I survived Covid and now just can’t wait to be my daughter’s taxi driver again

Jewish Telegraph, March 2021

IT was when I caught Covid-19 in November that my wife went full ‘Jewish mother’.
In her panic, she bought an oxygen machine — two accidentally — to be on the safe side.
And I have to admit that it was the best thing she has ever bought from Amazon.
While I never felt that my life was in danger, there were times when my oxygen levels dropped below recommended levels.
I didn’t want to worry my wife — as she would have wanted me to go to hospital — so I would just connect myself to the oxygen machine for a ‘top up’.
I had denied having coronavirus for a while because my symptoms weren’t like the ones I had read about.
I even thought that maybe my hayfever had started early.
After my test came back positive, I didn’t actually feel ill.
In fact, I worked from home for a couple of days to help produce the paper.
But over that weekend, Covid took a firm hold of me and I can honestly say I haven’t had an illness like it.
Breathing became difficult and just walking from the bedroom to the bathroom left me breathless.
If I ventured downstairs, going back up to bed was like climbing Everest. I’d have to stop every few steps to catch my breath.
One of the first symptoms was the loss of my sense of smell and taste.
It’s hard to describe the sensation. I was mainly eating soup, but it was just about the texture as it was flavourless.
Brushing my teeth was so weird as I couldn’t taste the mint, but I could feel it.
One friend told me that he had Covid months earlier and still hadn’t regained taste and smell.
Fortunately for me, by the time I was Covid-free, I could taste and smell my food again.
Unfortunately for me, I soon put back on the weight I had lost.
But recovering wasn’t the end of the story. It took me until January before the breathlessness and the coughing stopped.
There were times when I thought that I would never be able to walk a few hundred feet without having to stop for a rest.
My wife and daughter both caught coronavirus from me, but they had mild symptoms.
I have known friends and family who died from the illness.
The most shocking was an old friend from BBYO, who was just a year older than me.
I hadn’t spoken to him for many years, but he was a friend on Facebook.
I still find it heartbreaking when I see a message from his wife on his Facebook page from the start of last year, saying: “I can’t wait to make more memories in this decade.”
It’s also been sad to see my daughter’s life be put on hold.
From being out virtually every night at her clubs and groups to being stuck at home, it has been very difficult for her.
It has been nice to receive glowing reports from her school teachers saying how well she is doing with online lessons.
But I can’t wait until I can be her taxi service again and she can start enjoying things once more.