I got the 'rona

This picture accurately shows what happened. It was taken during our trip in Hot Springs, Arkansas... the very moment SARS-CoV-2 popped out and infected me! Okay, that's not exactly how it happened but it was definitely during our time there.

So everyone got home on Friday evening and by the start of the following week, a few of us started to get minor symptoms. A sore throat, runny nose, sneezing... nothing to worry about. Sounds like bad allergies or a cold.

On Tuesday, I was a bit congested and had a low grade fever. It felt like a minor head cold. But on Wednesday night, I couldn't taste my dinner. Uh oh.  So on Thursday I got tested for COVID which confirmed what I'd feared... I got the 'rona. 😑

At this point, I'm not surprised. We visited Arkansas when it was a hot spot for COVID. That state also has one of the lowest vaccination rates. And according to the New York Times, the risk level was EXTREMELY HIGH.  

COVID hot spots (source: NYT 07-21-2021)

COVID risk levels (source: NYT 07-21-2021)

But I wasn't as diligent as I could've been. If we went to any place where masks weren't mandatory (essentially anywhere in Arkansas), I chose not to wear one. It's been over a year of constant mask wearing so I was fatigued by it. Besides, I was fully vaccinated and naively thought that I wouldn't catch it... even though I knew very well that the primary goal of the vaccine was to prevent against serious illness/death... and not to prevent against infection.

But know the risks...

Most likely, I was infected with the Delta variant, which is highly contagious and spreading like wildfire. Per Reuters, The Delta variant is the fastest, fittest and most formidable version of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 the world has encountered. Evidence is also mounting that it is capable of infecting fully vaccinated people at a greater rate than previous versions, and concerns have been raised that they may even spread the virus, these experts said.

So here I am... isolated from everyone... living in the study where I work, eat, and sleep. The symptoms, which were mild, only lasted a few days. I got easily winded but was still able to function. No body aches or flu-like symptoms, which would've been devastating. 

Elliot gave this to me while I was isolated from the family.

But the worst part of getting COVID (for me, at least) was losing my sense of taste. For a person who loves to eat as much as me, it's quite depressing. Essentially, I shove food in my mouth to keep from starvation. To survive. What's the point of eating anything good if you can't taste it? 

That being said, it's also the perfect time to eat super clean (and possibly lose some of my belly fat). Lately I've been eating a lot of vegetables and drinking green smoothies. Spinach, kale, celery, carrots... whatever I can find... and blend it all together. I also ate/drank for mouth feel... so drinking a kale smoothie was a no go since it doesn't blend that well. Even though I couldn't taste it, I'm not a fan of drinking anything chunky. And munching on raw vegetables got tiring so I just tossed everything in an Instant Pot and made a soup.

Raw. Unseasoned. And totally unsatisfying.

Vegetable (kale, celery, carrots, onion, some random slaw mix) soup.

Spinach, blueberry, plant-based protein smoothie.

On Sunday, I was able to taste some of my food but it was very muted. By Monday, I felt perfectly fine (physically) minus my faint sense of taste. Hopefully I can fully recovery from that. 🙏