On Tuesday of this week, I started to get a sore throat and a mild headache. Considering that Janelle was at the tail end of a two week cold, I figured that my immune system had finally given in. I didn't feel that bad, and to be cautious, I took one of our at-home COVID tests. The results were negative.
Yesterday evening, while having dinner, I started to feel particularly weary. My muscles (such as they are) ached and my sinuses were stuffy. As I had woken up earlier than normal that day, I thought that my tiredness just allowed the cold to settle in, but I felt that a good night's rest might be enough to get me through the following day.
It was clear this morning that I did not have a good night's rest. I remember waking up multiple times, shivering uncontrollably. My muscles still ached and my head felt like it was full of air--likely due to the cold medicine I took for the night. I was still thinking that I was going to power through the day. It's so much work to deal with preparing and dealing with a substitute teacher that I would prefer to slog through the day. However, I reminded myself that it was thoughts like that which have allowed COVID to spread, and that--not only would I get some needed rest--it was better to be safe.
It turns out that I was right. When I managed to rouse myself in the early afternoon, I realized that I still felt pretty worn-out. I decided to take another test. The instructions say to wait ten minutes, but it brought back a positive response within just a couple.
I've since notified my school, acquired subs, and started making plans for them to follow. Hopefully, my symptoms remain fairly mild and end soon. If so, I should be able to be back to teaching on Wednesday.
For now, I just need to survive Janelle's attempts to force me to sleep outside.