Exhaustion, terrible headaches and guilt: What it’s really like to catch Covid
Queensland may have reached the peak of the Omicrom wave but many locals are still being hit hard by the virus. These are some of their stories.
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Jane Armitstead
33, journalist, Mount Gravatt East
It is what I’ve dreaded for two years. It’s what we’ve all dreaded. In Queensland, we’ve stayed largely protected and I’ve felt safe. But with Omicron ripping through Brisbane, it’s the first time I’ve been scared – not just because it seems so many friends are getting the virus but I’m now a mum to nine-month-old Louis.
For the most part, experts have said Covid is mild in children and babies but as a parent you can’t help but fear the worst. But there was no hiding; the virus found me like it’s found many millions worldwide.
On a hot Brisbane day, my family caught up at my parent’s house for a swim in their pool. Nobody was sick, not even a little bit. We checked. We had no idea Covid-19 was present and in a couple of days, that afternoon swim would likely be the culprit that infected half my family.
My brother, 38, sister-in-law, 38, who is 19 weeks pregnant, their one-year-old son, my 70-year-old dad, and me, all tested positive at the same time.
My mind was in overdrive. Nobody seemed sick, how did we get it? Who had it first? Did one of the kids get it at daycare? What is going to happen to us?
For me, it started with a minor tickle in my throat one night. The next morning, I felt a bit off and did a Rapid Antigen Test but it came back negative. I continued to get worse.
Early the next morning, I did another RAT and it was a clear positive.
I struggled to get out of bed for the next four days. I was heavily congested, had a deep, barking chesty cough, body aches, chills, and night sweats. I was overwhelmed with fatigue yet I couldn’t sleep through the constant coughing and, weirdly, insane Covid-related nightmares.
I am double vaxxed, as is all my family with my dad and sister-in-law boosted. But still, it was scary.
At one point, when I was uncontrollably coughing, I lost my breath for a millisecond and the reality of this virus hit me. It was obvious how it could be deadly
to some.
My appointment to get my booster, which I’d had booked for weeks, was the day I tested positive.
To me, the biggest shock was that Covid isn’t just a physical virus, but a mental and emotional one too. There’s fear, anxiety, worry, guilt, and isolation.
Who did you see? When did you see them? Have you made them sick? Will they be OK? For the days after testing positive, I was obsessively asking those I was in contact with if they had symptoms. I feared for them, myself, and my family. How was Dad feeling? Mum is vulnerable with an underlying illness, what if she gets it? Are my pregnant sister-in-law and unborn child going to be OK? Is my brother improving and how is my nephew?
But swirling right at the top was how would I not pass this incredibly infectious and contagious virus onto Louis and my husband, Liam, in our three-bedroom, one-bath home?
For the next seven days, I was isolated in our bedroom.
Liam, who is boosted, took the spare room. I wore a mask everywhere I went outside the room.
We opened every window and door in every room possible.
Liam prepared all food and either delivered it to me to eat or left it on the bench for me to get. When I could get up, I ate on our deck.
But the most heartbreaking thing was having to actively avoid being near our baby.
Hearing his cry and not being there to comfort him. Running in the other direction when he crawled towards me. Not being able to pick him up as he tapped on the bedroom door wanting to come in.
My heart broke every time I sat outside and he looked at me through the glass door, so confused why his mum couldn’t touch him.
Then there was the concern for my husband who was looking after me, solo parenting 24/7, and juggling full-time work.
As a shift worker (a journalist) who was rostered on night shifts that week (from home), he began work at 6pm straight after he’d put the baby to bed. A baby he’d spent all day entertaining in between looking after his sick wife.
It’s not lost on me that we are among the lucky ones.
Liam and Louis avoided getting it. Dad bounced back quicker than all of us and didn’t pass it on to Mum.
My sister-in-law was well supported, with daily calls from the hospital. Friends and family generously dropped supplies at our doorstep each day.
