Having Covid and Lung Cancer

When the COVID-19 surge first started, and many were getting sick, I remember friends and family telling me I had to be extra careful and that I needed to stay put and not go anywhere. Many were so worried about me.

Coping with COVID-19

The country went on lockdown, including my state. Going to the stores to buy necessities as well as groceries became a challenge.

Then came the mask mandate, and we were able to go to the stores and get what we needed from time to time. I remember hating living that way.

When I went out, I made sure to mask up, carry hand sanitizer, and wash my hands every chance I got. For the most part, I kept covid away. That was until December of 2020.

First, my husband got COVID-19 in July of 2020. He felt horrible, and I cared for him.

When friends and family found out, they were so worried about me, and they kept telling me to leave the house and not to be around him, but I couldn’t leave my husband to try and take care of himself.

He got COVID-19 really bad, but he got through it. I never got COVID-19 up until December of 2020. I had a colonoscopy scheduled for December 7th.

After my colonoscopy, I went home with great news, but by Friday, I felt horrible. I knew I had to be COVID-19 because it felt different from the cold and flu. I also knew I got COVID-19 at the hospital.

I went to the health department to get a COVID-19 test. First, they did the rapid, and it was negative, then they did the PCR test. I waited three days to find out that one was positive.

Twice the battle, twice the resilience

Having COVID-19 was horrible, but I got through it like a champ. My fever was always a low grade but lasted for almost a week. The body aches were horrible, and the fatigue was equally as awful.

But nothing was worse than losing your taste buds and smell. Oh my goodness, it was horrible. Certain things I ate tasted like metal.

This side effect took a long time to get rid of, and I would say it took me almost a year to start tasting certain foods the way they should taste. So that year, I spent my Christmas and New Year's sick in bed with my COVID-19 tea.

I must say it took a few months to start feeling like myself again, but thankfully, I got through it. But it didn’t end there.

The following year, in 2021, in December, my husband and I, along with our transitional foster kid, got COVID-19. This was my husband and I's second run with it.

My husband was asymptomatic, lucky for him, but I was sick again. But this time, it wasn’t as bad as the first time.

My second run with COVID-19 felt more like a head cold or like a sinus issue. I had no fever, didn’t lose my taste buds or smell, and didn’t have body aches, but I was fatigued, very congested, and sleeping a lot.

Yes, it was rough going through COVID-19 twice, and many were worried because of my having lung cancer because it can attack our lungs. My PCP prescribed me a Z-Pack. She wanted to make sure I didn’t develop pneumonia.

Even though my lungs were strong, and there was no cancer in my lungs at that time, it was still a very scary situation for me. I’m just grateful that I was able to get through COVID-19 and come out a winner.