My COVID Experience

Towards the end of my last year of high school, I contracted COVID-19. Around that time, I had been working on creating a gaming event with 200+ entrees. While the event ran well, we were informed that one of our attendees had been tested for COVID soon after. Only a day after we had heard the news, most of our staff had contracted COVID… including myself.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Having COVID was one of, if not the worst sickness I’ve ever had. It was horrible. I was bedridden all week, and my head was killing me. I had a terrible cough, and felt like I could throw up at any moment. But the worst part had to be the chills. Those chills made it impossible to be comfortable, anywhere, for an entire week. Even my heated blanket couldn’t keep me warm, and when I didn’t have the chills, I was too hot. Worst part hands down.

On top of not being able to enjoy a successful event (that we had been working on for months), I missed my senior luncheon. I can’t say I was too devastated, but I was pretty upset about it. I needed white jeans for the event, which took me and my mother weeks to finally find. I still haven’t worn them to this day.

I was vaccinated at the time, and I had the booster when I got sick. I definitely think it helped, as I wasn’t bedridden for as long as I thought I would be. Looking back on it, it’s really scary to think what might have happened had I not been vaccinated. Getting boosted and vaccinated was not my choice. I literally had to do it in order to attend school, but I am thankful for it.

As of now, even though I had COVID, I can’t say I fear it as much as I used to. I’m pretty confident I’ll live, even if I do contract it again. Being vaccinated and boosted relieves a lot of stress for me, and even though I don’t wear masks as much anymore, I am cautious and bring one when I go out. If you’re reading this, and still aren’t sure how to feel about COVID, I’m telling you that catching it is horrible and not something I would wish on anyone. If you aren’t planning on getting vaccinated, all I can ask of you is that you wear a mask at the very least. Because you really, REALLY, don’t want to catch COVID.

By Cameron Foster, Freshman, DePauw University

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