As the #CoronavirusOutbreak continues to spread, more and more people will experience symptoms and wonder: do I have #COVID19? Once again, I’ll share my experience. #LatsCovid19Journal #coronavirus
Big caveat: #coronavirus manifests itself in very different ways. Some folks get very sick, like me, and require hospitalization; some have something akin to a low-level flu (my husband Z.); some are asymptomatic. So, #YMMV. #LatsCovid19Journal
On the evening of Saturday, 3/7, Z. and I went out to dinner with friends. After dinner, we were going to have a round of drinks - but I suddenly felt unwell, so I excused myself and went home. #LatsCovid19Journal #coronavirus
On Sunday, 3/8, I was still feeling tired, but I didn’t put much stock in it - I even went to a gym class that afternoon (and struggled, but again just chalked it up to it being one of those days). #LatsCovid19Journal #coronavirus
That evening, we went out to dinner with Z..’s parents. In the middle of dinner, I again felt unwell, excusing myself early. #LatsCovid19Journal #coronavirus #CoronavirusOutbreak
On Monday, 3/9, I felt decently. I even went into the office for a few hours. But upon returning home that night, I knew something was off. #LatsCovid19Journal #coronavirus #CoronavirusOutbreak
My fever and chills began that night going into Tuesday, 3/10. I didn’t go into work that day (and basically didn’t leave my apartment since then, except when I finally went to the hospital). #LatsCovid19Journal #coronavirus #CoronavirusOutbreak
How did I get #coronavirus? I have no idea; it was true community spread. And I was also contributing to that spread, because I (stupidly and cavalierly) brushed off my initial mild symptoms and went to the gym, office, etc. #LatsCovid19Journal
Other symptoms included joint aches and extreme fatigue. But it didn’t (yet) feel that different from the “regular” flu. During this period, I managed the fever and pain with a rotating cast of OTC pain meds. #LatsCovid19Journal #coronavirus
On Tuesday and Wednesday (3/10-3/11), my fever ranged from 101-104, with the 101-102 range most common. #LatsCovid19Journal #coronavirus
On Thursday, 3/12, I woke up fever-free without having taken fever-reducing meds, which struck me as great. In fact, by that afternoon I was thinking that maybe I was over whatever little three-day bug I had. #LatsCovid19Journal #coronavirus
Boy was I wrong. On Thursday afternoon/evening, I developed a nasty cough, replete with heavy chest congestion. This continued into Friday, which is when my fever returned (101.6). #LatsCovid19Journal #CoronavirusOutbreak
I called my internist on Friday, 3/13. The physician’s assistant I spoke with said it sounded like a flu that turned into bronchitis. She prescribed cough syrup and a Z-Pak and said I could feel better as early as the next day. #LatsCovid19Journal
Unfortunately, I got worse over the weekend, my coughing having progressed to the point where it was making it hard for me to breathe. On Sunday, 3/15, I made my way to the emergency room at NYU Langone Medical Center, my nearest ER. #LatsCovid19Journal
I described my symptoms at the ER, but based on all the horror stories I had read about the difficulty of getting a #COVID19 test, I wasn’t expecting much - and I was right. #LatsCovid19Journal
This was during the worst days of the test shortage. To get tested back then, you needed symptoms AND (1) travel to an affected area, (2) exposure to an affected person, or (3) test results (like cold/flu panel) to rule out alternatives. #LatsCovid19Journal
During that first visit to the ER, they did give me the cold/flu panel, which tests for a wide range of viral and bacterial agents that can cause cold/flu symptoms. My test came up... negative. #LatsCovid19Journal
So, I said when they told me this, NOW can you finally give me a covid test? Alas, no. I don’t know the source of this rule or regulation, but I had to have my primary doctor call the hospital back the next day to schedule me for the test. #LatsCovid19Journal
This seemed ridiculous. I had been seriously ill for over a week, I had scored negative on a test that captures about 85 percent of other viruses/bacteria - but instead of testing me for Covid-19 then and there, #LatsCovid19Journal
you want me to to go back out into the community, potentially infecting more people on my way home, and come back to you the next day, potentially infecting more people on my way in? #LatsCovid19Journal
My arguments fell on deaf ears. I hopped in a cab and headed home (again sanitizing my hands and suppressing my cough for the short trip, not wanting to infect the driver). #LatsCovid19Journal
By Monday 3/16, I couldn’t breathe again. I rushed back to the ER - and this time they were on their game. They admitted me, gave me oxygen, put me in an isolation room - and FINALLY gave me the #coronavirus test. #LatsCovid19Journal
It shouldn’t have taken two separate ER visits, both times with severe respiratory symptoms, to get a #COVID19 test. But that was my experience - and even though the situation is improving, it’s still sadly the case for so many others. #LatsCovid19Journal
I’ll close with two graphics that say a lot. #CovidTesting #covidtest #COVIDTESTINGNOW #LatsCovid19Journal 