Despite a few lingering symptoms (fatigue and dizziness), I’m almost back to normal and left with extreme gratitude and perspective.
Zathia Bazeer
25, journalist, Fortitude Valley
It was the cough triggered by anything and everything. Once it started, it just wouldn’t stop. Spicy food, breathing quickly, talking too much, you name it, and it would start a coughing fit. I’m not asthmatic, I don’t have breathing or lung issues. I’ve never had a cough this bad before. Everyone refers to it as a dry cough, but it was a wheezing cough, and I wasn’t sure how to deal with it. I took antibiotics, Ventolin, black seed oil tablets, ginger tea, Lemsip and every herbal concoction my mum would make. I was trying so many things at once I’m not sure which one worked or helped ease it.
I first noticed symptoms when I got back from a holiday in Tasmania. It started with a slight headache, and my body felt weighed down, but I assumed it was because of travelling. Borders had opened up for Christmas and New Year, cases were high again, but I wasn’t too worried about catching it.
Maybe it was my ignorance, but I thought I could dodge it going into 2022, but no, there was no escaping this variant – it was spreading so quickly. I was double vaxxed, and Omicron was said to be not as bad. It’s a virus that’s going to stick around, and new variants are going to emerge. I’ve accepted this is our reality. We need to learn how to work around it.
I woke up with a sore throat, runny nose and feeling fatigued. I was isolating but somewhat in denial. Surely it’s a cold, surely not Covid … right? But a rapid test came back positive.
I wasn’t worried about myself, but because I was living with my parents at the time, I was concerned for them. We were at opposite ends of the house, and they seemed to be feeling fine; every time they did a rapid test, it came back negative. The only thing that was worrying me was the long-term effects of Covid on my parents.
The next couple of days, my sore throat got worse, I was in bed all day, and the cough began. That was the worst part for me. Everyone around seemed to be having unbearable body aches, so I was surprised I didn’t experience that symptom. The cough would just get worse, leaving my whole throat feeling dry no matter how much water I chugged. The only thing that numbed my throat temporarily were extra strength Strepsils.
The following day I lost my taste and couldn’t smell properly. I also lost my appetite, and not being able to taste or smell food on top of that made me eat food out of necessity.
I’m someone who eats when I’m bored or stressed, so this was my chance to lose weight, eat clean and detox I guess? I was drinking a lot of soup, all veggies. I didn’t care what was put in it as long as it was healthy – it’s not like I could taste it.
By the end of it, I was 2kg down. It did make me approach food differently. I realised I was eating more than I should, food was my go-to for comfort when something went wrong.
Losing your sense of taste and smell is fine if you’re trying to eat extra healthy or clean, as you’re less likely to crave something. Except when your mum makes your favourite dish – you can’t taste it but can only feel the texture. Taste and smell gave me so much nostalgia. I really did take it for granted, and I only realised it when I couldn’t. Eventually, it all came back, and I was so much more grateful when it did.
Now post-Covid, I still have a slight cough, but it’s not too bad compared with before. I have also been experiencing hair loss more than usual, a bunch of strands falling out in the shower, when I was combing my hair, running my hand through my hair, on my bed.
I’m not sure if it’s the stress my body just went through or not being able to sleep. I’ve had trouble sleeping since lockdown 2020; being in lockdown for
so long would obviously have long-term effects.
I know I’m not the only person having hair loss post-Covid, so the best I can do now is monitor it and take supplements for it.
It all felt like a horrible cold but, in a way, I’m glad I got it. Now I know how my body reacts and how to handle it.
Marnie Vaughn
34, advertising accounts manager, Teneriffe
Overall Covid-19 has really shaken our lives. We moved to Brisbane from Sydney about 2½ years ago for my partner Mark (Gibbons, 37) to start a new job as booking manager for a 4000-capacity live music venue in Fortitude Valley, and then I became a mum just as the pandemic hit.
