It started with not having an appetite on Thursday. I thought it was strange that everything I ate tasted sour. Then I started having sore throat and it developed into a cough on Friday, follow by difficulty with breathing, numbness at one side and a headache that refuses to go away even after popping paracetamol on Saturday.

By this time, my helper, son and husband already started coughing at home a few weeks prior. Maybe it is just a cough that is being passed around, I thought. You can imagine my shock when my ART and PCR results returned as positive after visiting the doctor.

Me? Who me? But I hardly go out! The last catch up with a friend was three weeks ago! Could it be the lift buttons? The supermarket? Or someone brought it home and I just happened to came into contact with the virus on the surfaces?

My symptoms persisted which prompted me to call for an ambulance. COVID-19 was known to cause blood clots in some people leading to stroke. I was at risk of having blood clots travelling to the brain leading to stroke hence I required medical supervision ASAP.

It was my second time in an ambulance to a hospital but the first time I was fully conscious.

Everything in the first three hours was a whirl and I could not remember the number of scans and tests I was made to go through. It was pretty early that the doctors concluded I am not having a stroke but it was decided I should be kept in the hospital in case blood clots developed later on.

By the 12th hour in the waiting area, I was told a bed would be ready soon. By the 15th hour, I had enough energy and overcame all the shock to kick up a fuss on the long waiting time. If I can be left waiting for so long with minimal supervision, I should be well enough to be allowed to recover from home since there are no beds. I argued.

The experienced was bad. I mock our so called world class medical system. You can refer to my Facebook post on my waiting time. You see, I asked for paracetamol when I reached the hospital in the morning and only received it at dinnertime. I asked for sanitary pads but was told they ran out of it. I am supposed to bleed and stain myself? Issue was “resolved” when I got my husband to pack and pass stuff for my stay.

It was close to midnight when I was finally moved to an isolated ward where I spent the next three days in. The ward was a far cry from the waiting area. I could finally sleep with privacy and have a toilet to shower and pee in peace.

During my stay, I was given a few doses of blood thinner injections to avoid blood clots. I was still on hormone medication due to my excessive bleeding since 24 Aug and this medication causes blood clots so adjustments were made on the dosages. The injection reminded me that this is what I have to administer on myself everyday if I get pregnant again. I really can’t go through this so yeah no more kids.

I used 50GB of my mobile data watching the last three seasons of Downton Abbey and Hometown Cha Cha Cha on Netflix during the three days and I am not sure if that was the reason for my persistent headache. Although I still have the annoying headache and cough but I have since been discharged from the hospital and certified non-infectious and recovered from COVID-19. I am free from any pre-event testing and swap test for 270 days. It does not feel as scary after all and maybe catching it is for the best.

Netflix, latte, cakes and quiches from friends really cheered me up and took my mind off things during recovery stage.

It was only after I shared on my personal social media that I caught the virus, a friend working as a primary school teacher shared she recently recovered from it. She has contact with hundreds of students a day and I have contact with ONE kid in my life on a daily basis. Talk about fairness in the world.

Now that most of the population are vaccinated against Covid-19 and the numbers are only increasing, it is only a matter of time we catch it like a common flu.

In my attempt the investigate where I had been and the possible exposures I came into contact, I ended up realizing the “possible exposure” feature was deactivated in TraceTogether app. I can trace how many times I went out for groceries and that was about it. Not sure why we still have to use the app or token when it is pretty much useless. I guess I will never have the answer to who, how and where I got it from. What matters most is I have recovered and survived Covid-19.