As of the submission of this article in mid-July, I find myself in quarantine. Earlier today I found out I have COVID-19.
While this magazine is focused on real estate, and no doubt there are challenges, struggles and opportunities for those in the profession, we also have concern, fear and interest in the community regarding the COVID-19 virus, the pandemic and its impact on people, property and our economy.
While I recognize that this magazine covers several markets, some of which are the hardest-hit by the pandemic, I wanted to share my experience, as there is much information and misinformation out there. No doubt, many are concerned about COVID-19 and are seeking more/any information they can. I realize that each case is different. My experience has no bearing on someone else’s.
I have been ultra-careful, as I am asthmatic, and have been all my life. Yes, I was concerned, but not afraid of contracting the virus. How I got it, who the hell knows? I had been out of my house, always wearing a mask, about five times in 16 weeks.
As I write this, 11 days ago, I just did not feel well. Out of nowhere, I had a low-grade fever and Tylenol did a great job warding it off. Before I knew it, I was experiencing sharp stomach pains and sickness, and I figured I might have caught a 24-hour virus.
Unfortunately, then my breathing got tight, and I started to think, “Could it be?” My doctor advised me to get a test, which I did through CVS. There was a three-day waiting period, but eight days ago, I was able to self-administer the long Q-tip about a mile in each nostril.
Each day, my breathing seemingly got worse — it was like a bad asthma flare-up, for those who can relate. The cough was deep and constant, as in all day long. On a few nights, I slept for 10 hours, which is completely unlike me. My voice was shot, and I relied on lots of extra doses of Advair and Proventil for my asthma. I only really got worried/scared once — okay, maybe twice. Knowing Duke University Hospital is 20 minutes away helped diminish this concern.
Eight days in, I’ve started to feel a little better, and my breathing has started to ease up. It is still quite tight, but better. The coughing has not completely subsided but is significantly reduced. The headaches have continued, but they are manageable.
After eight days of waiting, I received a call from the North Carolina Department of Health informing me my test showed I was positive. This was followed by a long interview. I have been instructed to stay away from my family and quarantine for another 10 days. Heck, I wish I’d known this eight days earlier. Either way, we are adhering to the recommendations, and the wife and kids will now get tested. Although I did not do anything to “get COVID-19,” my family is looking at me as if I have a scarlet letter on my chest.
Admittedly, I was shocked. I was ultra-careful, but you just never know. As of now, I am still taking asthma meds more than usual, but it’s nothing like last week. I do not know if I am lucky or if this is simply the way it is. Each case is different.
I know I have a few more days, at the least, to get over this. My doctor has provided me the signs — renewed fever, worsening breathing — to look for. I will be “safer,” if that is even possible, than I was pre-COVID-19 diagnosis.
Again, my point in sharing this is to exhibit that COVID-19 has many effects and is not necessarily a death sentence, as the media have portrayed it to be. Does it cause deaths? Absolutely, and I pray for the tens of thousands of souls that have been lost. Does this mean I am immune? Hell, no. But I do now have some antibodies, and no one knows if these will last.
Bottom line: if you have the signs, I recommend you get tested. Because, while I am going to be fine, it would be personally devastating if, somehow, I transmitted this rapidly spreading virus to someone else who was impacted worse than me.
Be well. Stay safe.
Rod Santomassimo
The Massimo Group
rod@massimo-group.com
800-517-5542