Our son Alma was born as all mums’ groups were cancelled for six months and borders were closed, so our families were locked out of a big chunk of his life. All those visits and the live-in help that was meant to happen, couldn’t. It was a lot of work to build networks with other new mums, but I worked really hard at it and managed to make some great friends. It’s been a total rollercoaster and nightmare.
So, when the borders opened up, we made the most of the opportunity to see our family and friends interstate. Mark and I were both double-vaccinated when we went to NSW for Christmas, and when a group of about 15 friends – all vaccinated – shared a house in Noosa for four days in early January. We were prepared to run the risk. If we get it, we get it – and we got it.
On January 9, one of our friends was a confirmed case. All but one of us were vaccinated and about 80 per cent of us got sick. Thankfully, the unvaccinated new mum didn’t.
Mark and I were initially unsure of what we were feeling but when it hit, it hit and we knew it was Covid. Because we were vaccinated, I wasn’t expecting to get too sick and I wasn’t expecting Alma to get sick at all. Still, for him, it wasn’t any worse than what he brings home from daycare. We were all exhausted – Alma slept for four hours during the day and 13 hours at night, which meant Mark and I were able to rest.
Still when Alma was up, he had lots of energy and didn’t seem too bad, though there were lots of boogers. Mark and I had terrible headaches, sore eyes and couldn’t look at any screens. We just had to rest, take Panadol and Nurofen, and drink lots of Hydralytes. Friends dropped off food and medicines, our lovely neighbour walked our border collie Blasko and cooked us meals.
The biggest worry was, who have I given it to? Who have I seen, who have I been with? There’s so much guilt attached, I guess, because before this wave, one case would shut down a city and really screw people. That fear is so embedded in us.
Even when we were allowed to come out of isolation, I didn’t know if I should. I’d just started a new job; it was week one and my first day out of isolation, they wanted me in the office for a meeting. I’d never met my colleagues before. It was quite confronting and awkward.
I’d love to feel invincible but I also know I could get a different strain. Still, we went out for dinner and to a pub last night. I’m not scared of Covid, and I’m not upset I caught it. Some people are being really careful, but I’m just making the most of any opportunity I can to see my family and live a normal-ish life. I’m taking an approach where my mental health is taking a priority over my physical health.
I was talking to my Nan, who’s just turned 97, about her thoughts and she said, “Marnie, I’ve been on this earth a long time and I’m ready to go; if this is the way it happens, this is the way it happens”.
Hamish Brown
21, student, Brisbane
It was the moment you dread. On New Year’s Day my son Hamish came upstairs and reported: “I’ve got a sore throat.”
So it was off to a centre for a PCR test and this was just prior to everything going ballistic so he had just a two-hour wait and he got the results that same evening. Positive.
Which sent the house into disarray. My wife’s 85-year-old mum was staying with us at that time which was a worry.
Hamish had downstairs though to dwell in, his dungeon with food delivered at the top of the steps. He was like The Prisoner of Zenda down there, unseen but not forgotten. And of course he had our dog Sarge for company.
Luckily he was able to use a separate bathroom and he was fully set up to operate solo from us. We observed protocols, sprayed a lot of Glen 20 around, washed our hands constantly, masked up and proceeded to binge on Netflix.
The next day the three of us drove to get a test and of course the centre at Boondall was closed. We tried numerous others with no luck. The lack of preparedness was gobsmacking and then we were told to use Rapid Antigen Tests but … who could get their hands on any? We ordered some online just before the shortages and they were in the mail but, unable to get a PCR test, we didn’t know if we had Covid or not.
A friend of my wife’s came to the rescue and dropped several RATs over to our house, with some doughnuts.
I ate the doughnuts first of course. We all tested negative but had to isolate and ordered our food online and got care packages dropped over by friends and my wife’s brother.
Our protocols worked because we remained symptom free and after seven days of isolation we were free. Kind of.
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