The headache was so intense and in the middle of my head.  The pressure was so severe that I couldn’t turn my head. Nothing helped with the pain.  I couldn’t sleep, my body wouldn’t shut off, and I was really fatigued.  After about three weeks, I was well enough to return to my routine and work.  In the night, I was wiped out.  I just kept going.  

On December 25, 2019, I got really sick again.  More severe pressure in my head but this time, I couldn’t breathe.  The headaches were excruciating.  On January 7, I went to my doctor again.  I mentioned the pain I had in my lower leg.  He sent me for a D-Dimer blood test to check for blood clots and prescribed another round of antibiotics.  While getting my medicine at the pharmacy, the doctor called and told me to go immediately to Methodist Hospital for an ultrasound... my D-Dimer test indicated elevated levels for a blood clot.  The ultrasound didn’t show any clots in my legs, so I went home and was sick through mid-March.  The fatigue was debilitating.  I would take a shower and have to lay down and rest...put a load of laundry in and rest.  When I had to grocery shop, I would have to rest on the cart halfway through the store.  I was so frustrated with my body.  I have always been an avid runner, boxer, and spin enthusiast, and I couldn’t even walk up the stairs without having to rest halfway up.  

March 2020:  I continued on a series of antibiotics, nose sprays, and pain medicine for my headaches.  I felt a bit better earlier in March when the US was getting its initial glimpse at the devastating virus.  When our borders were closed to Chinese air travel to “stop” the virus from getting into the US, I screamed at the tv “IT’S ALREADY HERE!!!”  I have lived as an expatriate on two different assignments and have traveled extensively…..the world is a very small place because of airline travel…..I was certain that the virus was already spreading in the US.  As universities closed, we drove out to Boston to get our son, a senior at Boston College.  We listened to the news continually and watched as traffic gradually changed from normal to only semi-trucks and minivans packed with college room supplies and bewildered college students.  Most things were open on the way to Boston, but nothing on the way back.  Rest stops were eerily quiet...you could use the bathroom, but many of the restaurants were closed except drive-throughs.  Mothers scrubbed their little kids’ hands and reminded them sternly, “don’t touch anything!”  No one would meet your eye, and everyone kept their distance, opening doors with their hips, sleeves wrapped around their hands, paper toweling, or by using the handicapped button.  Everyone looked scared.  It honestly felt like a scene out of “The Handmaid’s Tale.”  

March 21, 2020:  On my birthday, I got cake and a sore throat.  When I ate the cake, it tasted like plastic.  The next day, I couldn’t smell my soap or perfume.  I got scared.  I arranged a virtual doctor appointment.  The screening nurse sounded stressed.  She told me I should get tested, but there were no tests available. She told me to stay away from everyone and stay in one room.  She was worried that I had Covid.  The doctor told me that loss of taste and smell weren’t Covid symptoms and that it was most likely caused by a lingering sinus infection.  He prescribed dexamethasone...but no more antibiotics as they “weren’t working anyway.”  The headaches and pressure continued throughout April and May.  I also developed severe inflammation that caused my entire body to ache. I noticed severe hand tremors, stuttering, inability to concentrate, and memory loss.   Most nights, I laid on the floor as it was the only place that helped the pain.  I took Motrin, Aleve, Tylenol and used Biofreeze, Voltaren, and Epsom salt baths at 3 am...nothing helped.  

Memorial Day weekend 2020-present:  On Friday of Memorial Day weekend 2020, I went to a specialist for pain.  They did MRIs and found nothing.  There was obvious swelling and redness in my joints.  I was tested for R.A. -- negative.  They were perplexed.  I started physical therapy and have had a series of injections into my knee to reduce the acute inflammation there.  I am under the care of a great neurologist who prescribed supplements that have helped with my fatigue, leg and feet cramping, inflammation, and most importantly, my headaches.   She did an MRI of my brain and thinks that my taste and smell will eventually return when my body settles down.  She has diagnosed me with Long Hauler’s Syndrome.  She explained that my cells are still in a “Fight or Flight” status.  When I get sick, my body reacts violently...I ended up in the hospital at Christmas with a stomach virus.  

My diagnosis of Covid was confirmed with an antibody test ordered by a Doctor at the University of Minnesota in July 2020.  I continue to read everything I can about Covid and find it fascinating that many of the things they are learning happened to me starting in October of 2019.  My symptoms are all documented and occurred before Covid was “a thing.”  I feel vindicated knowing that none of it was just made up or in my head.  COVID IS REAL.  I’m lucky I survived.  I have nothing to complain about.  I didn’t die….over a half-million Americans did.   I am very grateful for all the good people who have kept working and serving others in order to keep America going and our citizens alive.  By sharing my Covid experience, I hope that people will take it seriously, get the vaccine and help limit the spread of this debilitating disease.