In this episode of Modern Aging, Risa interviews a family friend Elaine who got Covid back in the Spring. She had a variety of symptoms and it took her months to recover. On the night that Elaine first got sick on March 16th, she experienced chills, and body ache and then, later a cough. Interestingly, her daughter had the same symptoms on the same night. Elaine didn’t think it was COVID right away, but she had an ongoing fever that got up to 101°F at one point. She didn’t call her doctor for 5 days when her fever got up to 103°F.
At that point, Elane had developed more symptoms. She lost her appetite. She was told to rest, drink lots of liquids and to stay at home like most people who had symptoms of COVID since there was limited treatment at that time.
In addition to symptoms and her experience with COVID, Elaine shares her recovery experience. She rested a lot, read books, and watched a lot of Netflix. She now goes on walks with her two dogs which makes her feel great after she has done it, but it is not always easy for her. She still has a cough and feels weak in her legs and hands. She is getting better every day, however, by eating well and taking care of her physical and mental health. One of the things she does to keep busy is make masks for the hospitals near where she lives.
“You hear all the bad stories, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen to you,” Elaine says. If you have COVID, you will get through it too!
What’s In This Episode
0:00 Introduction to Elaine
1:39 First symptoms
3:25 Sense of taste and smell
3:51 Calling the doctor
4:26 Testing
5:55 Urgent care
6:13 Medication
6:39 Self-isolation
7:00 What to do to recover
7:39 Night Sweats
8:01 Hot flashes
8:24 Fever
9:01 Weakness
10:15 Supplements
10:53 Emotional effect of COVID
12:50 Post COVID recovery
14:04 Mental health
14:53 Words of encouragement
16:45 Giving plasma
