This is the story of a real WSU student who preferred to remain anonymous.
Right now, the slightest cough puts everyone on high alert.
Could it be… COVID-19? Or is it just a common cold? I struggled with these questions.
This summer, I’d been trying my best to stay safe for myself and my loved ones by wearing a mask, washing my hands often, and practicing physical distancing. I thought I was being safe.
All summer long, I felt perfectly healthy and hung out with some of my closest friends—sometimes completely forgetting about coronavirus and the damage it has caused.
As I was going about my summer, I tried to have fun while being safe, but that didn’t quite work out for me.
This August, I’d acquired a very faint cough and I had small headaches throughout the course of a week. I didn’t think anything of it because I frequently have headaches. And with summer coming to an end, I usually get a cold anyway, so I carried on with my days not knowing what the consequences would be.
A couple days later, I received a phone call telling me that someone I was in contact with had COVID-19. It was in that moment when I thought to myself, “Well… maybe this isn’t just a cold.”
Unfortunately, about a week later, my mom started to get sick, and so did my sister and my brother. My mom was the first to get tested, and my siblings followed suit.
I then got tested because I was pretty sure I’d given it to my family. When I got the results back, I was less than shocked to hear I was positive for coronavirus.
The amount of guilt I felt was overwhelming, but my family assured me that it was no one’s fault—it was a virus.
My experience isn’t uncommon, but it is a lesson. If you’re feeling any symptoms at all, I encourage you to get tested and tell your loved ones what you’re feeling, so you can protect them.
Your common cold might not be a common cold.
