OPINION
It was like trying to breathe through a straw.
Even trying to hang out the clothes felt like a 12km run.
My nose was snotty. My throat was hoarse. My jaw hurt.
Covid had finally chased me down.
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Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Zoe Hunter - catching this virus is awful
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Twelve days earlier, my partner caught it and I thought I had done everything right to avoid it.
We stayed in separate bedrooms, used separate bathrooms, even sat on different couches eating dinner and watching TV.
I haven't kissed him in days.
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I thought that was easy, I must not have caught it. I didn't have symptoms. I thought I got lucky.
But on my partner's 10th day of isolation, I woke up in the middle of the night coughing.
Earlier last week, I shared my shameful first reaction to him being positive and me not wanting to test and pretend like it never existed.
The truth is I thought this again. Surely, I was negative and there was no way I would catch it after 10 days without symptoms.
I am fit, healthy, go to the gym, run, do yoga, and dance. In my mind, my body was healthy enough to stop this virus.
It would have been easier not to do a test. But I didn't want to be selfish.
So, I took a rapid antigen test in the morning and sure enough, two little red lines showed.
Positive. Gutted.
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Covid can happen to anyone.
There were 764 new community cases in Tauranga yesterday, 248 in Western Bay, 412 in Eastern Bay, and in Lakes there were 633. Nationally, there were 21,616 new community cases and a record 960 patients in hospital battling the virus. Two more people have died.
I am double-vaccinated and boosted but in those hours where my breathing struggled, I hit rock bottom. How can this be happening to me?
I am normally busy, like to have a full calendar and squeeze every last ounce of energy out of my day. Covid made me feel helpless and no longer in control.
I didn't even have the energy to walk up the stairs without feeling exhausted.
I fear for friends who have underlying health issues. How will they cope?
Even now, nearing the end of my isolation, my head is still foggy. Covid struck hard and fast - and it hasn't finished with me yet.
Catching Covid is awful. I urge you to do everything you can to avoid it.