Today, we have something a little different in the local news file. KTNA’s Phillip Manning recently finished a ten-day isolation due to COVID-19, and has decided to share a little about his recent experience with the disease.
This time of year, I often have sinus issues. A little stuffiness, some sneezing, no big deal. When it’s cold and dry, I get a stuffy head. What made me start to wonder was when I couldn’t taste that first bite my favorite ice cream. It’s chocolate ice cream, plus cookies ‘n cream, plus chocolate chip cookie dough. It’s basically perfect. I only say that to describe my dismay when it just tasted….cold. Loss of taste is a hallmark symptom of COVID. It’s Monday night, I’ve felt stuffy since Saturday.
Not knowing what to make of this development, I took out a box of the at-home COVID tests we have and went up to the loft, where I do my painting. If it was nothing, I didn’t want to worry Jenny. The sound of a package opening wouldn’t be out of place if I did it in the spot where I routinely open new paints. I swabbed my nostrils, mixed the swab into the test fluid, and squeezed three drops onto the testing area like the instructions said to do, then I pretended to work on organizing. I was probably over-reacting to normal sinus symptoms. After all, I had just gotten over a cold the week prior. It says it should take ten minutes to give a definitive result. As soon as the fluid hits the strip, it says I’m positive. The control section of the test hasn’t even registered yet. Either I’m VERY positive for COVID, or something is wrong with the test. Thankfully, there are two tests in the box.
I break open the second test, swab my nose until my brain itches, then repeat the mixing and testing process. Again, the test IMMEDIATELY says I’m positive. Beginning to accept reality, I tell Jenny. She tests herself. Negative, thank God. I hit up Google, see if there is any way a home antigen test can produce a false positive. According to a post on the CDC wesbsite in April, excess mucus can cause a false positive. Awesome! I’ve been stuffy since right after Halloween! That’s almost certainly what’s going on. Still, I have co-workers and their families to think about. I text our General Manager and tell her that I tested positive at home, but I’m going to go to Denali Education Center first-thing Wednesday morning to make sure. There’s not an option for “I probably have COVID, but really don’t want to,” on DEC’s appointment form, so I check the box that says I’m symptomatic and book the first appointment Wednesday morning. I’ve had symptoms for four days at this point, and have tested positive twice at home.
Wednesday morning comes and I head to Denali Education Center, still somehow convinced that this is all a big misunderstanding between me and my antigens. When I come up to the window, Sarah greets me, and I do something incredibly stupid. I lie to a nurse. I tell her one test was positive and one was negative, so I just want to be sure. I’m sorry, Sarah. I knew both tests were positive, but I didn’t want it to be true. I think she knew. As someone whose job is the truth, I’m not a very good liar.
After waiting in my truck for a few minutes, Sarah waves me back to the window. She says their antigen test also immediately showed that I was positive. Well…crap. I can do some work from home, but the bachelor auction is coming up, and I have a lot to do to get ready for that. If this had to happen, I’m thankful it happened when it did and not a week later so that my ten days of isolation will be up before the big day.
I settle in for the rest of my isolation. Thankfully, it’s the longest holiday weekend of the year, so my absence won’t be noticed too much on the air. I have my work laptop and my phone for an internet hotspot, so I can do some work from home if I’m feeling up to it.
Thankfully, my symptoms stay pretty mild. I’m still stuffy, but like I said that’s normal for me in late November. I get a persistent headache for a day-and-a-half, but mostly, I’m just tired. I take naps in the middle of the afternoon basically every day for a week. I start to wonder why everyone doesn’t do this…why I haven’t done this before.
During my isolation, and in the spirit of the season, I realize I’m thankful for a lot. I’m thankful for the vaccine I got. While it didn’t stop the virus from getting into my system, evidence shows it probably prevented me from getting sicker than I did. I’m thankful that I wore a mask when I was at Cubby’s the day before I started feeling bad, and every time I went to Nagley’s or the Post Office. The mask was never about protecting me as much as it was about protecting those around me in case it turned out I had COVID without realizing it…which is exactly what ended up happening. I was thankful for the readily available home tests. Without them, I probably would have written off my symptoms as normal seasonal sinus nonsense. I’m thankful for Denali Education Center, a non-profit that really stepped outside of their normal range of services to provide readily accessible testing to people in and around Downtown Talkeetna. I’m thankful to Jenny, who put up with me being at home way more than normal and didn’t try to stab me even once.
Now, my ten days of isolation are up. My home antigen tests are negative, and I feel fine. My reason for sharing all of this is to tell anyone feeling the continued anxiety of the pandemic, the insecurity, the never-ending strain—you are not alone. Keep doing what you feel is right for yourself and those around you. As of last week, less than forty percent of the Mat-Su was vaccinated. Statistics have consistently shown that being vaccinated makes a person eight-to-ten times less likely to end up in the hospital due to COVID-19 if they have a breakthrough case like I did. I am not here to try to tell you what to do. My job is to report the facts, and they are what they are, no matter what Facebook says.
As always, thanks for listening, take care of each other, and remember that we’re all in this together.
