I didn’t think it would happen to me. It did. I got COVID.

When the pandemic first started, I genuinely didn’t know what was going to happen. Multiple members of my family are immunocompromised and throughout these two years, I’ve had to live with the reality that if they were to get sick, they wouldn’t make it.

I had made it just over one and a half years without getting sick. I was fully vaccinated and I had just gotten my booster, but that didn’t stop me from getting COVID, specifically the omicron variant.

While I’m not exactly sure how I got sick, I do have my theories. Firstly, I was in the middle of a trip to Colorado with some friends over winter break. Secondly, someone in our group of seven kept complaining about their “allergies.” 

Now, I’m sure a few people will say “I brought this on myself,” but honestly, I took the necessary precautions. I wore a mask when we went out, I made sure to keep my distance from people outside the group, I used hand sanitizer and washed my hands constantly—But still, it was not enough.

We were there from Tuesday to Friday, three nights and two full days. I had actually called my mom on Wednesday night, when I was on the verge of a full blown panic attack because I was so anxious about bringing COVID-19 back and getting her or other members of my family sick.

She tried to assure me that as long as we were being safe, it’d all be ok. Of course, just a day later, I was out exploring with some friends when I felt like I could pass out at any second. It had been a long day, and we had done quite a bit, so I just thought maybe I wasn’t used to doing that much.

This, of course, was wrong. After we had gotten back to the Airbnb, I changed clothes and went to take a nap. Sleep was far off though, and I just laid in bed for an hour feeling like absolute shit. Then I got a fever and chills. 

The next morning, it felt like my fever had broken, but I was congested and felt my throat would close up. I knew then, this wasn’t your average cold or flu. Two others woke up that morning feeling bad as well, and combined with incoming snow, we decided to pack up and leave early.

The closer we got to eastern Kansas, the worse I felt. This was exacerbated by the change in altitude and the fact that as soon as my friends were home, I immediately turned around and drove back to Emporia.

Without a doubt, this was the right choice. It protected my family and allowed me to be sick without worry. 

Ultimately, yeah, I was fine.

Had I gone home to my parents house, they might not have been. My mom has an autoimmune disorder, which puts her at a significantly higher risk to get sick, and have even worse symptoms if she does. It also means she could die. Which I absolutely do not want.