Mea culpa! I did this to myself.
Using caution and following guidelines, I managed to avoid catching COVID for almost three years until I didn’t use caution and follow guidelines.
I let down my guard. And I got lazy.
Judging by the current numbers, I'm guessing I am not alone in the letting-down-our-guard department.
Without even following monthly statistics, though, we basically knew that as colder weather began, people would be indoors more and numbers would rise.
Every fall it’s the same thing —more colds, more flu. And, in recent years, that also means more COVID-19.
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit lists the community risk level as high, but I think we all knew it wasn’t going away. We knew we were not out of the woods yet.
So, why did we not remain as vigilant as in the beginning?
Speaking for myself, I got PO’d ... as in, pandemic overdosed. I literally got tired of hearing about it, writing about it, worrying about it, and trying to prevent it.
I am not saying that was necessarily smart, but it is what happened.
Even the government got tired or lost interest in giving us daily updates. It went to weekly. It went to sporadically until basically the televised briefings just stopped altogether. We were left to muddle through.
Yes, I know there are updated websites. Now, it may be my foggy brain, but I find them very confusing. I’m a simple girl, so just the facts.
How many people have it? Town province, country? How old are they? How sick are they? What variant is that? And were they vaccinated and boosted?
Scientists, being who they are, throw in a lot of other figures and equations that are completely lost on me.
And while I always kept masks handy, I didn’t always wear them in every situation. I always had disinfectant wipes and sanitizer around, but likely forgot to wipe everything down every time.
Then, the big no-no. I went to a large gathering of people. We hadn’t seen each other in three years, so yes there was hugging, kissing, talking, and singing.
It was bound to happen. A few days afterwards, people were starting to report positive tests. We all know the symptoms to expect, from headache to sore throat, coughing, sneezing, aches, and congestion.
To be honest, in my case and being fully vaxxed and boosted, it hasn't been horrible.
But what has been scary are the stories shared by others on social media.
People say never listen to another woman’s story of childbirth. This may be similar. I didn’t need to know what might be coming.
“In about two days you will feel like a two-ton truck landed on your chest!”
“Expect it to feel like glass is coming out of your throat.”
“It’s going to feel like your eyeballs are exploding.”
I know misery loves company, but please, keep the fear mongering to yourself.
Yes, everyone is different. I would never diminish what someone went through. Let’s face it, millions have died.
In my case, it has been like a really nasty cold. I’ve felt better, but I’ve felt a lot worse. I’m about a week in, so we shall see.
Let mine be a cautionary tale. Put the mask back on and wear it in public, get the boosters when available, keep disinfecting surfaces at home and out and about.
Stay safe! Listen to your gut. It knows! Ignore it to your own detriment.
